Voyage of Dawn Treader Debuts No. 1 at Box Office
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader" debuted at the top of the box office this weekend.
The third movie entry based on the beloved children novels by C.S. Lewis raked in $24.5 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters despite a weak start on Friday.
In the latest Narnia movie, the two youngest Pevensies, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) journey back to the magical Kingdom along with their bratty cousin Eustace (Will Pouter). Led by King Caspian (Ben Barnes), the crew set out on a quest on the Dawn Treader to battle new threats to the Narnia while struggling over temptations like pride, greed, and envy.
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Despite nabbing the number one box office rank, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" fared way below what its predecessors of the same series took in opening weekend.
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the first movie installment of the Narnia series, made $65.5 million during its opening weekend in 2005.
Three years later, "Prince Caspian" took in about $55 million during its first week in theaters.
Both previous movie adaptations were produced by Disney, which abandoned plans to translate all seven books of the series into film following dismal results from Prince Caspian.
The second installment took in a total of $419 million worldwide but cost $200 million to produce. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" had a smaller budget of $180 million but pulled in $745 million in ticket sales worldwide.
This time around, 20th Century Fox partnered with Walden Media to set sail with "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." The producers made an effort to make the film more accessible to families by steering clear of the warlike tone of "Prince Caspian." The franchise also marketed to faith audiences by offering early screenings and preaching resources to pastors.
Despite a less than stellar opening weekend, Fox senior vice president Chris Aronson said, "On the domestic side, our best days are still ahead of us with the school holidays and Christmas yet to come," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The fantasy film has so far earned a worldwide total of $105.5 million.
Disney remains a box office contender, raking in $14.5 million with "Tangled," an animated feature based on the classical story of Rapunzel.
"The Tourist" also opened this weekend, coming in second with $17 million.
Meanwhile, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" fell down to fourth place with $8.5 million.
