I’m feeling a little under-the-weather and it’s a pretty slow news night, so how about a little movie blogging? I was going to take the family to see Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa this weekend, but I usually try to avoid opening weekends and (as mentioned before) I wasn’t quite feeling up to it. The good news is that the economy hasn’t completely tanked the film industry.

LOS ANGELES – Families herded into movie theaters for another trek with stranded zoo animals as the animated sequel “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” led the weekend with a $63.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The haul for the DreamWorks Animation comedy far surpassed the $47.2 million debut for “Madagascar” over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. Its three-day total also beat the $61 million gross the first movie took in over that full four-day holiday weekend.

“It just shows people seem happy to escape to the movies and have a good laugh,” said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.

Which is probably why anti-war films and other politically-based motion pictures tend not to perform well. If I want depression based on current events, I’ll turn on the news. Movies like Madagascar, on the other hand, allow people to escape into a world of fantasy and comedy.

Meanwhile, Ed Morrissey offers his take on Fireproof, a movie with Christian-themed message about marriage. Conclusion? It’s worth seeing. Not really my type of movie, but it sounds like it has the potential to appeal to quite a large audience.