A Very Kongy Christmas

Beauty killed the beast; Narnia, not so much.

Despite a spirited challenge from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong kept its hairy mitts atop the box office, grabbing $33.3 million over the four-day Christmas holiday weekend.

That was just enough to lord over Narnia, which drew $31.7 million, according to figures provided by Exhibitor Relations.

Because Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday--the first time since 1994--neither Universal (Kong) nor Disney (Narnia) number crunchers were absolutely sure which film would wind up on top until the final tallies came out Tuesday afternoon.

In any case, both companies were full of good cheer.

"The greatest part of having to make this call is that we have a big hit in the marketplace. It makes life so much easier," said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Pictures, happy to be in his office on the phone on Monday to report the continued success of Narnia, which is expected to cross the $200 million mark before New Year's Day. So, whether the family-friendly fantasy film was first or second didn't matter; either way, he said, "it's fantastic."

Vice chairman of Universal Pictures Marc Shmuger was equally upbeat, pleased that Peter Jackson's remake of the 1933 classic is clearly picking up momentum after an opening that some analysts had deemed disappointing.

The two top movies swapped spots all week, but Kong jumped ahead for good on Christmas Day and Shmuger feels really "bullish" about the coming week--with schools and many offices closed through New Year's. The cinematic simian has earned $120.6 million domestically in 12 days and another $150 million-plus internationally.

King Kong averaged $9,305 at 3,576 sites, and Narnia, $8,225 at 3,853 theaters.

In a crowded marketplace, new movies couldn't dislodge the established biggies, but two comedies did a decent job of filling seats.

In third place, the Jim Carrey-Téa Leoni remake of the 1977 comedy Fun with Dick and Jane racked up $21.5 million over the extended weekend. The PG-13 Sony release bounced into 3,056 sites on Wednesday and averaged $7,045 per theater.

In fourth place, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 grossed $15.3 million from Friday through Monday. The PG Fox release, starring Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt and a slew of youngsters, including Hilary Duff, squeezed into 3,175 sites on Wednesday and averaged $4,832.

Fox's more sophisticated The Family Stone had some legs, with $10 million in fifth place, a drop of 48 percent from its opening week.

The studio's indie arm, Fox Searchlight, also had a movie in the top 10. The Ringer, the PG-13 Special Olympics comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, earned $7.7 million in seventh place over the four days, averaging $4,211 at 1,829 locations.

Beset by bad reviews, Rumor Has It..., Warner Bros.' our-family-inspired-the-Graduate romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Marc Ruffalo and Shirley MacLaine, opened on Christmas Day and finished in eighth place with $7.5 million. The PG-13 release averaged just $2,670 at 2,815 locations.

Checking in at number 12 was another Christmas-Day entry, the Weinstein Company's slasher movie Wolf Creek, which finished with $4.9 million through Monday, averaging $2,689 at 1,749 sites.

As the year winds down and the Oscar derby heats up, several wannabe award contenders also debuted in limited release.

The most controversial was no doubt Steven Spielberg's Munich, which has generated headed commentary as well as mixed reviews. Universal opened the R-rated drama at just 532 sites on Friday, where it earned $6 million over the long weekend and managed to make the Top 10 in the final slot. "A terrific start," said Universal's Shmuger, who structured the release pattern to "get the word of mouth going about the picture." The film, which had a per-screen average of $11,355, will expand wider Jan. 6.

Disney opened Heath Ledger's Casanova at 37 locations on Christmas, where it wooed $231,077 from a $6,245 per-screen average. The role is far different from his Oscar-buzzing gay cowpoke turn in Brokeback Mountain, which averaged more than twice as much--$13,599--at 217 theaters for a four-day haul of $3 million. Now in its third week, the R-rated Focus release has grossed $7.9 million and is slated for further expansion.

The top-grossing entry in limited release was The New World, Terrence Malick's Pocahontas drama. At just three sites, the PG-13 New Line film opened on Christmas and averaged $20,000 for $60,000.

Other newcomers included the Daniel Auteuil-Juliette Binoche French mystery Caché, which opened Friday and earned $81,211 at just five sites over the holiday, and the Merchant-Ivory romance The White Countess, starring Natasha Richardson and Ralph Fiennes, which opened Wednesday and earned $67,712 at 10 sites.

Overall, the top 12 films grossed $159.4 million from Friday through Monday; between Friday and Sunday, ticket sales accounted for $100.6 million, a drop of 15 percent from this time last year and 18 percent from last week.

"It was a solid weekend. It just wasn't any kind of record breaker," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "But still, there's a real mix of films, a lot of options for moviegoers--newcomers and holdovers alike and some critically acclaimed films that are getting noticed. So it was definitely a good weekend to be a moviegoer."

Here's a look at the highest grossing films over the four-day holiday (three-day totals in parentheses):

1. King Kong, $33.3 million ($21.3 million)
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, $31.7 million ($19.8 million)
3. Fun with Dick and Jane, $21.5 million ($14.4 million)
4. Cheaper by the Dozen 2, $15.3 million ($9.3 million)
5. Memoirs of a Geisha, $10.2 million ($6.8 million)
5. The Family Stone, $10 million ($6.6 million)
7. The Ringer, $7.7 million ($5.2 million)
8. Rumor Has It, $7.5 million ($3.5 million)
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, $6.5 million ($3.9 million)
10. Munich, $6 million ($4.2 million)

(Originally published Dec. 26 at 6:55 p.m. PT.)