A comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as a couple trying to avoid their families at Christmas debuted in first place over the weekend at North American box offices, according to preliminary studio estimates issued Sunday.
For Friday to Sunday, Four Christmases had ticket sales of 31.7 million dollars to top the box-office rankings for the three-day weekend.
Marking the start of the traditional Christmas holiday weekend, it was one of four major films to debut.
Australia, the romantic epic from filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, could reach only fifth place with a three-day gross of 14.8 million dollars, despite the star power of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
The other new films were Transporter 3, the action sequel starring Jason Statham, which was seventh with a haul of 12.3 million dollars, and Milk, the bio-pic about the first gay major of San Francisco, Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, which had 1.4 million dollars in revenue.
Shares fell 2.1 per cent Friday on the Seoul stock exchange on general recession fears. South Korea's won dropped against the dollar.
When the Spirit rover landed on Mars five years ago, no one expected it or its sister rover Opportunity to make it to their first birthdays, let alone their fifth.
Amelie Mauresmo fell victim to a leg injury after less than half an hour on court Friday to hand over a 4-0 victory which put French compatriot Marion Bartoli into the final of the Brisbane International.
Mumbai-based movie Slumdog Millionaire won five prizes Thursday night at the Critics Choice Awards, cementing its position as a surprise favourite just as the Oscar season moves into high gear.
After the Taipei Zoo received two giant pandas from China, another Taiwan zoo said Friday it is seeking to receive a pair of pandas from China.