Marley leads holiday box office pack
VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Benjamin Button exceeds expectations
By Pamela McClintock of Variety -- Video Business, 12/29/2008
DEC. 29 | VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: 20th Century Fox's canine comedy Marley and Me was the surprise pick of the litter at the crowded Christmas box office -- grossing a hefty $51.8 million for the long weekend -- but there was plenty of coin to go around in one of the most prosperous holiday seasons ever for Hollywood.Bonanza was largely fueled by older moviegoers -- providing further evidence that fanboys are no longer the only demo that matters for B.O. and that older auds will be loyal filmgoers if given the right movies. It's also a sign that Americans continue to turn to the bigscreen for comfort in bleak economic times, which they did even as holiday retail sales plunged.
Distributors were stunned by the level of traffic on Christmas Day, which is usually relatively light. Even the riskiest of the wide openers, UA/MGM's Nazi drama Valkyrie, delivered.
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