The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe leapt off the pages of C.S. Lewis’ time-honored tome and onto the big screen over the weekend, easily claiming the top spot at the North American Box office. The effects-filled fantasy flick from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media raked in an estimated $67 million, a nice start for a film that should do brisk business well into the new year.
Directed by Shrek helmer Andrew Adamson, the film centers on four English siblings who escape war-torn London via a magical wardrobe and find themselves recruited to help a talking lion release an enchanted land from the spell of an evil witch. Narnia and its magical inhabitants were brought to life through CG animation and other digital effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm & Hues and ILM.
A wider opening paid off for Warner Bros.’ politically charged Syriana. The tale of oil and corruption starring George Clooney rose to No. 2 in its third weekend, finding itself wedged between two blockbuster vfx movies. The film made an estimated $12 million to pull ahead of fellow Warner release Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. After three weeks at the top, the fourth Potter pic slipped to No. 3 with around $10.3 million.
The Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line is still strolling in the top five having earned another $5.7 million for 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile, Paramount’s family comedy Yours, Mine and Our managed a fifth place finish, edging out the studio’s own sci-fi actioner, Aeon Flux. Based on a 1995 animated series created by Peter Chung, the Charlize Theron vehicle slid more than 60% in its sophomore run. An estimated $4.6 million did little to boost a disappointing $20 million total for a production that cost more than $60 million.
Narnia‘s reign could be a short one as Wednesday sees Universal release Peter Jackson’s King Kong. The $300 million action-adventure picture features an animated star created by the digital wizards at Weta in New Zealand. The lure of impressive visual effects and Jackson’s success with theLord of the Ring trilogy should translate to monster coin for this second remake of the 1933 RKO classic.
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