“Museum” and Smith Corner Rocky Against the Ropes But Not to the Mat

Two of the top three films over the Christmas weekend had been the brunt of a lot of talk-show host’s jokes and bad pre-release reviews for about a month now, but Ben Stiller’s “Night at the Museum” came out on top at theaters, debuting with $30.8 million. While not pop-the-cork on the champagne kind of numbers one might expect for a holiday opener, it still did much better than was expected.

Stiller portrays a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History where exhibits come alive at night. The film did boast of a huge supporting cast that included Robin Williams, Carla Gugino, Ricky Gervais, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs. 20th Century Fox execs were thrilled over the holiday weekend estimated take because they were expecting the film to only gross around $20 million.

Will Smith’s (no doubt Oscar contender for Best Actor) performance in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” moved down one slot to second-place with $15 million, raising its 10-day total to $53.3 million.

Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky Balboa” stayed true to its underdog theme by standing proud despite the old-man jokes and naysaying critics, held firm at No. 3 with a solid $12.5 million over the weekend for a 5-day total of $22.1 million. Not bad for a 60-year old pug.

Look for our list of Top Ten Grossers for this past holiday weekend this Wednesday.