Warner Bros.’ Happy Feet faces some tough competition this weekend as it tries to hold onto the top spot at the North American box office for a third week. The leading contender is New Line Cinema’s biblical drama The Nativity Story, which should benefit from grassroots Christian support a la Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Also opening wide today are National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj from MGM and the teen slasher flick Turistas from Fox Atomic.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen), The Nativity Story stars Whale Rider‘s Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary, who travels to Bethlahem with Joseph to give birth to Jesus Christ. The film features visual effects by Digital Domain and Hammerhead under vfx supervisors Theresa Ellis and Scott Harper. On the whole, reviews for the film have not been kind and the film lacks the controversy factor that contributed to Gibson’s account of Christ’s death, but expect it to do steady business throughout the holiday frame.
The Nativity Story opens in 3,183 theaters across North America, but Happy Feet still boasts the highest theatre count with 3,804. Sony/Columbia’s James Bond thrill ride Casino Royale should retain its license to kill as it holds tight in 3,386 venues in its third week, while recent entries Deck the Halls from 20th Century Fox and D’j’ vu from Buena Vista are likely to begin sliding down the chart after lacklustre openings last weekend.
Turistas is the weekend’s dark horse that just may run an impressive race despite being released in just over 1,500 theaters. Horror has been a lucrative business lately and this one should attract the same crowd that made a hit of Lions Gate’s Hostel, which was released in January and grossed more than $80 million worldwide. This weekend also sees sneak preview screenings of Sony/Columbia’s romantic comedy The Holiday and Warner Bros.’ socially conscious thriller Blood Diamond in select theaters.
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