Christmas Boost Pushes 2008 Box Office Over the Top

A successful Christmas box office haul guarantees that ticket sales for 2008 will match or exceed 2007's record-breaking take of $9.62 billion, said Variety. Twentieth Century Fox's hit "Marley & Me" had the best Christmas day ticket sales in history, with $14.7 million that day, and took in a total of $72.5 in its first week of holiday release.  "Marley" was one of five titles that opened wide on Christmas, all of which proved lucrative besides the dark comic fantasy, "The Spirit." Disney's Adam Sandler family comedy "Bedtime Stories" made $56.7 million through Wed., while "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" exceeded expectations with $52.7 million. After New Year's Day weekend receipts are tallied, the total domestic box office revenues for 2008 should exceed $9.62 billion, as the tally was $9.56 billion through Wed. Still, admissions were down 4-5% from 2007, a sign of economic downturn.