DISNEY - BOX OFFICE STARTS NEW YEAR IN FINE SHAPE

BOX OFFICE STARTS NEW YEAR IN FINE SHAPE

The four films that topped the Christmas holiday weekend, repeated over the New Year's weekend, final figures released by Media by Numbers revealed on Monday. Each of the films showed a relatively small decline in ticket sales from the earlier weekend, with 20th Century Fox's Marley & Me landing in first place with $24.3 million, a drop of 33 percent from the previous week. Bedtime Stories from Disney placed second with $20.5 million, a drop of just 25 percent. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , which few had predicted would wind up as a box-office hit, placed third with $18.7 million, a drop of 30 percent. And Valkyrie, which gossip columnists had frequently attacked prior to its opening, took in a solid $14.1 million, a drop of 33 percent. Overall, the top-12 films at the box office grossed $131.15 million, versus $121.2 million for the top 12 during the same weekend a year ago -- an increase of 8.21 percent.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date) 1. Marley & Me , 20th Century Fox, $24,263,763, 2 Wks. ($106,664,046); 2. Bedtime Stories, Disney, $20,501,339, 2 Wks. ($85,539,168); 3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , Paramount, $18,691,248, 2 Wks. ($79,297,086); 4. Valkyrie , MGM, $14,094,617, 2 Wks. ($60,743,921); 5. Yes Man, Warner Bros., $13,910,477, 3 Wks. ($79,507,388); 6. Seven Pounds , Sony, $10,068,518, 3 Wks. ($6,0147298); 7 . The Tale of Despereaux, Universal, $6939295, 3 Wks. ($4,3661775); 8 . The Day The Earth Stood Still, 20th Century Fox, $5,049,698, 4 Wks. ($74,424,256); 9. Doubt , Miramax, $5,000,893, 4 Wks. ($18,705,481); 10. Slumdog Millionaire , Fox Searchlight, $4,690,769, 8 Wks. ($28,676,598).

06/01/2009