"Christmases" repeats at No. 1 with $18.2 mln take

Cast member Reese Witherspoon poses at the premiere of the movie "Four Christmases" at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California in this Nov. 20, 2008 file photo. Comedy "Four Christmases" rang up 18.2 million U. S. dollars to lead the box office for a second-straight weekend.

Dec. 8 -- Movie crowds kept up their holiday spirit as Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's comedy "Four Christmases" rang up 18.2 million U. S. dollars to lead the box office for a second-straight weekend.

The Warner Bros. flick raised its 12-day total to 70.8 million dollars, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"'Four Christmases' was set up perfectly. It's an evergreen subject for the holiday period," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "This is a movie that can play and is playing from Thanksgiving through the end of the year."

Despite the economic downturn, Hollywood continued to outperform last year's holiday season, with revenues up for the fifth weekend in a row.

The top 12 movies took in 77.5 million dollars, a 6 percent increase from the same weekend in 2007, when "The Golden Compass" opened at No. 1 with 25.8 million dollars.

Revenues for the year are at 8.7 billion dollars, slightly ahead of the pace last year, when Hollywood ended up with record receipts of 9.7 billion dollars. However, that reflects higher ticket prices, because actual attendance is down 4 percent, according to Media By Numbers.

Only one new movie opened in full wide release, Lionsgate's action tale "Punisher: War Zone," which delivered a weak No. 8 debut with 4 million dollars. Based on Marvel Comics' "The Punisher," the movie stars Ray Stevenson in the title role as a vigilante hero going up against a crime boss.

In narrower release, Sony's music saga "Cadillac Records" opened solidly with 3.5 million dollars to come in at No. 9. The film features Adrien Brody, Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def in the story of legendary blues label Chess Records.

Ron Howard's drama "Frost/Nixon" had a huge debut in limited release, taking in 180,147 dollars in just three theaters, averaging a whopping 60,049 dollars a cinema. That compares to a 5,451 dollars average in 3,335 theaters for "Four Christmases."

A likely contender for a best-picture nomination at the Academy Awards, the Universal Pictures film stars Frank Langella as former President Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as TV personality David Frost in the story of their momentous 1977 interviews.

"Frost/Nixon" expands to more theaters over the next two weeks.

Sony's James Bond sequel "Quantum of Solace" took in 6.6 million dollars to raise its domestic total to 151.5 million dollars. The film topped the 500 million dollars mark worldwide.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Four Christmases," $18.2 million.

2. "Twilight," $13.2 million.

3. "Bolt," $9.7 million.

4. "Australia," $7 million.

5. "Quantum of Solace," $6.6 million.

6. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $5.1 million.

7. "Transporter 3," $4.5 million.

8. "Punisher: War Zone," $4 million.

9. "Cadillac Records," $3.5 million.

10. "Role Models," $2.6 million.

(Agencies)