Weekend box office predictions are starting to come in and it looks like most pundits expect The Nativity Story to come in second or third with $13 million - $17 million (US only; add in the international box office and it will probably be around $25 million). This film should have good "legs", meaning it may not come out with a huge opening weekend, but it will probably stick around for a while and quietly sell a steady number of tickets over the coming weeks.

In a typically odd weekend at the US box office - the post-Thanksgiving slump - the top 3 remained the same as last week. The Nativity Story was the highest grossing new release, coming in at #4 with $8.025 million behind Happy Feet, Casino Royale and Deja Vu. Intenational box office will be reported by Thursday, and the film is expected to have "legs", meaning it should continue to draw viewers as the season progresses.

I would actually put it 3rd. According to my sister the reason Happy Feet is number 1 is because it's the only movie in the US showing the Harry Potter trailer. She's a fan and says that there are messages on some of the boards she visits that say that they don't want to see a film about penguins just the trailer. This doesn't mean it's a bad film, but I wonder if it would be no 1 if it wasn't for the trailer?

You know, this is about Americans need for special effects. I'm glad to see it standing tall as #4 with $8 million (that's not too shabby), but in the end people want to see the action-packed or 3-D rendered movies, which is sort of dissapointing. I am thinking of popping in to see the Nativity Story after my classes on Wednesday this week. I've heard from many, many sources that it is so good, people stand up and applaud at the end.

-Sara

I've seen it twice now and both times I've heard people say they'd be back and bring someone else they wanted to see it.

Carol