The Warner Bros. tale "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith as a plague survivor who may be the last living human, debuted with $76.5 million (euro52.7 million), the biggest December opening ever and a personal best for one of Hollywood's top box-office champs, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"It's no wonder Will Smith feels so lonely. Everyone else on Earth is in the movie theater," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
The 20th Century Fox family flick "Alvin and the Chipmunks," starring Jason Lee in a big-screen take on the cartoon critters, opened a strong No. 2 with $45 million (euro31 million), the two films combining to give Hollywood a year-end surge after a drowsy fall season.
"Forty-five million acorns," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. "Chipmunks are diurnal animals and they do hibernate, but not right now."
Overall business soared, with the top 12 movies taking in $153.6 million (euro105.8 million), up 39 percent from the same weekend a year earlier, when Smith also was No. 1 with a $26.5 million debut for "The Pursuit of Happyness."
The previous No. 1 movie, New Line Cinema's fantasy "The Golden Compass," nose-dived in its second weekend, coming in third with $9 million (euro6.2 million), down a dismal 65 percent from its less-than-expected $25.8 million (euro17.7 million) debut a week earlier.
"The Golden Compass," which cost $180 million (euro124 million) to produce, has done $90 million (euro62 million) so far overseas but has proven a flop domestically with just $41 million (euro28.2 million).
On the other hand, "I Am Legend" smashed Smith's personal debut record, easily exceeding the $52.1 million opening weekends of "I, Robot" and "Men in Black II," his previous bests. "I Am Legend" outdid the $72.6 million premiere of 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the previous best December opening.
"It's nice to be in the Will Smith business," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "He is just the No. 1 box-office star in the world today."
Based on the Richard Matheson novel filmed twice before as Vincent Price's "The Last Man on Earth" and Charlton Heston's "The Omega Man," "I Am Legend" casts Smith as a scientist trying to find a cure and fighting off the vestiges of humanity, people transformed by the plague into vampire-like creatures.
Two Golden Globe nominees just hitting theaters did well in their second weekends.
Focus Features' "Atonement" _ a tragic romance that led the Globes with seven nominations, including best drama and acting honors for Keira Knightley and James McAvoy _ pulled in $1.85 million (euro1.3 million) in 117 theaters. That gave "Atonement" a strong average of $15,835 (euro10,914) a theater, compared to $21,224 (euro14,628) in 3,606 cinemas for "I Am Legend."
Fox Searchlight's "Juno," a teen-pregnancy comedy whose three nominations included best comedy or musical and an acting honor for Ellen Page, grossed $1.44 million (euro990,000) in 40 theaters for a $36,018 (euro24,824) average.
"Atonement" and "Juno" expand into release across the United States over the next three weekends.
Another Golden Globe nominee, the Paramount Classics-DreamWorks foreign-language contender "The Kite Runner," debuted strongly with $450,970 (euro310,820) in 35 theaters for a $12,885 (euro8,880) average. The film follows an Afghan emigrant to America who returns home to rescue the son of a childhood friend.
Francis Ford Coppola's first film in 10 years, "Youth Without Youth" from Sony Pictures Classics, had a so-so debut of $27,815 (euro19,170) in six theaters, averaging $4,636 (euro3,195). The film stars Tim Roth as an elderly language scholar whose youth is restored by a lightning strike.
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. "I Am Legend," $76.5 million.
2. "Alvin and the Chipmunks," $45 million.
3. "The Golden Compass," $9 million.
4. "Enchanted," $6 million.
5. "No Country for Old Men," $3 million.
6. "The Perfect Holiday," $2.97 million.
7. "Fred Claus," $2.3 million.
8. "This Christmas," $2.3 million.
9. "Atonement," $1.85 million.
10. "August Rush," $1.8 million.
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Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.
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