http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...o/box_office_1

LOS ANGELES - The final installment of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy continued to reign at the box office despite a handful of new openings as Hollywood had its best Christmas weekend ever.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" pulled in $51.2 million in ticket sales for a total of $224 million since opening two weeks ago, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

The fantasy film also posted the best Christmas Day gross of any current movie, $14.6 million.

Out of the gate, the movie also has outstripped the first two chapters of the trilogy. It took just 11 days to cross the $200 million mark — one day less than part two, "The Two Towers."

Four movies opened over the holiday weekend, including "Cheaper by the Dozen." The Steve Martin (news) comedy was No. 2 with $28.2 million over the weekend.

The Civil War epic "Cold Mountain" opened in third place with $14.5 million. The R-rated, 2 1/2-hour movie opened on 2,167 screens.

"Paycheck," a summer-style action movie, opened with $13.9 million, and "Peter Pan," a live-action retelling of the classic story, grossed $11.4 million.

The total estimated weekend box office receipts for the top dozen pictures was $168.6 million, a record, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracking company Exhibitor Relations. The top 12 movies over the same weekend last year pulled in $155.9 million, or 8.2 percent less, he said.
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