Seven-Day Summary: 'Tron' Dominates, 'Fockers' Dwindle

Box Office Mojo: Brandon Gray
December 24, 2010

For the week of Dec. 17-23, Tron Legacy dominated with $68.2 million, while Little Fockers took over on Wednesday and Thursday with relatively disappointing numbers. Overall business was down 16 percent from the same week last year when Avatar led.

While Tron Legacy compared favorably to its 1982 predecessor, Speed Racer, The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and other titles, it paled relative to Avatar, which raked in $137.1 million its first week. More indicative of Tron Legacy's trajectory was that it did not hold as well as Avatar through the week: Monday-Thursday accounted for 44 percent of Avatar's opening, but only 35 percent of Legacy's. Nonetheless, Legacy's estimated attendance has already surpassed the final levels of Speed Racer, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within among similar movies, and it's more than half of the first Tron.

Yogi Bear debuted in second with $28 million, which was modest for its talking-animal sub-genre and a fraction of the first Alvin and the Chipmunks' opening.

Easing 25 percent, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader held better than The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass and Eragon at the same December point. Voyage earned $22.8 million, lifting its total to $53.1 million in 14 days. While that tally trailed the previous Narnias by a vast margin, it was more than The Golden Compass and Eragon (though Voyage was still behind in attendance).

The Fighter's first week of nationwide release yielded a solid $18.1 million, while Tangled was close behind with $18.6 million (flat with last week), increasing its sum to $137.3 million in 30 days and topping the final gross of Chicken Little (though it still has a long way to go in attendance). Black Swan's nationwide expansion led to a good $15 million. The ballet thriller had its location count upped from 959 to 1,456 on Wednesday, but the impact wasn't pronounced. Its total is $22.4 million in 21 days.

Two days of play was enough to rank Little Fockers seventh for the week, but it was still a huge step backwards from predecessor Meet the Fockers, which opened on the same day and date in 2004. Little Fockers made an estimated $14.3 million ($7.2 million on Wednesday and $7.1 million on Thursday), while Meet the Fockers generated $24.4 million in its first two days ($12.1 million on Wednesday and $12.3 million on Thursday) and more than twice the attendance.

The Tourist's tepid run continued, down 40 percent to $13.4 million for a $35.5 million 14-day sum. True Grit (2010) was the other mid-week nationwide launch, and it pulled in a solid $11.2 million in two days. Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Part 1 was off 21 percent to $9.1 million for a $269.8 million tally in 35 days, gaining some ground on New Moon (which had $277.9 million by day 35) and continuing to decline at a rate close to Goblet of Fire.