Box office: "Tron: Legacy" races to top with $43.6 million

By John Young, EW.com

December 20, 2010 -- Updated 0054 GMT (0854 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• "TRON: Legacy" led with $43.6 million
• "Yogi Bear" came in second with $16.7 million
• "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" dropped to third

(EW.com) -- First the good news. "TRON: Legacy" raked in some thoroughly respectable numbers opening weekend, pulling in $43.6 million. Undaunted by enh reviews, CinemaScore audiences awarded the Disney reboot starring this weekend's SNL host Jeff Bridges a solid B+ rating. IMAX and TRON made excellent teammates, as the movie earned $10.3 million - a quarter of its weekend kitty - in 234 IMAX theaters.

But now, let's cue a wet raspberry sound. "How Do You Know," the big-budget, star-laden romantic comedy from James L. Brooks, came in at the No. 8 spot, making a lousy $7.6 million at over 3,061 theaters. That's miserable news for everyone involved, especially considering the fact that "Black Swan," starring a crazy-eyed Natalie Portman, made more money on some 2,000 fewer theaters. The Darren Aronofsky film, pirouetting into the No. 7 spot, jumped to 959 theaters this weekend with an impressive $8.3 million haul. (Consider that "Black Swan," which cost just $13 million, already has a cumulative gross of $15.7 million in three weekends of limited release. "How Do You Know" cost north of $100 million, and at this rate will be lucky to make a quarter of that back in domestic grosses.)

Oh "Yogi Bear," you hoped more friends would show up to the picnic. The talking bear flick came in at No. 2 with $16.7 million. That's a far cry from Squeakquel numbers, the "Alvin & the Chipmunks" period piece that opened to $48.8 million on last year's Christmas weekend. But at least it's slightly better than "Marmaduke's" fate, which opened in June to just $11.6 million.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" headed south to No. 3 with $12.4 million, bringing its cumulative two-week gross to $42.7 million. But how "The Fighter" swung for that top 3 spot. The boxing opus, aglow with six Golden Globe and four SAG award nominations, had a very good round this weekend, pulling in $12.2 million on 2,503 screens to land at No. 4.

Check back here next week for big Christmas weekend results. "True Grit" and "Little Fockers" open nationwide on Wednesday, December 22, with "Country Strong" hitting in limited release.

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