Whether it was manufactured or real, the controversy surrounding The Golden Compass didn't do much to make it a big winner at the box office, as it was only able to draw a fair $26.1 million in its opening frame. This has to be a disappointment for New Line Cinema. With their $180 million budget for the movie, they aren't going to come close to making that back in the domestic market.
Regardless of the controversy, families want their movies to be kid-friendly, and the trailers for these didn't have that feel. Even though marketed as family-friendly, it really isn't; the reason for it poor opening.
When looking at the holiday season counting on Compass to pick up the market, and next weeks' I Am Legend with Will Smith probably not going to be a big hit, it's looking bad for the horrendous end to the box office year. November was a disaster, and now that Compass won't be producing what was hoped, the industry wasn't able to build on its summer success.
On the other hand, Disney and their Buena Visto studio do know how to create projects for families, and it shows in their Enchanted, which hung on pretty strong in its third time around, to earn a solid $10.7 million. That brings its overall domestic total to $83.9 million, which gives it a good chance to break the $100 million mark. It dropped only 35 percent from last weekend.
This Christmas continues to be a big winer for Sony Screen Gems, as it dropped only 37 percent, to rake in another $5 million, to bring its total to $42.8 million. This is great news because it only cost the studio $13 million to make.
We've talked here before on how the best way for Hollywood to make money is to bring out a number of these types of movies with fairly low budgets, and decent, but not blockbuster numbers. Very few films make blockbuster status, as The Golden Compass will show us.
The top ten for the weekend:
| 1 | The Golden Compass | $26,125,000 |
| 2 | Enchanted | $10,706,000 |
| 3 | This Christmas | $5,000,000 |
| 4 | Fred Claus | $4,660,000 |
| 5 | Beowulf | $4,400,000 |
| 6 | No Country for Old Men | $4,233,000 |
| 7 | August Rush | $3,525,000 |
| 8 | Hitman | $3,475,000 |
| 9 | Awake | $3,301,000 |
| 10 | Bee Movie | $2,612,000 |
Other Box Office Sites:
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