Will Smith and his cute kid, Jaden, proved more bankable than a fire-breathing blue dragon or a certain web-spinning spider.

The Smith family's sentimental drama The Pursuit of Happyness ran up $26.5 million to top the weekend box office over the fantasy-adventure Eragon ($23.2 million in second) and the new take on Charlotte's Web ($11.5 million, third place), as more mallgoers seemed interested in last-minute Christmas shopping than movie-watching.

Overall ticket sales were up nearly 30 percent from last week, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, but still down more than 8 percent from this time last year, when King Kong towered over the competition with a $50.1 million opening.

Inspired by a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness (yes, they spell it that way) costars Thandie Newton as the wife and mom who leaves Smith and son to escape poverty and homelessness and pursue their dream of a better life on their own. Booked into 2,852 sites, Sony/Columbia's PG-13 release averaged $9,306, reportedly attracting a mainly female and older audience.

"Whether he's doing action, adventure or comedy, audiences love him," studio distribution boss Roy Bruer told Reuters about Smith's star power. 

Sony also touted its 13th number one opening of the year and the company's record-setting $1.6 billion domestic gross for 2006. It is the third time in five years that the studio has been the number one studio domestically. (The studio has surpassed the $3 billion mark in worldwide grosses.)

Eragon, based on the first of Christopher Paolini's popular books, stars newcomer Ed Speleers as the boy who chums up with the CGI dragon (voiced by Rachel Weisz). The PG Fox release debuted at 3,020 sites, where it averaged $7,695, attracting young fantasy fans. A Fox spokesman called it "a promising start."

Charlotte's Web is a new adaptation of E. B White's classic children's story about Wilbur the pig and his clever spider pal, Charlotte A. Cavitica. Combining live action and CGI, the friendship features celeb voices for the farm animals (led by Julia Roberts as Charlotte) and a flesh-and-blood Dakota Fanning as Fern. At 3,566 locations, the G-rated Paramount release could only average a disappointing $3,212, although the studio claimed it met expectations.

But Paramount could take comfort from the $126,316 per screen for the studio's ballyhooed Dreamgirls. Opened at just three sites in time to make it Oscar-eligible, the adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about the trials and tribulations of a Detroit girl group, stars Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. The film tallied an excellent $378,950, but that total was helped by the $25 cost of tickets for certain screenings.

Also opening in time for Oscar qualification was Warner Bros.' The Good German, adapted from Joseph Kanon's novel and featuring noirish direction by Steven Soderbergh. The drama about star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Europe stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire. At five locations, it averaged $15,363 for $76,817.

With three newcomers dominating ticket sales, last week's leaders battled for the crumbs.

Mel Gibson's Apocalyto bled 47 percent, tumbling, like those sacrificed severed heads down the Mayan pyramids, from the top slot to sixth place. The Disney release averaged $3,248 at 2,465 theaters for $8 million, bringing its two-week gross to $28.2 million.

Down 35 percent to fourth place in its fifth week, Happy Feet averaged $2,506 at 3,335 sites for $8.5 million. The hit the penguin 'toon has now grossed $149.2 million.

The Holiday wilted 37 percent in its second week, down from third place to fifth. The Yule-themed Sony release, which teams Kate Winslet with Jack Black and Jude Law with Cameron Diaz, averaged $3,066 at 2,614 locations for $8 million, pushing its total to $25.1 million.

Blood Diamond was a bit shinier than that. Fresh off its Golden Globe nominations, the Leonardo DiCaprio-powered message-heavy adventure dropped just 25 percent, down from fifth to seventh place.  It averaged $3,412 at 1,910 theaters for $6.5 million to bring its gross to $18.6 million.

The tween farce Unaccompanied Minors fell 39 percent, just clinging to the last slot in the top 10, after opening down in seventh place last weekend. The no-name comedy averaged $1,277 at 2,775 sites for $3.5 million, taking its 10-day tally to $10 million.

Here's a rundown of the top-grossing films from Friday to Sunday, based on final studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Pursuit of Happyness, $26.5 million
2. Eragon, $23.2 million
3. Charlotte's Web, $11.5 million
4. Happy Feet, $8.4 million
5. The Holiday, $8.01 million
6. Apocalypto, $8 million
7. Blood Diamond, $6.5 million
8. Casino Royale, $5.6 million
9. The Nativity Story, $4.7 million
10. Unaccompanied Minors, $3.5 million

(Originally published 17 Dec 2006 03:15:15 PM PST.)