Weekend Box Office: TRON Solidifies Its Legacy, Yogi Bear Settles for the Scraps

By Chris Kavan - 12/20/10 at 10:26 AM CT

It wasn't much of a battle for #1 as TRON Legacy easily dispatched the competition. The $43.6 million may be a little short of the Avatar and Star Trek numbers of recent years, but considering it's a 28-year-old franchise with a small but dedicated fan base, the numbers must look pretty good. Not surprisingly the 3D screens helped out a lot, as fully 82% of the gross came from those screens with IMAX 3D making up 24% of total 3D revenue.

In second place was the CGI/live action Yogi Bear film with $16.7 million. While it couldn't come near Alvin and the Chipmunk numbers, it did at least do better than Cats & Dogs The Revenge of Kitty Galore. Yogi also got a boost from 3D as 52% of its gross came from those screens.

Once again it seems audiences are still not in the mood for romantic comedies as James L. Brooks How Do You Know, despite a pretty big name cast, could only muster $7.8 million for 8th place. The audience was mostly female, but it couldn't equal last month's Morning Glory and represented Brooks' biggest letdown, as even Spanglish brought in $8.8 million in 2004.

Dropping to 3rd place was The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which dropped only 48% with a $12.4 million and $42.8 million total. While it is trending better than The Golden Compass at the same point, attendance is much lower and it still doesn't bode well for any future installments.

Meanwhile, two films opening nationwide after strong limited release showings also made their presence known. The Fighter bested Black Swan in the showdown. The Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale was 4th with $12.2 million while The Black Swan was 7th with $8.3 million. Considering the relatively modest budget for both films, the numbers are a great sign for things to come.

Rounding out the top 5 was the disappointing Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp vehicle The Tourist dropping 47% to $8.7 million and now stands at $30.8 million total.

Next week brings the Coen Brothers' True Grit remake, and comedies Little Fockers and Gulliver's Travels. We'll see if True Grit can impress despite being shut out of the recent Golden Globes nominations.