It was a busy holiday weekend at the box office as 4 out of 5 new releases had scorching debuts. Family drama Marley & Me, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston led the way, with a big #1 debut, exceeding all industry expectations.  Adam Sandler’s family comedy, Bedtime Stories, and Brad Pitt’s Oscar contender, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, opened to similar results, although Button, performed better overall due to less theatres and less show times. Tom Cruise cemented his comeback, with World War II drama, Valkyrie, while Frank Miller’s solo directorial debut, The Spirit, bombed big time. 

Marley & Me opened on Christmas day to a huge $14.7M, setting a new record for the holiday. It went on to gross $37M over the weekend for a powerful $51.7M 4 day debut, way higher than my 4 day prediction of $36M. With the kid’s home from school, Marley & Me should continue to rake in the bucks this week and by the end of next weekend should surpass the $100M mark.

Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories opened in the second spot for the weekend, but when Christmas day grosses are factored in, really opened in third. Bedtime made a solid $28M over the weekend, with a 4 day total of $38.5M, close to my prediction of $45M. Sandler’s family comedy should also benefit from the kids being off from school, and will certainly perform well into next weekend.

Opening in third place for the weekend (second over the 4 day period), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt, pulled in a sizable audience for its debut.  Button opened on Christmas day to a big $12M (the second highest Christmas day debut) and went on to gross $27M for the weekend for a 4 day total of $39M, exactly in line with my $40M prediction, just edging out Bedtime Stories. The numbers for Button are truly impressive as the film runs for nearly 3 hours (less show times) and opened in 700 fewer theatres than Bedtime Stories and 500 fewer than Marley & Me. With multiple award nominations under its belt, and Academy Awards love to follow, Benjamin Button should perform very well over the next few weekends.

Tom Cruise continued his comeback with the terrific debut of his World War II drama, Valkyrie. Valkyrie’s box office chances have been the subject of debate for a good year now, with most industry insiders assuming it would bomb, due to Tom Cruise’s sagging career and the anti climatic ending of the film (Hitler does not get assassinated). Cruise is back however, with a new hit film and a Golden Globe nod for his comedic turn in this summer’s Tropic Thunder. Valkyrie grossed $21.5M for the weekend, with a 4 day total of $30M, very close to my $28M prediction. Word of mouth has been positive and Valkyrie has a shot at being another $100M hit for Tom. 

The last film to open over the holiday weekend was The Spirit, based on the Will Eisner comic strip and directed by Frank Miller. The Spirit grossed a paltry $6.5M over the weekend with a 4 day total of $10.3M, exactly as I predicted. This year was the year of the comic book movie with both Iron Man and The Dark Knight kicking ass at the box office, but The Spirit proves once again that not every comic adaption is a sure fire hit. To see how the rest of my predictions fared, check out the chart below.

It is important to note that all 5 films that opened on Thursday were 4 day predictions, while everything else in the top 10 was based on a regular 3 day weekend.