2008 Box Office Holds Steady

The official tally of the box office at North American movie theaters for 2008 totalled $9.6 billion, a decrease of less than 1 percent over the previous year, according to Media by Numbers. The previous year's figure was $9.62 billion, keeping the figure more or less steady in an economic recession. Attendance declined 5 percent to about 1.3 billion tickets, but the industry buttressed revenue with higher ticket prices and premium 3-D offerings. This weekend Fox's canine comedy "Marley & Me" beat out holiday competition for the second week in the row, topping out the box office at $24.1 million to bring its 11-day total to $106.5 million. Disney's Adam Sandler family film "Bedtime Stories" slid just 26% from its opening weekend, taking in $20.3 million for second place. Paramount's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" took in $18.4 million while MGM's Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie" continued to slide 33% to $14 million.