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The James Bond thriller “Quantum of Solace” opened in first place in U.S. and Canadian theaters with ticket sales of $70.4 million for Sony Corp. and Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the best-ever debut for the spy franchise, according to Michael White and James Callan for Bloomberg.

The film series, which began in 1962 with “Dr. No,” was the only movie to open in wide release. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” dropped to second place with sales of $36.1 million, box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC said today in an e- mailed statement.

“Quantum of Solace” is the second Bond movie to star Daniel Craig as the British super spy and its sales highlight the popularity of edgier updates to aging movie franchises. “Quantum of Solace” surpassed 2006’s “Casino Royale,” which debuted with $40.8 million in receipts. “Quantum,” which has premiered abroad already, has made more than $231 million in worldwide sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo LLC.

“The numbers are amazing,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, in an interview. “‘Casino Royale’ ushered in a whole new era of Bond and ‘Quantum of Solace’ definitely capitalized on that. The re-imaging of the franchise has really worked.”

‘Madagascar’

In “Quantum,” Bond — played by Daniel Craig — seeks to unravel the conspiracy that led to the death of his love, Vesper Lynd, in “Casino Royale.” In both films, the producers did away with the campy one-liners featured in earlier Bond movies, along with the focus on gadgets designed to aid Bond on his missions.

Judi Dench returns in “Quantum” as British intelligence chief “M.” Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko co-star.

The film was expected to have opening weekend sales of $65 million, the estimate of HSX.com, a Web site that forecasts movie performance. Steve Mason, a box-office analyst for FantasyMoguls.com, predicted $60 million and Gitesh Pandya, editor of Box Office Guru LLC, forecast about $57 million.

Second place’s “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. and Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, has taken in $118 million since its debut.

‘Role Models’

The animated feature follows the antics of zoo animals, played by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer. In the first installment, they escaped from the zoo and ended up being sent to the island of Madagascar, where they came to terms with their new home. In the second film, they flee to the African continent in an attempt to return to New York.

“Role Models,” from General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures, was third with $11.7 million. Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd play energy-drink salesmen who are sentenced to community service for trashing a company truck and must mentor a Medieval Times-obsessed teen and a foul-mouthed 10-year-old.

Walt Disney Co.’s “High School Musical 3,” dropped from third to fourth with $5.88 million in its fourth week of release. It’s the first feature film in a franchise that has generated more than $200 million in operating profit for Disney. The movie, made for $33 million, has taken in $84.4 million since it was released.

Director Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” fell to fifth place from fourth with $4.25 million. The film, set in 1920s Los Angeles, stars Angelina Jolie as the mother of a child who is kidnapped. Her joy over the child’s return turns to horror as she realizes the boy isn’t her son. Amy Ryan and John Malkovich co-star.

Rounding out the top 10 in sixth through 10th place, respectively, were: Weinstein Co.’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, with $3.2 million; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Weinstein Co.’s Dimension Films’ “Soul Men” with $2.43 million; News Corp.’s “The Secret Life of Bees” with $2.4 million; Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.’s “Saw V,” with $1.79 million; and Fox Searchlight’s “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” with $1.65 million.

Receipts for the top 12 movies rose 54 percent to $143 million from a year earlier, Encino, California-based Media By Numbers said. For the year, box-office sales totaled $8.2 billion. Year-to-date attendance is down 3.5 percent.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Media By Numbers. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales from Nov. 21, yesterday and estimates for today.

Movie                 Rev.  Theaters  Wks   Avg./    Pct. Total
(mln)                 Theater   Chg. (mln)

1. Quantum Solace    $70.4   3,451   1  $20,400    --   $70.4
2. Madagascar 2       36.1   4,065   2    8,888    -43   118
3. Role Models        11.7   2,798   2    4,185    -39   38.1
4. High School 3      5.88   3,202   4    1,836    -36   84.4
5. Changeling         4.25   1,896   4    2,240    -41   27.6
6. Zack and Miri      3.2    2,210   3    1,448    -49   26.5
7. Soul Men           2.43   2,048   2    1,186    -55    9.4
8. Life of Bees       2.4    1,149   5    1,656    -22   33.6
9. Saw V              1.79   2,002   4      894    -56   55.4
10. Molly Hartley      1.65   1,587   3    1,039    -50   12.7