Time Warner Inc.'s fantasy "The Golden Compass" took the top spot at the box office over the weekend, but did the movie strike gold? Analysts weren't sure on Monday.
"The Golden Compass," an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, made $26.1 million in its first weekend. But analysts said they expected much more: Jonathan Jacoby of Banc of America had estimated a $44.4 million gross for the film, which starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
Based on its opening totals, Jacoby estimated the movie would gross $81.6 million in the U.S.
Anthony Noto of Goldman Sachs desribed "Golden Compass" as Time Warner's effort to establish a franchise on par with "Harry Potter" or "Lord of the Rings," and said the movie had a budget of about $150 million. Noto expected a gross in the low $30 million range.
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Enchanted," the highest-grossing movie the previous two weekends, slid to second place with $10.7 million.
Disney's "No Country for Old Men," a Coen brothers film that won the National Board of Review award for Best Film last week, made $4.2 million.
Two other Time Warner movies were among the weekend's top earners: Vince Vaughn's comedy "Fred Claus," which made $4.7 million, and "August Rush," which picked up $3.5 million.
Sony Corp.'s "This Christmas," from the Screen Gems unit, made $5 million.
In its fourth weekend, the CGI adaptation of "Beowulf" pulled in $4.4 million. In the U.S., the movie is being distributed by Viacom Inc.'s Paramount unit.
Action video game adaptation "Hitman," from News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox division, made $3.5 million.
The medical thriller "Awake," from The Weinstein Co. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., came away with $3.3 million over the weekend. M-G-M is part-owned by Sony and Comcast Corp.
Rounding out the top ten was Jerry Seinfeld's CGI-animated comedy "Bee Movie," from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. "Bee Movie" earned $2.6 million.
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