Merry Box Office for Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson

Marley & Me tops Christmas Day openers with record $14.5 mil; Tom Cruise's Valkyrie bows in fourth

Memo to Tom Cruise: Next time get a cute, cuddly Lab.

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston's dogsploitation flick, Marley & Me, bowed yesterday with an estimated $14.5 million, a new record for a Christmas Day opener, Exhibitor Relations said today.

Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button scored $11.8 million in its debut, while Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories bowed with $10.5 million.

Cruise's Valkyrie seemed to be the odd film out among the A-list Christmas openers. The Nazi thriller ran fourth with $8.5 million. Its per-screen average, however, was higher than that of Bedtime Stories, which played at nearly 1,000 more theaters.

As for The Spirit? The comic book movie was way back in seventh place, with $4 million.