Marley & Me tops US Christmas box office (2008)
Story by Jack Foley
AMERICAN film fans flocked to see Jennifer Aniston-Owen Wilson comedy Marley And Me on Christmas Day, according to early reports.
Estimated figures suggest that the film, about a puppy acquired by newlyweds and the havoc it causes, took $14.8 million (£10.2 million) for distributor Twentieth Century Fox.
If confirmed, the figures would beat the previous Christmas Day record of $10.2m (£7m) set by Will Smith boxing drama Ali, a biographical film about boxer Muhammad Ali, in 2001.
A delighted Bruce Snyder, president of distribution at Fox, described the takings as “phenomenal holiday numbers”, adding that Marley & Me was “the definition of a ‘feel-good movie’.”
The film was inspired by a memoir by US journalist John Grogan – although media speculation surrounding the relationship between stars Wilson and Aniston undoubtedly fuelled interest as well.
Elsewhere at the US box office, Brad Pitt movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took an estimated $11.8m (£8.1m), according to trade magazine Variety, while Disney’s Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler, came third.
Tom Cruise’s wartime thriller Valkyrie, also released by Twentieth Century Fox, generated an estimated $8.5m (£5.8m) to take fourth spot at the box office.