Box office: New Year’s weekend belongs to ‘Fockers’

– He may be able to shoot flying cornbread while under the influence, but the Dude in “True Grit” couldn’t quite take down Ben Stiller and his “Little Fockers” this New Year’s weekend. “Fockers” dropped 15% but still won the frame with $26.3 million, according to studio estimates. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The commercially underwhelming comedy “Little Fockers” narrowly held its lead at the North American box office during the holiday weekend, as Hollywood’s prolonged slump spilled over into the new year. Back then, a movie cost $4.42 a ticket. Ben said: “I think it is about the father-in-law and son-in-law relationship and the idea of how you deal with that guy who is sort of giving his daughter over to you. Despite bad reviews and less-than-kind word-of-mouth from ticket buyers, Fockers laughed up an estimated $26.3 million from 3,554 screens to bring its 12-day total to $103.1 million.

But none had anywhere near the impact of 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and of course Avatar , each of which eventually accumulated more than $200 million in their domestic release. “Little Fockers,” the third entry in the dueling in-laws franchise starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, has earned $103.2 million after 12 days. In third place, Disney’s “TRON: Legacy” slipped 4% for $18.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $130.9 million. (For those who are curious, the original “TRON” grossed $33 million in 1982, or $89.2 million when adjusted for inflation). But I did ask him if it was cool if I asked his daughter to marry me.

Its predecessor, “Meet the Fockers,” released exactly six years earlier, had pulled in almost $163 million after the same period. And there’s little sign yet of recovery. And I think that dynamic is something that people around the world can identify with – you want to impress that person and from the other side, it’s about the feelings a father has when he is letting go of a daughter.” Stiller appears opposite acting legend De Niro, who plays intimidating father-in-law Jack Byrnes for a third time in Little Fockers. The Jeff Bridges Western remake “True Grit,” one of the few hits of the holiday season, has earned $86.8 million after 12 days. True Grit did beat the Fockers on New Year’s Eve, which may say less about the film’s appeal than about the social status of Coen brothers’ fans; only the lonely would think that seeing a movie about three strangers on a manhunt was a cheerful way to ring in the new. Paramount had a happy new year with the number two film in the country, the Coen Brothers update of True Grit. But Grit has to be considered a success: made for a thrifty $38 million, it has amassed $86.8 million in less than two weeks to become the Coens’ highest-grossing film to date, topping No Country for Old Men ‘s $74.2 million. (See TIME’s top 10 movies of 2010.) TRON: Legacy , sequel to the pioneer video-game fantasy, earned $18.3 million and has now passed the $130 million domestic mark. Internationally, “Little Fockers” earned $22.5 million, taking its total to $72 million.

It ranked No. 3 overseas behind the domestic dud “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Tron: Legacy,” which each earned about $24 million over the weekend. Check back next weekend as “Season of the Witch,” the medieval-set thriller starring Nicolas Cage, finally reaches theaters. (It was originally scheduled to be released last March).

The music drama “Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, will also expand nationwide.

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