But while "Madea's Family Reunion" rocked the box office, frame's other two openers were stillborn. Weinstein Co. toon "Doogal" grossed just $3.6 million, while New Line's "Running Scared" took only $3.1 million.

"Madea" averaged a very strong $31,788 per play at 2,194 theaters. That's about the same as Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" averaged last year, despite a 50% jump in the new pic's theater count.

52% of moviegoers were from theater star Perry's core aud of African-American women 35 and over. That's down a bit from 58% for "Diary," indicating a modest broadening of the director-star's appeal.

The next two spots on the chart were taken by two family pics that experienced very modest. Disney canine adventure "Eight Below" fell only 22% in its second frame, grossing $15.7 million at 3,072 locations. Per play average was $5,118 and cume is $45 million.

"The Pink Panther" continues to hold well for Sony, dropping 32% on its third weekend to $11.3 million. Steve Martin starrer averaged $3,411 at 3,313 playdates and cume is now $61 million.

"Doogal" came in no. 8, as it averaged $1,557 at 2,318 locations. It's one of the few major missteps in the red hot CG animation biz, though TWC had modest expectations for the pic, which targeted young auds.

New Line's mob thriller "Running Scared" was just behind in ninth place, taking $1,909 per play in 1,611 theaters. It's the second Paul Walker starrer in release along with "Eight Below," albeit to very different results.

Both studios bought only domestic distribution rights to the pics.

As is typical for pics aimed at young auds, "Date Movie" fell 52% in its second frame, coming in no. 4 with $9.3 million. Playing 2,898 locations, Regency produced and Fox distributed spoof averaged $3,183. Total take is $33.9 million.

Sony and Revolution's "Freedomland" took a 50% hit from its weak bow, grossing $2.9 million in tenth place. Drama averaged $1,228 at 2,361 playdates and has cumed $10.8 million.

In limited release, Miramax debuted South African best foreign language Oscar contender "Tsotsi" at 6 theaters in Gotham and L.A. to a healthy $78,000, or $13,000 per.

Sony Pictures Classics expanded "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" from 41 runs to 347 and got so-so results. Tommy Lee Jones-helmed western grossed $1.1 million, or $3,623 per play. Cume is nearly $2 million.

Weinstein Co. had slightly worse results for "Transamerica," which doubled its print count to 317 and grossed $826,000 or $2,606 per play. Cume for the transgender drama is $4.8 million. Studio is hoping for an Oscar win for star Felicity Huffman to fuel further expansion.

Indie added 73 runs for "Mrs. Henderson Presents," bringing the total to 504. Brit import grossed $973,000, or 1,930 per theater, bringing its cume to $7.1 million.

Paramount Classics added 10 print for "Neil Young: Heart of Gold." Concert pic averaged $4,875 at 40 theaters, grossing $195,000 for the weekend and upping its total take to $515,000.

Russian sci-fi import "Nightwatch" was off substantially from its spectacular bow, as it grossed a still decent $200,000 at 34 locations, up from $87,000 at three theaters last weekend. Cume is $328,000.