The Golden Compass, however, didn’t quite measure up to its fantasy predecessors. The three Lord of the Rings films released from 2001 to 2003 had opening weekends ranging from $47.2 million to $72.6 million. Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened with $65.6 million in 2005.
New Line, which had enormous success with its three Lord of the Rings films, had hoped for more out of The Golden Compass, expecting it to reach at least $30 million domestically over its first weekend, Rolf Mittweg, the studio's marketing chief told The Associated Press. The film cost $180 million to make.
Based on Philip Pullman's lesser-known His Dark Materials trilogy, Mittweg said he was uncertain about the effects of a backlash against The Golden Compass by some Christians, who said Pullman's books preach atheism.
"It's very hard to say. Historically, protests of these sorts tend to be ineffective on box-office results," Mittweg said.
The Top 12 movies took in a total of $73.1 million for the weekend, down 15.97 percent from last year’s total of $87 million and down 3.57 percent from last weekend’s total of $75.8 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Buena Vista’s Apocalypto, which opened at No. 1 with $15 million in 2,465 theaters, averaging $6,087 per theater; Warner Bros.’ Happy Feet, which dropped to second place in its fourth week with $12.9 million in 3,650 theaters, averaging $3,535 per theater; and Sony’s The Holiday, which opened in third place with $12.7 million in 2,610 theaters, averaging $4,896 per theater (Click here to read last year's box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Golden Compass (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $26.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,528
• Per-theater average: $7,405
No. 2: Enchanted (Disney, PG)
• Gross: $10.7 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,520 (-210)
• Per-theater average: $3,041
• Cume to date: $83.8 million
No. 3: This Christmas (Sony/Screen Gems, PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,879 (+21)
• Per-theater average: $2,661
• Cume to date: $42.7 million
No. 4: Fred Claus (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,185 (-235)
• Per-theater average: $1,463
• Cume to date: $65.5 million
No. 5: Beowulf (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,976 (-273)
• Per-theater average: $1,478
• Cume to date: $75.9 million
No. 6: No Country for Old Men (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $4.2 million (-3%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,324 (+329)
• Per-theater average: $3,197
• Cume to date: $28.8 million
No. 7: August Rush (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $3.5 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,310 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,526
• Cume to date: $25.1 million
No. 8: Hitman (20th Century Fox, R)
• Gross: $3.4 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,418 (-50)
• Per-theater average: $1,437
• Cume to date: $35.8 million
No. 9: Awake (Weinstein, R)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,023
• Per-theater average: $1,632
• Cume to date: $10.7 million
No. 10: Bee Movie (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,707 (-443)
• Per-theater average: $965
• Cume to date: $121 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Juno (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $420,113
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 7
• Per-theater average: $60,016
Atonement (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $816,883
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 32
• Per-theater average: $25,528
Revolver (Samuel Goldwyn, PG-13)
• Gross: $41,670
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 18
• Per-theater average: $2,315
The Walker (ThinkFilm, R)
• Gross: $16,577
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3
• Per-theater average: $5,526
Grace Is Gone (Weinstein Co., PG-13)
• Gross: $14,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $3,500
