" The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is a new champion at North American Box Office with an unimpressive opening cume. This third installment of fantasy film franchise rakes in an estimated $24.5 million, which is far below some analysts' expectations, despite the pricey 3-D tickets.
The not so strong debut of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" continues the industry's largely-futile search for a lucrative fantasy franchise not based on "Harry Potter" or "Lord of the Rings". The haul also marks the lowest opening for the franchise after "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" opened to $65.6 million in 2005 and "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" bowed to $55 million in 2008.
Still, Fox senior vp distribution Chris Aronson sees this positively, saying as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter "On the domestic side, our best days are still ahead of us with the school holidays and Christmas yet to come." He adds that exit surveys showed patrons enjoyed "Voyage of the Dawn Treader". As for the prospect of another "Narnia" installment, he says, "It's too early to say."
Another slow start is shown by "The Tourist" that actually gets a boost from Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie's collaboration as lead stars. The action thriller debuts on number two at domestic box office with an approximately $17 million. Sony distribution boss Rory Bruer believes the movie will perform well, stating "The pictures is going to work out fine, because this is a world play."
"Tangled" drops two spots from the peak to number three with an additional $14.6 million on its third weekend. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" follows on number four with an estimated $8.5 million, bringing the domestic gross to a total of $257.7 million so far. "Unstoppable" rounds up the top five with an estimated $3.8 million.
Top Ten Movies at Box Office for December 3-5:
- "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - $24.5 million
- "The Tourist" - $17 million
- "Tangled" - $14.6 million
- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" - $8.5 million
- "Unstoppable" - $3.8 million
- "Black Swan" - $3.3 million
- "Burlesque" - $3.2 million
- "Love and Other Drugs" - $3 million
- "Due Date" - $2.5 million
- "Megamind" - $2.5 million
