Fox's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" got off to a sluggish start at the weekend's domestic B.O., posting an estimated $24.5 million at 3,555 locations.
Prior to the weekend, most B.O. observers had projected a take higher than that, including Fox, though the studio admitted family tracking is often tricky to predict.
"Narnia: Dawn Treader," which secured just less than 2,000 3D-equipped screens, still managed to win the weekend that included the other wide entry, GK Films' Angelina Jolie-Johnny Depp starrer "The Tourist," with Sony handling marketing and distribution. Pic estimated a weekend total of $17 million at 2,756 engagements.
Several titles, however, overperformed in limited release, including Relativity Media's "The Fighter," which Paramount debuted at four Stateside locations for an estimated weekend total of $320,000. Picture scored a per-screen average of $80,000, becoming the second-highest of the year so far.
Fox Searchlight's "Black Swan," which held the No. 2 per title as of last weekend, expanded to 90 locations in its second frame for an outstanding $3.3 million. To date, domestic totals for "Black Swan" stand at $5.6 million.
