For the third consecutive week, Warner Bros.’ Happy Feet is the top draw at the North American box office. The computer-animated penguin pic took in around $17 million over the weekend to stay ahead of Sony/Columbia’s Casino Royale and a few newcomers, including New Line Cinema’s The Nativity Story.
Made for approximately $100 million, Happy Feet has earned an estimated $121 million domestically and another $13.7 million overseas as it rolls out in foreign markets. Already one of the year’s top-grossing animated entries, the film should continue to do well throughout the holiday frame and has a good chance of getting one of the five slots when Oscar nominations are announced. Today, the movie received an Annie Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, George Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris and Warren Coleman were recognized for their writing.
James Bond spent a third week at No. 2 as Casino Royale earned an estimated $15.1 million to bring its worldwide take to around $244.6 million. Buena Vista’s D’j’ vu also stayed put in third place in its second weekend in theatres. The time-travel thriller starring Denzel Washington took in an estimated $11 million, bringing its box office a bit closer to its $75 million price tag.
The Nativity Story was no Passion of the Christ. The tale of Jesus’ birth didn’t get the kind of Christian support New Line had hoped for, taking in only $8 million to debut in fourth place. It probably doesn’t help that the film’s star, 16-year-old Kiesha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) is unwed and pregnant, though not by devine design like her biblical on-screen counterpart.
Fox’s Christmas-themed comedy Deck the Halls rounds out the top five, earning $6.6 million in its second week. Meanwhile, the studio’s genre off-shoot, Fox Atomic, had an inauspicious debut with Turistas, which only grossed about $3.5 million. The teen slasher flick did, however, outperform fellow opener National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj. The college comedy bowed at No. 10 with an estimated $2.3 million.
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