Penguins, Bond lead US box office for 3rd weekend

LOS ANGELES, Dec 4 (Reuters) The penguin cartoon ''Happy Feet'' and the James Bond movie ''Casino Royale'' led a lackluster North American box office for a third weekend, while the new Jesus film ''The Nativity Story'' was stillborn.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, ''Happy Feet'' sold 17 million dollars worth of tickets in the three days beginning December 1, taking its total to 121 million dollars. The film should end up passing 190 million dollars, said distributor Warner Bros.

Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

''Casino Royale'' followed with 15.1 million dollars, for a three-week haul of 115.9 million dollars. The Bond flick remained No 1 overseas, according to distributor Columbia Pictures, and its worldwide total passed 300 million dollars over the weekend. It is on track to reach 500 million dollars, surpassing the 2 million haul of the franchise's record-holder, ''Die Another Day.'' Columbia is a unit of Sony Corp.

Ticket sales generally fall in the immediate aftermath of the Thanksgiving holiday as would-be moviegoers focus on holiday shopping, and the studios respond in kind by holding back on major releases. This weekend, three movies entered the fray, none of them doing much business.

Hopes were highest for ''The Nativity Story,'' a movie made for Christian moviegoers. But it debuted at No 4 with just 8 million dollars, coming in at the lower end of distributor New Line Cinema's expectations. Industry observers had thought the movie could open in the 12 million dollars to 15 million dollars range.

Business was hurt by the Midwest's first big snowstorm of the season, a problem for a movie oriented at the heartland of America, said David Tuckerman, president of domestic distribution at the Time Warner Inc-owned studio.

''Nativity,'' which cost in the mid-30 million dollars range to make, stars Oscar-nominated ''Whale Rider'' actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, a real-life expectant teen mom, as the Virgin Mary.

It was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, famed for her portrayal of teen sex and drug abuse in the drama ''thirteen.'' Tuckerman said the audience skewed older and female.

Also new were the horror ''Turistas'' at No 8 with 3.5 million dollars, and the comedy ''Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj'' at No 10 with 2.3 million dollars. ''Turistas,'' which was panned by critics, revolves around a grim holiday for visitors to Brazil. ''Taj,'' which did not screen in advance for critics, is a sequel to the modestly successful 2002 comedy ''Van Wilder,'' but without that film's stars.

''Turistas'' marks the debut release for Fox Atomic, the genre arm of News Corp.'s art-house unit Fox Searchlight. The studio acquired the John Stockwell-directed film for about 4 million dollars, which is where it was hoping ''Turistas'' would open.

''Taj,'' was istributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is privately held.

Rounding out the top five were: Walt Disney Co's Denzel Washington time-travel thriller ''Deja Vu,'' which held steady at No 3 with 11 million dollars; and Fox's Christmas comedy ''Deck the Halls,'' which slipped one spot to No 5 with 6.7 million dollars.

After two weekends, their respective totals stand at 44 million dollars and 25 million dollars.

Sales for the top 12 films tallied million, down six percent from the year-ago period when ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' was tops, according to box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

REUTERS LL BS0919