- guardian.co.uk, Monday December 10 2007 12.33 GMT
Two scrooges ... Dakota Blue Richards and Nicole Kidman in The Golden Compass. Photograph: Laurie Sparham
The Golden Compass charmed its way to the top of the US box-office this week despite a lower than expected opening.
The adaptation of the Philip Pullman bestseller cashed in $26m (£12.7m). The $180m (£88m) production had been expected to take between $30m (£14.7m) and $40m (£19.6m). "It's a little bit disappointing," Rolf Mittweg, an executive at New Line, the film's studio, told The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the movie is proving more popular across the globe, with grosses reaching double what they are in the US. It earned $55m (£26.9m) across 25 countries.
Unsurprisingly, the film proved more successful in the UK, which forms the basis for its parallel world setting and is the home of writer Philip Pullman, who wrote the novel upon which the movie is based. It took $18m (£8.8m) here and also went straight to No 1 in Spain, France, Germany and Russia. The Chris Weitz-directed feature has yet to open in several nations, including Australia, Italy and Japan.
In the US, last week's top performer, the Disney fairy-tale comedy Enchanted, slid one place to second position with a $10m (£4.9m) gross. It has so far earned close to $84m and analysts believe it could reach $150m (£73m). Rounding out the top three was the Yuletide drama-comedy This Christmas, which remained steady with $5m (£2.4m).
Outside the US, Enchanted was also in second position with $11.6m (£5.6m) earned in 18 countries. It was the No 1 film in Italy and was also popular in France and Spain.
The animated feature Bee Movie, featuring the voice of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, took third with a haul of $10m (£4.9m). It has so far earned more than $32m (£15.6m).
