'Four Christmases' repeats at No. 1 with $18.2 million
LOS ANGELES — Movie crowds kept up their holiday spirit as Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's comedy "Four Christmases" rang up $18.2 million to lead the box office for a second-straight weekend.
The Warner Bros. flick raised its 12-day total to $70.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Despite the economic downturn, Hollywood continued to outperform last year's holiday season, with revenues up for the fifth weekend in a row.
The top 12 movies took in $77.5 million, a 6 percent increase from the same weekend in 2007, when "The Golden Compass" opened at No. 1 with $25.8 million.
Revenues for the year are at $8.7 billion, slightly ahead of the pace last year, when Hollywood ended up with record receipts of $9.7 billion. However, that reflects higher ticket prices, because actual attendance is down 4 percent, according to Media By Numbers.
Only one new movie opened in full wide release, Lionsgate's action tale "Punisher: War Zone," which delivered a weak No. 8 debut with $4 million.
