Compass not so golden in US chart

The $180m (£89m) movie starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig took $26.1m (£12.8m) in its opening weekend.

But distributor New Line Cinema said it was disappointed the film had not pulled in the $30-40m (£15-20m) it had hoped for.

Fairytale Enchanted fell to number two taking $10.7m (£5.3m), and comedy This Christmas took third with $5m (£2.5m).

NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE

• 1. The Golden Compass - $26.1m (£12.8m)
• 2. Enchanted - $10.7m (£5.3m)
• 3. This Christmas - $5m (£2.5m)
• 4. Fred Claus - $4.66m (£2.3m)
• 5. Beowulf - $4.4m (£2.2m)

With cinemagoers in the festive spirit, Vince Vaughn comedy Fred Claus rose two places to number four.

Fantasy epic Beowulf fell two places to five, in its fourth week on the chart.

Takings for the Golden Compass plus a generally weak field of films saw overall year-on-year sales down for the fifth consecutive weekend, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers.

The top 12 films in the chart earned $73m, (£36m) down 12% from last year.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Media By Numbers
The Golden Compass
Enchanted
This Christmas
Beowulf
Fred Claus
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