LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The latest James Bond film "Quantum Of Solace" opened this weekend at the top of box office in North America with an estimated 70 million U.S. dollars over the three-day period, a record for the globally popular spy series, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.

Daniel Craig as James Bond in "Quantum of Solace." The latest James Bond film "Quantum Of Solace" opened this weekend at the top of box office in North America with an estimated 70 million U.S. dollars over the three-day period. (Photo: Shanghaidaily.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    The 22nd film about Agent 007 of British's MI5 secret service, jointly produced by Sony and MGM, had the highest-grossing opening for a James Bond movie ever in the United States and Canada, with a take that is 73 percent larger than its predecessor "Casino Royale," which opened two years ago.

    Previous record-holder for best Bond opening in North America was "Die Another Day," which opened with 47 million dollars.

    The film's performance in North America extended its dominance at the worldwide box office, as it opened overseas in advanced and had earned more than 250 million dollars in foreign markets in last two weeks.

    DreamWorks Animation's cartoon sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" had a minimal drop in attendance in its second week, slipping to No. 2 with 36.1 million dollars. The animal comedy has so far grossed 118 million dollars in North America.

Cast member David Schwimmer (C), who gives voice to Melman, poses with characters from the movie at the premiere of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" at the Mann Village theatre in Westwood, California Oct. 26, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Universal's comedy "Role Models" was in third place this week with an estimated 11.7 million dollars, followed by Disney's "High School Musical 3" and Angelina Jolie-starred "Changeling" with 5.9million and 4.2 million dollars respectively.

    Meanwhile, "Quantum of Solace" continued to dominate overseas box office this weekend, with a collective take of 56.1 million dollars in 67 markets, lifting its worldwide total to 322 million dollars.

    The film also contributed to a jump in Hollywood's domestic revenues this weekend, as top-selling 12 films took in 142.9 million dollars, 54 percent bigger than the same weekend last year.