It may have been a bleak Christmas for U.S. retailers but Hollywood enjoyed a bumper holiday as new films, led by the dog tale Marley & Me and awards contender The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, drew throngs of moviegoers to theaters across North America.
Marley & Me sold an estimated $37 million worth of tickets during the traditional three-day weekend beginning on Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star in the adaptation of a bestseller about a couple and their golden retriever.
The movie about “life, love and family” — according to Fox senior vice president of domestic distribution Bert Livingston — played strongly with audiences of all ages seeking feel-good entertainment.
As with the four other new releases, Marley & Me opened on Thursday, and earned $14.7 million — a new Christmas Day record.
The old tally, set in 2001 when Ali opened to $10.2 million, was also broken by the new Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories and by Benjamin Button, starring Aniston’s ex- husband Brad Pitt .
Bedtime Stories was No. 2 for the weekend with $28.1 million and its Christmas Day haul of $10.5 million drove its total to $38.6 million, said Walt Disney Pictures . Sandler plays a man whose bedtime stories come true in real life.
Benjamin Button, in which Pitt plays a man who ages backward, did better on Christmas Day with a $12 million opening. Its weekend tally of $27 million took its total to $39 million, said Paramount Pictures . The adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story has racked up five nominations from the Golden Globes and eight from the Critics Choice Awards .
Tom Cruise’s World War II thriller Valkyrie, about a failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler , opened at No. 4 with $21.5 million for the weekend and $30 million for the four days — doing much better than many pundits had predicted. The United Artists movie has been plagued by bad publicity and shifting release dates.
The only dud among the rookies was Lionsgate ‘s comic book adaptation The Spirit, which opened at No. 9 with $6.5 million for the weekend and $10.4 million for the four-day period.
Last weekend’s champ, the Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man, fell to No. 5 with $16.5 million. The 10-day tally for the Warner Bros . release rose to $49.6 million.
Fox is a unit of News Corp . Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc . Walt Disney Pictures is a unit of Walt Disney Co .
United Artists is a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , which is privately held. Lionsgate is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp . Warner Bros is a unit of Time Warner Inc .
