‘National Treasure’ still box office gold

Adventure and comedy reigned at the nation’s theaters as producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s “National Treasure” remained at the top of the box office for the third consecutive weekend, and the Tim Allen-Jamie Lee Curtis holiday comedy “Christmas With the Kranks” moved up a notch from its third place debut.

“National Treasure” took in $17.1 million, and “Christmas With the Kranks” brought in $11.7 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday, as moviegoing overall entered its typical post-Turkey Day slump. Total grosses were down 48% versus the previous weekend and about 10% compared with the comparable weekend last year.

If those and other estimates hold up when more reliable numbers become available today, it will also mark the second consecutive weekend to see three animated movies in the Top 5. Last weekend was one, box office tracking service Nielsen EDI said.

The Warner Bros. and Robert Zemeckis film “The Polar Express,” which moved ahead of its animated rivals in daily midweek tallies, grossed an estimated $11 million, bringing the computer-animated Christmas tale’s total to $96.4 million in the No. 3 spot. Pixar/Disney’s “The Incredibles” was expected to finish the weekend at No. 4, with $9.2 million and a total of $226 million. Paramount/Nickelodeon’s “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” rounded out the Top 5 with an estimated $7.8 million.

The best opening of the weekend was Sony/Columbia Pictures’ “Closer,” the film version of Patrick Marber’s play, which stars Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman.

The sexually charged drama performed extremely well in a modest rollout, before it goes wide Dec. 17. In 476 theaters, “Closer” took in an estimated $7.7 million, averaging $16,176 per location.

In more limited release, Sony Pictures Classics’ “House of Flying Daggers” posted an impressive per-theater average of $27,801 in 15 venues and a total of $417,020.

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Box Office

Preliminary results (in millions) based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-daygross Total National Treasure $17.1 $110.2

Christmas With the Kranks $11.7 $45.5

The Polar Express $11 $96.4

The Incredibles $9.2 $226

SpongeBob SquarePants $7.8 $68.4

Closer $7.7 $7.7

Alexander $4.7 $29.7

Finding Neverland $2.9 $11.7

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason $2.8 $36.3

Ray $1.9 $67.8

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Source: Nielsen EDI Inc.