Friday Report: Third 'Narnia' Flounders, 'Tourist' Doesn't Sizzle
On Friday, few journeyed back to Narnia and few sparks were set off by two hot stars' coupling. Top Ten business was a touch higher than the same Friday last year but still continued the tepidness of this holiday season.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader docked with an estimated $8.2 million on approximately 6,500 screens at 3,555 locations (3D showings at 1,989 venues accounted for nearly 55 percent of business). It was hoped that a return to December along with marketing that pushed the first movie's lion and witch and the addition of the 3D illusion would rekindle interest, but the third Narnia mustered a weaker start than fantasy also-rans like Eragon and The Golden Compass, let alone the other Narnias. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe pulled in $23 million its first day, while The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian claimed $19.4 million.

The Tourist fared relatively better than Narnia, packing an estimated $6.1 million on around 3,400 screens at 2,756 locations. That was stronger than Duplicity, a bit better than Killers and a bit less than Knight & Day's first Friday, among comparable titles, but was far less than many recent pictures from stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Should Voyage of the Dawn Treader follow a similar pattern as its predecessors, its opening weekend would come in at around $23.5 million, while The Tourist is looking at over $18 million. Both Narnia and Tourist will attempt to save face over the the usually bustling Christmas-to-New-Year's period.

In third place, Tangled maintained much of its sheen, dipping 34 percent to an estimated $3.4 million. With a $104.5 million tally in 17 days, Tangled has surpassed the final gross of Walt Disney Pictures' previous princess movie, The Princess and the Frog.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1's descent continued but was at about the same rate as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Twilight Saga: New Moon on their comparable Fridays. The penultimate Potter fell 50 percent to an estimated $2.4 million, crossing the $250 million mark and passing Despicable Me to become the sixth highest-grossing movie from 2010. Its 22-day gross ranked as the second-highest of the franchise, behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but dead last in terms of estimated attendance.

In limited release, Black Swan made waves again, grossing just under $1 million at only 90 locations and ranking eighth for the day. The ballet thriller blew past Up in the Air's expansion on the same weekend last year, and all recent limited releases have seemed to pale in comparison, including The King's Speech and The Fighter (which opened solidly with nearly $100,000 at four locations). Black Swan's tally rose to $3.3 million in eight days, and it's scheduled to reach nationwide release on Dec. 22.

Related Story

Weekend Briefing: 'Narnia Voyage,' 'Tourist' Travel Into Choppy Waters


Related Chart

Grosses for Friday, Dec. 10