In spite of the generally bitter reviews it has received,
holiday comedy “Four Christmases,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn,
managed to top the spirited Thanksgiving weekend box office and effortlessly
outshine “Twilight” and “Australia,”
according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The Warner Bros. production, which depicts a quadrupled
Christmas adventure, earned an estimated $46.7 million since its Wednesday debut and
$31.7 million during the last three days of the week ended November 2.
The film helped Hollywood
revenues register a 4 percent increase compared to the same period last year,
when “Enchanted” came in first at the North American box office with more than
$49 million, followed by “This Christmas,” with $26.3 million.
Movie industry saw its second-highest Thanksgiving weekend
box office ever, as the top 12 pictures grossed $223.7 million from Wednesday
to Sunday, behind only 2000’s Thanksgiving haul that reached $232.2 million in
ticket sales.
In addition, “Four Christmases” walked in the footsteps of
1999’s “Toy Story 2” and 2007’s “Enchanted” and became the film with the
third-biggest Thanksgiving holiday debut ever.
Although the movie faced tough competition from Baz Luhrmann’s
“Australia”
and vampire flick “Twilight,” it seems that families preferred a
straightforward holiday comedy rather than a more complex and expansive epic
drama.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers, said that
“Four Christmases’” major success was attributable to the film’s title, cast
and duration. “What movies are families going to go out and see? This is one of
them,” he said, as quoted by The Los Angeles Times.
Last week’s No. 1, Summit Entertainment’s outrageously
popular “Twilight,” slipped to the second spot with $39.5 million, while
animated doggie tale “Bolt” grossed $36 million and claimed the third position
during the five-day interval.
However, the big-screen production based on Stephenie
Meyer’s best-selling novel was slightly surpassed by the Disney film throughout
the weekend, as the latter took in $26.6 million, weighed against “Twilight’s”
$26.4 million. The two movies could switch places in the top as soon as final
figures are released.
The pic starring Robert Pattinson as a 108-year-old
blood-sucking creature took its 10-day total to $119.7 million, while “Bolt”
raised its earnings to $66.9 million.
“Quantum of Solace” was No. 4 with $28.1 million, followed
by “Australia”
with $20 million. The much talked about film starring Nicole Kidman and
People’s sexiest man alive Hugh Jackman did not disappoint 20th
Century Fox, the studio responsible with its distribution, as Chris Aronson, a
senior vice president, said that the earnings were not bad at all “for an adult
film.”
Marvelous biopic “Milk,” starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk,
the first openly gay man who was elected to public office in America, saw an
incredible start in limited release, claiming the tenth position with $1.4
million in only 36 theaters. The movie registered an impressive average of
$38,375 a cinema, compared to $9,571 in 3,310 theaters for “Four Christmases.”
