The $ 180-million fantasy epic movie, “The Golden Compass,” based on the first volume of the award-winning trilogy "His Dark Materials" by militant atheist Philip Pullman raked in disappointing box office revenues over its first weekend.

The controversial picture topped the weekend box office with an estimated $26.1 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, New Line Cinema announced. They were expecting a North American opening somewhere in the range of $30 million to $40 million.

"We were hoping for a little better domestically, but the international numbers were solid," said Rolf Mittweg, New Line's president and chief operating officer of worldwide distribution and marketing. Indeed, "Golden Compass" snatched an additional $55 million from overseas markets.

The plot of the movie “The Golden Compass” spins around Lyra, a 12-year-old girl, who travels to the Arctic, to the edge of another world, where she is trapped in a battle between good and evil. The movie stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.

The New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights boycotted the film in October saying that it sells atheism to kids at Christmas time in fashion.

"The three novels are extremely anti-faith in general, anti- Christian and anti-Catholic in particular, and pro-atheism," said Kiera McCaffrey, director of communications for the Catholic League. "In each successive book, the anti-God agenda gets progressively stronger."

Though is visually stunning with all the effects and big action scenes, the movie fails to become another Lord of the Rings, as New Line Cinema obviously hoped. The 118 minutes of the movie are not enough to explain all the plot lines and their implications.

The movie received mixed reviews from critics. For example, based on 29 reviews, Metacritic.com has give The Golden Compass 53 out of 100 score. RottenTomatoes.com, another movie reviews aggregator, lists an average rating of 5.6 out of 10.

Although an outspoken atheist, Philip Pullman has, quite interestingly, found support from some Christians. Some have even pointed out that "Pullman offers an unwitting tribute to the God he intended to discredit." Dr. Rowan Williams, DD, PC, FBA, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has also said that Pullman's negative portrayal of the "Church" in His Dark Materials amounts to an attack on dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity as a whole.

North American estimates, according to Media By Numbers LLC, as follows:

1. "The Golden Compass," $26.1 million
2. "Enchanted," $10.7 million
3. "This Christmas," $5 million
4. "Fred Claus," $4.7 million
5. "Beowulf," $4.4 million
6. "No Country for Old Men," $4.2 million
7. "August Rush," $3.5 million
8. "Hitman," $3.48 million
9. "Awake," $3.3 million
10. "Bee Movie," $2.6 million