For the second weekend in a row, moviegoers in the holiday spirit pushed "Four Christmases" to the top of the box-office chart.
The romantic comedy, starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, racked up $18.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Although it received largely unfavorable reviews, the Warner Bros. film has been a hit with audiences, with a two-week total of $70.8 million.
It was a solid weekend overall at the box office, despite the faltering economy, weak consumer spending and the lack of a major newcomer movie.
For all releases, the three-day sum is expected to total $87 million, a 6.1% increase compared with the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media by Numbers. And box-office revenue was up over 2007 for the fifth weekend in a row.
"In this holiday marketplace, there's really a movie for every type of cinematic diet," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers. "It's the best of all possible worlds for the moviegoer."
Year-to-date revenue, at $8.7 billion, is up 0.5% compared with last year, although attendance is down 4%. Theaters have been able to keep box-office revenue up by raising ticket prices.
After coming in third during last weekend's Friday-Sunday period, "Twilight" surged to the No. 2 spot with $13.2 million in ticket sales. The vampire romance has pulled in $138.6 million during its three-week run.
"The teen girls are proving that they're a very powerful force at the box office," Dergarabedian said.
Richie Fay, president of domestic distribution for "Twilight" distributor Summit Entertainment, attributed the film's robust ticket sales to the throngs of young viewers who have attended repeat viewings with their friends.
"It's really a Romeo and Juliet story," Fay said, "but Romeo happens to be a 17-year-old vampire."
"Bolt," Disney's animated dog story featuring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, came in at No. 3 with $9.7 million in its third week.
"Australia," starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, moved up one spot to No. 4 with $7 million in sales.
The 20th Century Fox film has gotten off to a slow start, but Chris Aronson, senior vice president of distribution at Fox, said he expected "Australia" to gain momentum as word of mouth about the movie spread.
"I think this movie really hearkens back to what movies used to be, and I think there's a big audience for that," Aronson said. "It's not fast food, it's not 90 minutes in-and-out."
