Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and Marley claimed box office gold over the Christmas holiday. Marley & Me made over $50 million and set a Christmas opening day record of $14.4 million.
Marley and Me lapped up $36.4 million on approximately 4,400 screens at 3,480 theaters over the weekend, and it broke the Christmas opening day record on Thursday with $14.4 million. Its four-day haul came to $50.7 million, which was a new high for actors Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson in lead roles. The picture scored as the most relatable in the market, mixing the type of relationship comedy that powered past hits like Meet the Parents and Parenthood with the antics and sentiment of raising a dog (the popular Labrador retriever breed in this case). In distributor 20th Century Fox's research, families and women were the main demographics.
It didn't hurt that Jennifer Aniston made many media appearances to promote the film. There was also that aptly timed sexy GQ cover. The effort was worth it as she has triumphed over ex-husband Brad Pitt's film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In addition to bragging rights for Jennifer, Marley & Me's strong box office showing should be good for author John Grogan. Grogan wrote the book the film was based on about his dog Marley. He has also written two Marley children's books: Bad Dog, Marley! and A Very Marley Christmas.
