There’s a new king in town.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the C.S. Lewis’ classics, opened in the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $67 million, pushing reigning champ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire down to third place with $10.3 million.
“We’ve never needed two films like this more than we do now,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. “It’s the knockout punch that Hollywood needs.”
The intense ensemble Syriana, a look at the current oil industry, expanded its release and came in second with $12 million, while Academy Awards hopefuls Brokeback Mountain and Memoirs of a Geisha had stellar debuts in limited release. Brokeback, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as sheepherders who fall in love, took in $544,549 in just five theaters. Sony’s Memoirs of a Geisha, starring Ziyi Zhang, grossed $674,000 in eight theaters.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $117.7 million, up 16.75 percent from last year’s draw of $100.8 million and up 53.99 percent from last weekend’s total of $76.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Warner Bros. PG-13 rated Ocean’s Twelve, which opened at No. 1 with $39.1 million in 3,290 theaters, averaging $11,901 per theater; New Line’s R-rated Blade: Trinity, which opened in second place with $16 million in 2,912 theaters, averaging $5,516 per theater; and Buena Vista’s PG-rated National Treasure, which dropped to third place in its fifth week with $9.8 million in 3,203 theaters, averaging $3,070 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ( Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $67 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,616
• Per-theater average: $18,546
No. 2: Syriana ( Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $12 million (+2207%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,752 (+1743)
• Per-theater average: $6,866
• Cume to date: $13.5 million
No. 3: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $10.3 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,728 (-130)
• Per-theater average: $2,767
• Cume to date: $244.1 million
No. 4:Walk the Line (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.7 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,034 (-126)
• Per-theater average: $1,895
• Cume to date: $77 million
No. 5: Yours, Mine and Ours (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $5.1 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,210 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,604
• Cume to date: $40.9 million
No. 6: Aeon Flux ( Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-63%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,608 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,773
• Cume to date: $20.2 million
No. 7: Just Friends (New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.9 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,464 (-41)
• Per-theater average: $1,583
• Cume to date: $26.4 million
No. 8: Pride and Prejudice (Focus Features, PG)
• Gross: $2.4 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,335 (+8)
• Per-theater average: $1,866
• Cume to date: $26.3 million
No. 9: Chicken Little (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $2.2 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,326 (-695)
• Per-theater average: $970
• Cume to date: $127.2 million
No. 10: Rent (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $2 million (-55%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,971 (-466)
• Per-theater average: $1,015
• Cume to date: $26.9 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Memoirs of a Geisha (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $674,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 8
• Per-theater average: $84,250
• Gross: $544,549
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $108,910
