SUBMITTED BY pimpjoe_esb

December 18, 2005 —

"King Kong" was less of a boxoffice brute than Hollywood expected, taking in an estimated $50.2 million in its first weekend, a sturdy start but unremarkable by Hollywood blockbuster standards.

Universal Pictures' action spectacle about a giant ape took over the top boxoffice spot from Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which slipped to second place with about $31.2 million and lifted its 10-day total to $112.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Premiering at No. 3 with an estimated $12.7 million was 20th Century Fox's ensemble comic drama "The Family Stone," featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes in a tale of an uptight businesswoman meeting her fiance's relations during a holiday visit.

Click the link before for the full report from The Hollywood Reporter.