Aliens vs Predators

Bowing on Christmas Day, Fox's "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem," the second installment in the intergalactic smackdown, took the third-place slot with a single-day gross of $9.5 million.

But while "AVP" flaunted its status as R-rated holiday counterprogramming with the ad line "No Peace on Earth," the day's other new arrivals struck a more hopeful, seasonal note.

"'Alien' was sensational," said Bert Livingston, Fox senior vp distribution. Although its R rating meant that the movie didn't venture into some small towns, it nevertheless commanded a $3,713 per-theater average in the 2,563 theaters where it set up shop.

The original "AVP," which brought together the voracious monsters from the studio's "Alien" and "Predator" franchises, bowed to an opening weekend of $38.3 million in a wider release of 3,395 theaters in August 2004 on its way to an eventual $80.3 million domestic gross. The new film, directed by the brother team of Colin Strause and Greg Strause, played two midnight shows on Christmas Eve at the Mann-operated Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and Regal's Union Square Stadium 14 in New York before making its bid for young males, eager to escape family gatherings, on Christmas Day.

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