LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Nicolas Cage and Disney reigned over the box office for the second week of the holiday season, capping a year of record movie industry grosses but little change in attendance, according to industry figures Wednesday.
The Disney adventure hit "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" took in 54.5 million dollars over the Friday-Tuesday New Year holiday, boosting its two-week total to 142.9 million dollars, said Exhibitor Relations which tracks US and Canada movie sales.
It was the biggest-ever opener for Cage, who stars as the patriotic US "treasure protector" Benjamin Franklin Gates, seeking to dig out the truth behind the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln and clear a relative's name in the process.
Two other films scored big: kids pic "Alvin and the Chipmunks" brought in 41.3 million dollars in its third week, and the post-apocalyptic thriller "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith, earned 39.1 million, taking its three-week total to 206.1 million.
With the close of 2007, Exhibitor Relations said the year set records for gross movie earnings in the US and Canada, bringing in 9.62 billion dollars, 4.45 percent over 2006's 9.21 billion.
But based on attendance, the year was flat: ticket sales rose from 1.4 billion in 2006 to 1.41 billion in 2007.
Rounding out the top 10 for the elongated last weekend of the year were "Charlie Wilson's War" in fourth place with 19.0 million; and then "Juno" (16.1 million); "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" (14.1 million); "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (13.7 million); "P.S. I Love You" (13.6 million); "Sweeney Todd" (11.9 million); and "Enchanted" (9.8 million.)
Honors for top-selling film for the year went to "Spiderman," which grossed 336.5 million dollars in domestic theatres, followed by "Shrek the Third" (321 million) and "Transformers" (319.1 million).
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