Museum Rings Out 2006

You could say history repeated itself.

For a second weekend, the exhibits-run-riot antics of Night at the Museum proved the biggest draw at the box office, with the Ben Stiller-led flick racking up $48.2 million over the four-day holiday weekend.

Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness remained in second place in its third week with $25.5 million, while Dreamgirls climbed to third in its first full weekend of wide release with $18.4 million Friday through Monday, according to studio figures released today.

All three movies registered a sharp jump in business as ticket buyers opened their wallets in the waning days of 2006.

Fox's PG-rated Night at the Museum, starring Stiller as the guard besieged with an odd assortment of suddenly animated creatures and characters, gained 14 percent over the elongated Christmas weekend and averaged $12,800 per screen at 3,768 sites. Those numbers bring the film to instant hit status with a two-week total of $127.3 million.

The Pursuit of Happyness, Sony's inspirational PG-13 release starring Smith and son Jaden, also hit the $100 million mark over the holiday weekend, having grossed $104.5 million through Monday, according to studio tallies. The film's ticket sales were up 13 percent as it averaged $8,871 at 2,870 locations.

Paramount's Dreamgirls, the musical with Oscar aspirations, jumped a mammoth 105 percent, with the studio reporting the film was receiving "standing ovations" throughout the country.

The PG-13 adaptation of the Broadway hit about Detroit divas, starring Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson, expanded from three to 852 theaters on Christmas Day (where it earned $8.7 million, the best single-day tally ever for a musical) and easily scored the best average in the top 10: $21,578. The film, up for five Golden Globes, has now grossed $41.3 million.

Another Paramount release, Charlotte's Web, had been struggling since its release three weeks ago, but the adaptation of the classic kiddie tale showed some life, up a dramatic 56 percent to $14.9 million Friday through Monday. Family audiences filled seats for the G-rated film, starring Dakota Fanning and featuring the voice of Julia Roberts as the titular arachnid, helping the film average $3,990 at 3,745 sites. The film's tally stands at $55.8 million.

The Good Shepherd, the Robert De Niro-helmed story of the CIA's origin starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, attracted a new flock of ticket buyers, gaining 1 percent in its third weekend with $14.2 million in fifth place. The R-rated Universal release averaged $6,420 at 2,218 sites and has now grossed $38.3 million.

In contrast,Sly Stallone's palooka was pushed to the ropes in its second weekend, the only movie in the top 10 to suffer a drop-off. Down 19 percent, MGM's PG-rated Rocky Balboa averaged $4,564 at 3,019 locations for $13.8 million in sixth place and a total of $51.1 million.

The mainstay hit of the season, the animated hip-hopping penguin story Happy Feet, jumped 52 percent in its seventh week of release to go from 10th to ninth place. The PG Warners release, directed by George Miller and featuring the voice of Elijah Wood, averaged $3,902 at 2,565 sites to earn another $10 million, and has now grossed $178.4 million.

A handful of movies opened in limited release.

Pan's Labyrinth registered the highest per-screen average with $45,849 at 17 locations. Guillermo del Toro's R-rated Picturehouse release, about a young girl living in post-civil war Spain who believes in a fairytale world, earned $779,427 over the four-day period.

Paramount R-rated serial killer story Perfume: The Story of a Murderer sniffed up a $18,508 average at three locations for $55,523.

Miss Potter, Renée Zellweger's latest English-accented movie, in which she plays the creator of the famous Peter Rabbit children's books, averaged $6,477 at two screens, bringing the PG-rated MGM biopic a total of $12,953.

The Dead Girl, an R-rated First Look release that weaves five vignettes around the story of a prostitute's murder, averaged $4,641at two sites for $9,282 Friday to Monday. The film stars Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy, Mary Steenburgen and Toni Collette.

Strand Releasing's unrated The Tiger and the Snow, Roberto Benigni's latest farce set in a war zone, averaged just $1,256 at four sites for $5,025 over the four days.

Fox, besides being delighted with the fact that "everybody" was continuing to go to Night at the Museum, was also happy to report excellent business brought in by more sophisticated "art core" audiences like those who sought out the studio's Fox Searchlight division's Notes on a Scandal. The female-centric drama, starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, brought in another $559,111 (averaging $25,414 at 22 locations) Friday-Monday for an eight-day total of $757,968.

The overall box office was up 32 percent over last weekend and up 20 percent over this time last year, when The Chronicles of Narnia continued to lead the box office through the holiday season.

Here's a rundown of the Friday-Monday (and Friday-Sunday) totals based on final studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Night at the Museum, $48.2 million ($36.8 million)
2. The Pursuit of Happyness, $25.5 million ($19.4 million)
3. Dreamgirls, $18.4 million ($14.1 million)
4. Charlotte's Web, $14.9 million ($11.7 million)
5. The Good Shepherd, $14.2 million ($11 million)
6. Rocky Balboa, $13.8 million ($10.6 million)
7. Eragon, $10.2 million ($8.2 million)
8. We Are Marshall, $10.4 million ($8.1 million)
9. Happy Feet, $10 million ($7.7 million)
10. The Holiday, $8.8 million ($6.7 million)

Originally published 12/31/2006 at 7:46 p.m. PT.