A New Year for the Dogs: Marley Stays on Top of the Box Office

MARLEY & ME (Fox, vfx by At The Post, LOOK! Effects and Lola Visual Effects) won the weekend box office, earning $24.26M between Jan. 2-4, 2009 and earning a total two-week holiday gross of $106.66M.

Disney's Adam Sandler family comedy BEDTIME STORIES earned $20.5M, staying in second place. With vfx by RotoFactory, Cinesite, Gentle Giant Studios, LOOK! Effects, Lola Visual Effects, Mark Rappaport Creature Effects, Proof and Tinsley Transfers, the film has earned $85.54M since debuting Christmas Day.

Also staying put at third place, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON made $18.7M for Paramount and $79.3M in two weeks. The Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett period drama has vfx by Asylum VFX, Digital Domain, Drac Studios, Evil Eye Pictures, Gentle Giant Studios, Hydraulx, Lola Visual Effects, Matte World Digital, Ollin Studio and Special Effects Atlantic.

Tom Cruise's World War II thriller VALKYRIE (United Artists, vfx by Lidar Services, Sony Pictures Imageworks and The Third Floor) made $14.1M, good enough for fourth place, and $60.7M in two weeks.

In fifth place, Jim Carrey's comedy YES MAN brought in $13.9M for Warner Bros. (vfx by LOOK! Effects) and in three weeks has made $79.5M.

SEVEN POUNDS stayed in sixth place for the weekend with $10.07M and $60.15M over three weeks for Sony (vfx by CafeFX).

Remaining in seventh place was the animated THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, which brought in $6.9M for Universal and a three-week gross of $43.66M.

Sci-fi remake THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Fox, vfx by At The Post, Cinesite, CosFX, Digital Dimension, Digital Domain, Flash Film Works, Hammerhead, Gentle Giant Studios, Hydraulx, Image Design Engine, Screaming Monkey and Weta Digital) came in eighth with $5.05M and has a four-week cume of $74.4M.

Moving up from tenth place to ninth was DOUBT (Miramax), which earned $5M and in four weeks has done $18.7M.

And rounding out the holiday top ten was SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight) with $4.69M and a total cume of $28.7M in eight weeks, moving up from 13th place last week.

In animated theatrical grosses, Disney's BOLT pulled in another $3.29M for a seven-week cume of $109.9M. MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (Paramount/DreamWorks Animation) made $958,397 for a nine-week gross of $177M.

THE POLAR EXPRESS (IMAX re-issue 2008) from Warner Bros. pulled in $61,688 for a seven-week total of $1.7M.

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Sony Pictures Classics) made $53,564 in five theaters, and in two weeks has made $159,254. Disney-Pixar's WALL-E made $7,148 and in 28 weeks has a total of $223.8M. IGOR from MGM made $3,176 and $19.45M in 16 weeks.

Box office information from BoxOfficeMojo.com.