Early estimates (courtesy Deadline Hollywood Daily and Box Office Mojo) show that the Will Smith powered “Pursuit of Happyness” and “Eragon” were in a tight race Friday for the number one spot, with ‘Pursuit’ taking in about $9.05M in receipts and “Eragon” around $8.62M.
Those two openers were followed by “Charlotte’s Web” at number three ($3.43M), “The Holiday” ($2.58M) holding well from the week prior at number four, “Apocalypto” (last week’s winner) dropping to fifth ($2.245M), “Happy Feet” ($2.07M) at number six, “Blood Diamond” dropping to seventh with $1.805M, “Casino Royale” ($1.575M) at number eight, “The Nativity Story” ($1.20M) at number nine and “Unaccompanied Minors” ($1.015M) at 1oth.
If those numbers hold firm, expect weekend takes of around $27M for “Pursuit of Happyness”, $24M for “Eragon” and $14M for “Charlotte’s Web”.
Box Office for Friday, December 15, 2006
1. “Pursuit of Happyness — $9.05M
2. “Eragon” — $8.62M
3. “Charlotte’s Web” — $3.43M
4. “The Holiday” — $2.58M
5. “Apocalypto” — $2.245M
6. “Happy Feet” — $2.07M
7. “Blood Diamond” — $1.805M
8. “Casino Royale” — $1.575M
9. “The Nativity Story” — $1.20M
10. “Unaccompanied Minors” — $1.015M