"Narnia" Claims the Year's Final Weekend ... Barely

by | January 3, 2006 | Comments

The four-day estimates for New Year’s Weekend (12/30 to 1/2) are in, and it seems that Disney’s "The Chronicles of Narnia" has snatched the #1 spot back from "King Kong," if only by the slimmest of margins.

The "Chronicles" pulled in an estimated $32.8 million over the four-day frame, giving it a pretty impressive grand total of $224.8 million. Close in the Narinaical footsteps was the massive primate known as "King Kong," which made about $31.5 million in the same time-frame, giving Peter Jackson‘s epic adventure tale a total of $174.3 million to date.

Third, fourth, and fifth place went to a trio of late-season comedies: Jim Carrey‘s "Fun with Dick and Jane" made about $21 miliion ($64.5m total), Steve Martin‘s "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" did $19.3 million ($55.1m total), and Jennifer Aniston‘s "Rumor Has It…" settled for $11.6 million ($26.7m total).

The first weekend of 2006 sees the release of some wildly varying little flicks. Uwe Boll‘s "BloodRayne," Eli Roth‘s "Hostel," and the stoner comedy "Grandma’s Boy" will battle for a piece of the early-January box office pie.

As always, you can check out some more numbers at the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page. (And Happy New Year to all!)