"Madagascar" ends Bond's foreign rule

A batch of Central Park zoo animals returning to their jungle habitat ended James Bond's five-week domination of the international box office.

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," which began a record-busting rollout in late October in eastern Europe, roared to an estimated $52.2 million from 35 territories during the weekend. The film's foreign gross soared to $125 million.

And it's still early in the film's run, according to Paramount Pictures International, the distributor of the DreamWorks Animation sequel.

In the U.K., the zoo brigade charged in at No. 1 to $9.5 million. The animated entry also was No. 1 in Germany ($11 million), France ($9.8 million), Mexico ($4.2 million), Belgium ($1.6 million), Argentina ($1.2 million) and Austria ($1.1 million).

A solid $10.8 million from 72 markets greeted "Quantum of Solace" as it slipped to second place during its seventh week of international release. "Quantum's" international total stands at $357.8 million. Market grosses include $77.4 million in the U.K., $30.8 million in France and $37.1 million in Germany.

"Twilight" grabbed third place overseas with $9.8 million from 18 markets, raising its total to $33 million. The vampire romance opened at No. 1 in Spain with $4.2 million.

"Bolt," the TV dog superhero, took fourth place with $9.5 million from nine markets.

The long-running "WALL-E," thanks to a $5.5 million No. 1 debut in Japan, lifted its foreign gross to $271 million and took fifth place in the overseas weekend standings.