'Marley and Me' has record Xmas Day opening

Los Angeles, Dec 27 (Xinhua) "Marley and Me", starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, had the largest Christmas Day opening in Hollywood's history with estimated ticket sales of $14.75 million, according to figures released by box office tracking firm Media by Numbers.

The previous record was $10.22 million for "Ali", the Will Smith-starring biographical film on boxing champion Muhammad Ali, released on Christmas Day in 2001.

"These are phenomenal holiday numbers," said Bruce Snyder, president of the 20th Century Fox, which distributed "Marley and Me".

The film tells the story of a family in the making and a dog named Marley who taught them what really matters in life.

Meanwhile, Paramount's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and Tom Cruise's World War II thriller "Valkyrie" also performed much better than expected.

The two films are expected to have the second and third largest Christmas Day opening grosses.

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Marley & Me