Looks like The Golden Compass did indeed open at the top of the box office this weekend, as expected… however, it did so way behind expectations. This was supposed to be the Chronicles of Narnia-style blockbuster for the Christmas season, but compared to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which grossed $65 million in its opening weekend, The Golden Compass is floundering. The thing is, who really expected this to do as well as Narnia? Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is nowhere near as popular as the Narnia series, and the controversy surrounded the anti-Christian undertones certainly couldn’t have helped either. Considering it cost $180 million to make the damn thing, however, I suppose someone certainly had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, it’s probably still good enough that we’ll have to sit through adaptations of the other two books as well. Enchanted maintained the #2 position with $10 million, while the two most Christmas-y flicks pulled up at #3 and #4 respectively. Beowulf rounded out the top 5.

1. The Golden Compass — $26.1M
2. Enchanted — $10.7M
3. This Christmas — $5M
4. Fred Claus — $4.66M
5. Beowulf — $4.4M
6. No Country for Old Men — $4.23M
7. August Rush — $3.52M
8. Hitman — $3.48M
9. Awake — $3.3M
10. Bee Movie — $2.61M