'LITTLE' FEAT LIFTS BOX OFFICE DISNEY'S 'CHICK' FLICK SCRATCHES UP $40.1 MILLION.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Walt Disney Pictures stopped the sky from falling at the box office, thanks to ``Chicken Little,'' which strutted out of the coop with a strong $40.1 million opening weekend gross, according to Sunday's studio estimates.

``Chicken'' was a big test for Disney, since it is the first CGI-animated release produced by the studio itself and not by Pixar Animation Studios, whose films Disney distributes. Although ``Chicken'' fell far short of the $70 million taken in by the Pixar-produced ``The Incredibles'' the same weekend a year ago, it was Disney's biggest non-Pixar animated release since 1994's ``The Lion King.''

``We always knew that it was a special movie, but this is at the upper, upper, upper end of where we thought it would open,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution. ``We wanted to go out there and do something that the public fell in love with.''

While ``Chicken'' drew its target kids and parents, Disney was especially encouraged by the $10 million earned by the film on Friday, when it drew far more adults than expected, including more than 300 people during a midnight showing at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre.

``That means this chicken has legs,'' cracked Viane. ``We think it will be around for quite a while.''

The performance by ``Chicken'' and the estimated $28.8 million earned by second-place ``Jarhead'' from Universal Pictures both exceeded even the most optimistic predictions and gave the movie industry's lucrative holiday season a strong start. Still, the weekend's top 12 earned nearly 10 percent less than the movie slate from a year ago.

``We've been in this downturn, and this is such a tough marketplace right now, but this shows that if you put out the right movies, people will go to see them,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co.

The military drama ``Jarhead,'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx, blew away expectations even more than ``Chicken'' did. The movie drew an adult audience almost evenly split between the under- and over-25-year-old age group and was particularly popular with men, who made up 57 percent of the audience.

``We are just thrilled,'' said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of distribution. ``I think (director) Sam Mendes and the cast and crew made a solid movie, the marketing campaign was phenomenal and so was the distribution strategy. All of that resulted in this great opening.

``If you give people what they want to see, they will continue wanting to be with an audience and having that theater experience,'' added Rocco, responding to growing sentiment that movie attendance has fallen this year mainly due to a preference for watching movies at home on DVD.

Last weekend's No. 1 movie, ``Saw II'' from Lions Gate Films, slipped to third place but remained popular with moviegoers, as it took in an estimated $17.2 million. The horror sequel has grossed an impressive $60.5 million in its first 10 days.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's ``The Legend of Zorro,'' which re-teamed Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, dropped from second to fourth place during its sophomore weekend, with an estimated take of $10 million. It has earned $30.3 million to date.

Rounding out the top five was Universal's ``Prime,'' starring Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman, dropping a scant 15.4 percent in its second weekend on its way to an estimated $5.2 million weekend gross. The film has taken in $13.4 million to date.

New to the Top 10 were two critically acclaimed films, ``Good Night, and Good Luck'' and ``Shopgirl,'' which went into wider release.

``Good Night'' from Warner Independent Pictures added nearly 400 locations and finished in seventh place, with an estimated take of $3.1 million. The George Clooney-directed feature has grossed $11 million to date. ``Shopgirl,'' released by Disney, went from 42 to 493 locations and finished in ninth place with a gross of $2.5 million, according to studio estimates.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

TOP MOVIES

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today.

1. ``Chicken Little,'' $40.1 million.

2. ``Jarhead,'' $28.8 million.

3. ``Saw II,'' $17.2 million.

4. ``The Legend of Zorro,'' $10 million.

5. ``Prime,'' $5.3 million.

6. ``Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story,'' $4.8 million.

7. ``Good Night, and Good Luck,'' $3.1 million.

8. ``The Weather Man,'' $2.9 million.

9. ``Shopgirl,'' $2.5 million.

10. ``Flightplan,'' $2.3 million.

Source: Associated Press 

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

TOP MOVIES (see text)