Quantum of Solace was the only nationwide release this weekend, and grossed $70.4 million in this first three days, toppling last week's box-office leader, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, to enjoy the highest grossing opening ever for a spy movie.

Quantum appeared on 5,900 screens over the weekend in 3,451 theaters.  It surpassed Die Another Day, which was the previous best James Bond film, with an opening weekend of $47.1 million six years ago.  Also, Quantum did better than Casino Royale, the prequel to Quantum, which earned $40.8 million just two years ago.

Quantum’s audience was comprised of 54 percent males, and 58 percent were over the age of 25, according to Sony’s exit polls.  So, the weekend‘s successful opener proves fans were not bothered by the apparent darkly serious tone of the film, which has been compared to The Bourne Identity series.  Similar box-office results from the first two Bourne movies suggest Quantum will follow suit.  The Bourne Identity grossed $27.1 million in its opening weekend in 2002, while the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy nearly doubled the original with its $52.5-million opening.  And the third Bourne installment, The Bourne Ultimatum, topped them both with an opening weekend of $69.3 million.

Dropping only one spot from the top, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa made another $36.1 million, showing audiences that the sequel could be as entertaining as the first.  All of our favorite Central Park Zoo animals return, including some new friends, picking up where they left off.  They are still lost, only this time in Africa. After an opening weekend take of $61.1 million, the film has already raked in $118 million in two weeks, suggesting that it may be well on its way to beating the first Madagascar's worldwide gross of $532.6 million. With this kind of success, fans can probably bet on a Madagascar 3.

Universal’s Role Models grossed $11.7 million also dropping one spot to third place this weekend.  It dropped 38.9 percent since last week, but kept audiences laughing with its locker room humor.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year is still holding strong in fourth place with a weekend take of $5.9 million, pushing its total up $84.4.  After debuting four weeks ago, the teens of High School Musical show few signs of singing off key.

Clint Eastwood’s Changeling trailed the Disney tweens earning $4.2 million and Zack and Miri Make a Porno came in sixth with $3.2 million, pushing its overall total to $26.5 million, slightly more than the film’s $24-million budget.

The Boy in Striped Pajamas’ second weekend in theaters grossed $490,000, placing it 17th overall. The story follows a Nazi camp officer’s son, Bruno, who befriends a boy “in striped pajamas.” The boy is a prisoner in a concentration camp that Bruno can see from his bedroom window.  The two boys begin an unlikely friendship, but neither one of them can predict the serious consequences their friendship would have.

The highly anticipated Slumdog Millionaire opened in ten theaters this weekend and grossed $350,000. It is expected to expand to more cities in the upcoming weeks.  The new movie, directed by Danny Boyle, is about a young boy who lives in the slums of India, and who competes on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire to find his love, wins the top prize, and is then accused of cheating. The movie has received overwhelmingly positive press, and is likely to accelerate its earning as it is released in more theaters in the coming weeks.  Visit GossipSauce to get a behind the scenes look at the movie.

 —Jessica Delli Santi