Director Peter Jackson’s epic King Kong claimed the throne for the second week in a row with $31.4 million at the North American box office this four-day Christmas weekend.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe held strong in second place with $30.3 million.
“It’s a battle of the holiday blockbusters. It was very close for the No. 1 position,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. told The Associated Press.
This Christmas weekend was jam-packed with new releases as well. Jim Carrey’s newest romp Fun with Dick and Jane opened in third place with $23.5 million, while Steve Martin’s Cheaper by the Dozen 2 debuted in fourth with $14.7 million.
Johnny Knoxville’s comedy The Ringer premiered in seventh place with $8.4 million, followed by Jennifer Aniston’s Rumor Has It with $7.4 million and the horror flick Wolf Creek with $5.9 million.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $101.7 million, down 14.17 percent from last year’s draw of $118.5 million and down 16.89 percent from last weekend’s total of $122.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Universal’s PG-13 Meet the Fockers, which opened at No. 1 with $46.1 million in 3,518 theaters, averaging $13,110 per theater; Paramount Pictures’ PG-rated Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which dropped to second place in its second week with $12.6 million in 3,623 theaters, averaging $3,481 per theater; and 20th Century Fox’s PG Fat Albert, which opened in third place with $10 million in 2,674 theaters, averaging $3,748 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Four-Day Totals)
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: King Kong (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $31.4 million (-58%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,576 (+8)
• Per-theater average: $8,781
• Cume to date: $118.7 million
No. 2: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ( Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $30.1 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,853 (+173)
• Per-theater average: $7,813
• Cume to date: $163.5 million
No. 3: Fun with Dick and Jane (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $23.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,056
• Per-theater average: $7,690
• Cume to date: $31 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 4: Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (20th Cent Fox, PG)
• Gross: $14.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,175
• Per-theater average: $4,654
• Cume to date: $20 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 5: The Family Stone (20th Cent Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.8 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,469
• Per-theater average: $4,394
No. 6: Memoirs of a Geisha (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.2 million (+422%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,547 (+1,495)
• Per-theater average: $6,593
• Cume to date: $13.2 million
No. 7: The Ringer (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,829
• Per-theater average: $4,593
No. 8: Rumor Has It (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $7.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,815
• Per-theater average: $2,654
No. 9: Wolf Creek (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $5.9 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,749
• Per-theater average: $3,396
No. 10: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $5.7 million (-34%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,521 (-664)
• Per-theater average: $2,269
• Cume to date: $262.4 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Casanova (Buena Vista, R)
• Gross: $234,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 37
• Per-theater average: $6,324
The New World (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $60,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3
• Per-theater average: $20,000
