The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ran circles around the competition at the box office over the weekend, capturing $45.3 million for the largest December weekend opening ever. While it didn't match Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone's $93.5 million debut, the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy has brought in $73.2 million in North America and $60 million overseas since it opened Wednesday, according to studio estimates from ACNielsen EDI. The figures are "definitely a relief," says Rolf Mittweg, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at New Line Cinema, which released Rings. New Line spent $270 million simultaneously filming the trilogy, which many see as a make-or-break project for the financially troubled studio. "We got great reviews, and the fans really turned out." With a three-hour running time, Rings was limited in the number of screenings theaters could fit each day. And because it opened on 2,300 fewer screens than Potter, it never stood a real chance at dethroning the boy wizard. Still, studio executives expect Rings to gross more than $100 million by Christmas Day and $200 million by the end of its second week. Analysts say the film should remain atop box office charts well into January, thanks to Oscar buzz, its four Golden Globe nominations, and the targeted teen audience, renown for repeat business. "I'm ready for my third" viewing, says Josh Whiteman, 17, of Grand Rapids, Mich. Whiteman, who read the trilogy last year, says the film "is exactly what I pictured. But it's long, and it's an epic. You can't take it all in just seeing it once." The holidays are already giving the box office a lift: While today marks the winter break at most schools, a nationwide poll by ACNielsen found that nearly 45% of children were not in classrooms Friday, a boon to overall movie attendance, which jumped 35% over the previous weekend. It wasn't a good weekend for high-profile comedians, however. Jim Carrey's The Majestic and Tim Allen's Joe Somebody barely cracked the charts. Majestic was eighth with $5 million, while Somebody grossed only $3.7 million for ninth place. Two other new films opened surprisingly well. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius opened at No. 3 with $14 million, while the cannabis comedy How High lit up audiences for $7.6 million and fifth place. Among holdovers, Ocean's Eleven, the Vegas crime caper that held the previous December opening record only two weeks ago, continues to play strongly, raking in $14.6 million for a total of $95.2 million. The Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise Vanilla Sky suffered a dramatic 51% drop off from its opening weekend but still brought in $12.1 million, good enough for fourth place. Because of the holidays, final numbers are due Wednesday.
