MUMBAI: Hollywood could be in for a wild ride at the domestic box office with Madagascar 3 likely to beat Prometheus for the top place in the US box office. Elsewhere, MIB 3 is set to surpass its predecessor at the worldwide box office.

Most box office observers believe Madagascar 3 will come in ahead of 20th Century Fox‘s Prometheus, although opinion is divided as to how close the race will be.

A wide range of opening numbers are being offered up for both Ridley Scott‘s highly anticipated sci-fi epic Prometheus and animated event pic Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted.
DreamWorks Animation and Paramount have been predicting a $45 million to $50 million launch for Madgascar 3, but others believe it could play in the $55 million range or higher because of the popularity of the successful franchise.

Madgascar 2: Escape to Africa debuted to $63.1 million in early November 2008, while the first Madagascar scored $61 million over the long Memorial Day weekend in 2005.