BOX OFFICE BEAT DOWN: Little Fockers Wins Christmas Weekend with $34 Million (old news)

That was a somewhat disappointing opening weekend total when you consider that the film cost around $170 million to make. Debuting at number one this week is the third chapter of the popular Meet the Parents series, Little Fockers . The comedy “Little Fockers” led the Christmas weekend box office in the U.S. and Canada, taking in $34 million in ticket sales for Universal Pictures. “True Grit,” the Western drama from directors and brothers Joel and Ethan Coen , opened in second place with $25.6 million for Paramount Pictures, researcher Hollywood.com Box- Office said in an e-mailed statement. LOS ANGELES Considering that Christmas Eve – traditionally one of the slowest days for moviegoing all year – fell on a Friday, it would have taken a holiday miracle to keep box-office receipts from tumbling from what they were a year ago. The movie made $34 million in its opening weekend, bringing its total gross to around $48 million, which is actually almost half of its $100 million production costs. “Little Fockers” was not that holiday miracle. With Christmas Eve falling on a Friday, no must-see event picture a la Avatar playing at the multiplexes and an overall so-so selection of films to choose from, the box office top ten was off a steep 45% from last year at this time. The movie made $25.6 million in its opening weekend, bringing its total gross to around $36.8 million, which almost earns back its entire $38 million production budget. Intended blockbusters are falling flat.” “Avatar” was the top movie at this time last year, with Christmas weekend sales of $75.6 million before going on to become the top-grossing film of all time. “Little Fockers” is the third film in the series about two incompatible families linked by marriage. Falling two places from last week to number three is the sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 film, Tron , Tron: Legacy . That’s nearly double the studio’s original estimate and marks the biggest opening ever for a Coen Bros. film, trampling “Burn After Reading’s” $19.1 million. It is also the biggest first weekend for a Western since 1999’s “Wild Wild West.” It’s undoubtedly a more respectable entry in the genre than that Wild Wild Mess, nabbing a B+ CinemaScore grade from audiences and, surprising considering the type of film it is, an A- from those younger than 25. Meanwhile, Yogi Bear has already been bumped out of the top five, and, as expected , Gulliver’s Travels 3D placed a disappointing seventh, earning only $7 million since its Christmas day opening.

And for the first time in 2010, year-to-date box office receipts dropped below that of 2009, despite substantial price increases mainly due to 3-D. The digitized sequel will have to keep going strong if it hopes to get in the black considering its sizable budget. Day-to-day trends in ticket sales, including a big dip on Christmas Eve and a huge jump on Christmas Day, were similar, however.

So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week! Share While Jeff Bridges’ two movies, {True Grit} and {Tron: Legacy}, take second and third place.

Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList