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'Narnia' sequel gearing up, Adamson in Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media are moving ahead with a sequel to the wildly successful "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe." Andrew Adamson is set to return to the director's chair, having just inked a deal to helm "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." By Borys Kit and Sheigh Crabtree Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media are moving ahead with a sequel to the wildly successful "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe." Andrew Adamson is set to return to the director's chair, having...

LOS ANGELES : "Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" director Andrew Adamson has signed on to make a sequel of the hit movie that won three Oscar nods this week, Walt Disney announced Thursday. The studio revealed plans for the second instalment of "The Chronicles of Narnia" as the first adaptation of C.S. Lewis's classic novels basks in the glory of its nomination on Tuesday. Walt Disney revealed it had signed New Zealand-born "Narnia" and "Shrek" filmmaker Adamson, 39, to come back to direct "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," due for release around Christmas 2007. Industry bible Daily Variety quoted...

Moviegoers embraced a supersize momma in a wig and a governess who tames an unruly brood as family-friendly films dominated the weekend box office. Twentieth Century Fox's "Big Momma's House 2," with $28 million in estimated ticket sales, turned in the second-best January opening ever, trailing only the $35.9 million scored by the 1997 release of a special edition of "Star Wars," according to Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box-office results. As in the original "Big Momma's House," Martin Lawrence layers on the bulges and dons billowy, floral-print dresses, along with a wig. It was followed by another new release, Universal...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In the absence of new rivals, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" ruled the foreign box office for a fifth weekend, earning an estimated $13.3 million as its total rose to $342.6 million. The weekend was notable for the strong showings of "Fun With Dick & Jane," which just passed the century mark in North America, and domestic disappointment "Memoirs of a Geisha." The latter took second place with $10.3 million for an international tally of $34 million, while "Dick & Jane" placed third with an estimated $8.6 million, and...

It is the Anglo-American cultural elites' insecurity about their own values that encourages their frenzied attacks on religion. The verdict of my son's 10-year-old mates was that it was 'not bad', but a little bit 'boring'. Maddie, a sassy nine-year-old, said it was 'okay for young kids' but it was not in the same league as King Kong. In a few years' time, these kids will recall the unexceptional film that was Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and wonder why it attracted so much adult controversy. The intense and venomous attacks on the Disney-produced Narnia...

Golden Globe-winning films saw significant boosts at the weekend box office, but the action-packed vampire flick "Underworld: Evolution" was the top earner, debuting with $27.6 million in ticket sales. The blood-drenched thriller, starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, edged out last weekend's winning family fare, according to studio estimates released Sunday. "Hoodwinked," the animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood story, fell to second place with $11 million in ticket sales, while inspirational films "Glory Road" and "Last Holiday" ranked third and fourth, taking in $9.1 million each. Horror movies and family films "probably have the biggest built-in audience...

1. Underworld II 10.6 Million 2. Glory Road 2.4 Million 3. Last Holiday 2.4 Million 4. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN 2.1 Million 5. Hoodwinked 2.1 Million 6. Fun With Dick & Jane Million 1.7 7.End of the Spear 1.5 Million8. Chronicles of Narnia 1.4 Million 9. Hostel 1.4 Million10. The New World 1.2 Million

A year ago, Stephen Wright and his partner, John Wright, embarked on a sociology experiment that only a reality show producer could concoct: theirs was one of seven families competing to persuade the residents of a cul-de-sac here to award them a red-brick McMansion purchased on their behalf by the ABC television network. The unscripted series, "Welcome to the Neighborhood," was heavily promoted and scheduled to appear in a summer time slot usually occupied by "Desperate Housewives." Stephen Wright, 51, who was already living in a nice house a few miles away with his partner and adopted son, said he...

CHRISTIAN groups led a furious campaign against Hollywood yesterday, accusing the Golden Globe Awards of promoting films with gay or “leftist” themes to serve a political agenda. The criticism was made after Brokeback Mountain, a film about the forbidden love between gay Wyoming cowboys, won four awards. Other winners included Philip Seymour Hoffman, named Best Actor for his portrayal of the homosexual writer Truman Capote; and Felicity Huffman, the Desperate Housewives actress who played a transsexual with a gay prostitute son in Transamerica. “Once again, the media elites are proving that their pet projects are more important than profit,” Janice...

New Narnia movie on the way To the surprise of many, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ has ended up as one of the most successful movies of 2005. Since Lucas is done making more sequels to ‘Star Wars’ (we hope), that means the 2005 blockbuster sequel mantel falls to Aslan. Variety confirms that not only is a ‘Narnia’ sequel happening, but it’s already moving ahead. Disney and Walden Media are already starting on a script for the follow up, to be based on the second book in C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy series entitled ‘Prince Caspian’. The aren’t any director attachments to...

I was all wrong about "Narnia." Which is to say, about six months ago in this space I was hell-bent on the white-hot idea that Hollywood and the Christian-right group/billionaire that helped produce the tepid and saccharine flick would absolutely ruin "The Chronicles of Narnia" books, ruin the deep magic and the astounding sense of wonder these books held for millions of children (including this writer) by regurgitating them as a slick, dumbed-down, poorly acted smarm-fest full of ham-fisted Jesus allusions and excessive special effects, all from the director who brought you, ahem, "Shrek 2." Things did not, shall we...

The list of top movie money-makers for 2005 exposes enduring misunderstandings about American entertainment. Among the fifteen most popular films, only one — number five, "Weddings Crashers" — was rated "R," and none of them was even vaguely controversial. The biggest blockbusters — "Star Wars," "Harry Potter," "Narnia," —hardly explored edgy approaches to sex or politics. Meanwhile, the radically different list of top Oscar contenders is dominated by adults-only, controversial fare, with "Brokeback Mountain," "Munich," "Syriana," "Good Night and Good Luck," "Capote," and "Transamerica" leading the way. The movie establishment honors precisely those releases that fail to connect with mainstream...

The Lion, the Witch, and the Great Insult by James Tonkowich Last week, the movie Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe opened to critical acclaim. Needless to say, though, not every critic loved the film. At least one was, let's just say, less than enthusiastic about it: "Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion," ran the headline of an article in the British newspaper The Guardian. The author, Polly Toynbee, warns her readers that "adults who wince at the worst elements of Christian belief may need a sickbag handy for the most religiose scenes."...

'Narnia' leads holiday box office overseas Tue Jan 3, 2006 5:20 AM GMT169 Printer Friendly | Email Article | RSS By Hy Hollinger LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Domestic champion "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" also ruled the foreign box office during the New Year holiday weekend as its global total roared to $450 million (260 milllion pound). Now playing in 31 markets, the adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel sold $41 million worth of tickets over the weekend, taking its overseas haul to $225.5 million. "King Kong" added $29 million, and "Harry Potter...

This Story Has a Happy Ending Hollywood is doing just fine. BY DAN GLICKMAN To read some reporting on the film industry over the past six months, you'd think the sky was falling--and the "H" on the "HOLLYWOOD" sign was about to fall off and crash down onto Mulholland Drive. It is true that this year has presented challenges for movie makers, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of our industry have been greatly exaggerated. Over the past several weeks, millions of people have lined up at theaters around the world to see a boy wizard, a...

Have you seen the latest Chronicles Of Sarnia?" asked Gord during a lull at the 24/7 campaign call centre. "Chronicles Of Sarnia?" I said, bewildered. "You remember," he said, "the books by that famous intellectual philosopher." "C. S. Lewis?" "Avi Lewis, isn't it?" said Gord. "Anyway, they're the magical fairy tales set in that strange, vast, snow-covered land encompassing all that lies between the lamppost with the sign saying 'You Are Now Leaving The United States And Entering The Moral Conscience Of The World' and the great island fortress of Hans Pairodanes on the northern sea. The land where it...

LOS ANGELES — "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" snatched the box office crown from "King Kong" during another fierce four-day holiday battle for the top spot. Less than $2 million separated "Kong" and "Narnia" each of the past two weekends. "We edged out `Kong.' It's been neck-and-neck," Buena Vista's Dennis Rice said Monday. "These are two great movies in the marketplace that are doing great business." "Narnia" took in an estimated $32.8 million from Friday through Monday, nudging Universal's "King Kong" out of the No. 1 spot and into second with a New Year's...

It's far too early to write any obituaries for Universal Pictures' "King Kong." As of Tuesday, the end of its first two weeks in release, Peter Jackson's remake had amassed $128 million domestically and $153.6 million abroad, for a combined worldwide haul of $282.1 million. With those numbers, it's just about halfway home to recouping its $207 million production costs, give or take the added millions spent on marketing as well as the participations earmarked for Jackson. Still, the fact that "Kong" didn't automatically prevail as king of the jungle -- but instead has found itself in a day-to-day battle...

HOLLYWOOD NEEDS MORE MAGIC – THE NARNIA, NOT THE POTTER KINDGrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary By Don Feder In “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” the lion, Aslan, speaks of the “deep magic from the dawn of time” which governs magical Narnia. At the outset, let me say: A) This isn’t a movie review, B) I loved the movie, and C) I won’t get into the controversy about whether director Andrew Adamson eviscerated the book’s underlying Christian message. “Narnia” is about magic – but not in a superficial sense. With notable exceptions, magic is what’s missing in...

22 days to get to $200 million, should make $300 million before it closes out in late March/early April. If you haven't seen it go watch it and my 4 1/2 year old watched it with her mom today and had no problems, she loved it.

It wasn’t a particularly good year for conservative cinema. It rarely is. Yet alongside the cavalcade of ideology, mediocrity and stupidity that is Hollywood today, a few gems shone forth dazzlingly. What is a conservative film? Let’s start with what it isn’t. It’s not about men with bulging biceps and even bigger guns. It’s not cartoonish action heroes. It isn’t revenge tales masquerading as heroism. Conservative cinema does more than entertain; movies that do no more are visual candy. It instructs and inspires. Conservative films celebrate virtue. They tell timeless tales of individuals overcoming all manner of adversity to achieve...

The New King of the Media? (Narnia’s Anschutz, plus Hollywood’s Has-beens) In with the new: PHIL ANSCHUTZ Phil Anschutz’s film-making ambitions started off fairly rocky. It’s not that he didn’t have any hits. Ray grossed $75 million; the low-budget kid’s movies, Holes and Because of Winn-Dixie grossed $67 million and $33 million respectively. But he also had two huge-budget flops, Around the World in 180 Days, and Sahara. Fortunately, Anschutz’s other project, Qwest Communications, a telephone company, has done well of late and Mr. Anschutz had plenty of money to try again. He aimed for the fences with the first...

In today’s NY Post, octogenarian gossip frau Liz Smith offers her list of holiday movie recommendations. Some highlights: “If you want to be ravished by images, glamorous melodrama and the mysterious world of Japanese courtesans, try Rob Marshall's "Memoirs of a Geisha,"Liz recommends of the film in which young Japanese girls (inexplicably played by young Chinese girls) sell their virginity to the highest bidder. No warning of any nebulous message here. “ If a shattering, cathartic cry is what you're yearning for, ride over to "Brokeback Mountain.”Liz recommends of Hollywood’s groundbreaking, anti-marriage, gay cowboys eating pudding movie. No warning of...

. . .My kids were grade-school fans of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." In recent years, however, they have come to appreciate its deeper lessons. So they wanted to see the new film version to start the Christmas season. Yet we approached the theater with some trepidation. Would Hollywood turn the noble Pevensie children into self-absorbed brats, as it tends to do when it gets its hands on classic tales? Fortunately, we weren't disappointed. My children left the theater with a noticeable light in their eyes. In the parking lot, my son paused and said, "That's the kind...

After reading all the hype in the media and on FR, I was excited to see the film of the CS Lewis book. I have to say I was disappointed. For all it's grandiosity and provenance, I found it clunky, sometimes difficult to follow and worse, unbelieveable (even a "fantasy" movie must reasonable enough in the story and behavior of it's characters to hurdle the initial "willing suspension of disbelief") The religious basis and backdop to the story has been argued at length on FR, so let's leave that at the doorstep and discuss it's cinematic achievements, or lack thereof....

'King Kong' Mighty But No Monster... click here to READ THE FULL REPORT RELATED BOX OFFICE LINKS ALL TIME - TOP DECEMBER OPENINGS 2005 GROSSES | ALL TIME GROSSES MOVIE REVIEWS King Kong | Brokeback Mountain | Narnia Mrs. Palfrey | Rent | Walk the Line > MORE REVIEWS << PREVIOUS Stay tuned for daily updates... NEXT >> Rank* Title (Click to view chart) Monday 12/19 Tuesday 12/20 Wednesday 12/21 Thursday 12/22 1 THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE 3,680 $4,654,664 -52.6% / $1,265 $117,824,308 / 11 $4,915,049 5.6% / $1,336 $122,739,357 / 12 $4,940,386...

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" expanded its daily box office take again from Tuesday to Wednesday, despite the wide releases of two fims, one of which was very family-oriented. Three more movies will enter wide release of Friday, but they are expected to neither rival Narnia's box-office receipts, or draw movie-goers from the same market as Narnia. The result is that Narnia seems to be inevitably this year's Christmas box-office champion. (As an aside, if you haven't seen this movie, see it; it is simply fantastic. It's actually unfortunate that it has drawn comparison...

Churches Urge Visits to 'Narnia' By Don Ross (12/20/05 -- CARY) - Some ministers are urging their congregations to see the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia" this Christmas season. Like the film "The Passion of the Christ," many see the storyline as a teaching tool at Sunday school. The popular series of books written by C.S. Lewis explains how four children and a lion deliver the land of Narnia from the forces of evil. The blockbuster Disney film is figuring into Pastor Stephen Barker's Sunday sermons at Macedonia Baptist Church. "I would strongly recommend for anyone to go see it,...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY As is their custom when in Washington on a weekend, the President and First Lady attended St. Johns Episcopal Church this morning. The President will address the nation this evening from the Oval Office. In the meantime, Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq on the first leg of his Middle Eastern trip. QUOTE OF THE DAY: From the Vice President's remarks to the troops at Al-Asad Air Base, Al-Asad, Iraq, Sunday, December 18, 2005. (Click here to read the entire transcript.) THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not Jessica Simpson. (Laughter.) But...

The Chronicles of Narnia has done the unthinkable - it's put Christianity smack-bang in the middle of a pop-cultural debate. Stephanie Bunbury spoke with Tilda Swinton and the Kiwi director Andrew Adamson about the film's "hidden" meaning. If anyone still requires proof of the gulf of difference between the US and everywhere else, look no further than the current storm-in-a-cappuccino about The Chronicles of Narnia. For weeks, it seems, there have been spats in the papers about C.S. Lewis' classic children's fantasy series, the first instalment of which has just been adapted as a lush blockbuster by Andrew Adamson, who...

A gross of $11,000 per screen is quite good. If you're an autumn Wide Release, opening on 3500 screens across the country. When a movie opens on only 69 of the nation's largest theaters in a few dozen of the largest cities, with almost all of your target audience within range of those theaters, it's pretty bad. Brokeback Mountain played in fourteen times more theaters this Friday than last Friday, and made less than four times as much money, only $760,000. It looks like the movie will make considerably less than its $15 million budget before the Academy Awards come...

KING KONG 3567 screens / Wed $9,755,745 / Thurs $6,295,755 THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE 3,616 screens / Wed $3,507,508 / Thurs $3,638,314

So here we are in December, once the jolliest month of the year but now time once again for the Christmas tug-of-war. Oops. Hope I didn't offend anyone with that C-word. But you know what I mean. Will we have a community Christmas tree or a "holiday tree"? Will we wish each other a "merry Christmas" or "happy holidays"? Will we sing winter festival songs or Christmas carols? It is all so stupid. This year's struggle began even before the first day of Advent, when a spokesman for the Governor General announced Her Excellency was going to light a "holiday...

One of my favorite stories is of famished Samaria under siege. "Hear the word of the Lord," Elisha said in 2 Kings 7, "Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria." He was announcing imminent bargain prices on a starvation day when "a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver" and some dove's dung for five shekels (2 Kings 6:25). Sure. No way. Who will not pity Saul? Nothing was happening. The brave hero, having waited seven days...

Narnia characters will appear in McDonalds happy meals from December 16 to January 12. Each McDonald’s Happy Meal includes an articulated action figure and interactive pop-up book that provides a richly detailed play environment to bring the film to life. 1. Lucy Pevensie and the Wardrobe features a charming Lucy action figure. The door of Lucy’s wardrobe diorama opens so she can enter the mystical world of Narnia on the reverse side. 2. Mr. Tumnus and his Home includes Tumnus, who sports a scarf that doubles as a whistle, and a detailed pop-up book depicting his wintry home. 3. Edmund...

This is the title of a movie review written by British film critic, Poly Toynbee of CS Lewis' masterpiece turned Hollywood blockbuster entitled “The Chronicles of Narnia” . It clearly demonstrates the contempt that many non-believers have for Christianity. Read More... Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

Even a much-hyped giant gorilla, a geisha and a schoolboy magician won't be able to create a happy ending at the US box office, as Hollywood ends its most disappointing year in nearly two decades. Plunging movie ticket sales, after a string of uninspiring remakes and movie sequels coupled with an explosion of the DVD and video game markets, are keeping audiences at home and have sent Hollywood into a deep existential crisis. "This industry is facing significant challenges said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, a business support and research body. Ticket sale...

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a new film based on the Narnia children's books by English writer C.S. Lewis. According to an unnamed Disney executive in a recent issue of The New York Times, Narnia will provide the company with a Christian niche, among the lucrative fantasy franchises like "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings." Since some 80 percent of Americans claim to be Christian, this would be pretty big niche. However, it seems likely that the executive meant the evangelical Christian niche, and thus was adopting the evangelical presumption that only those who believe...

'BROKEBACK' LEADS GLOBESPlummeting 2005 box office sparks Hollywood crisis... A movie about gay cowboys is voted the best movie by Hollywood, and at the same time Hollywood's annual box office is plummetting. Could there be a connection?

According to a source at Disney who requested anonymity Prince Caspian, the second story in the Chronicles of Narnia, has been greenlit for a December 2007 theatrical release. Disney was hoping for a $60 million opening weekend for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and since the film’s opening exceeded their expectation they are moving forward. Don’t expect an official announcement until later in the week or possibly as late as January. Adamson hasn’t decided whether he will direct the new film, but most think he will be back. The script is very nearly finished, and the general feeling...

THOUGH it's fashionable nowadays to come out of the closet, lately folks are piling in - into the wardrobe, that is, to battle over who owns Narnia: secular or Christian lovers of C. S. Lewis's stories. Children, of course, have been slipping through the magic cupboard into the mythical land for 50 years without assistance from pundits or preachers (though fauns and talking badgers have been helpful). But now that the chronicles' first book, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," has been made into a Disney movie, adults are fighting to claim the action. And that means analyzing it....

The same weekend the Chronicles of Narnia premiers, so does Brokeback Mountain. Of course, what movie is the local Episcopal Church in Caspar, Wyoming, going to see and having a forum afterwards? Until I read this, I would have assumed it would be the movie based on a book by the Anglican paragon C.S. Lewis, that is about, well, JESUS! Ah, but we are Episcopalians, and we are far more concerned about homosexuality. But, seriously, shouldn’t the church have been promoting Chronicles rather than Brokeback? Jesus rather than gay cowboys who later marry women and then cheat on them with...

Children won't get the Christian subtext, but unbelievers should keep a sickbag handy during Disney's new epic, writes Polly Toynbee Monday December 5, 2005 The Guardian Aslan the lion shakes his mighty mane and roars out across Narnia and eternity. Christ is risen! However, not many British children these days will get the message. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens this week to take up the mantle left by The Lord of the Rings. CS Lewis's seven children's books, The Chronicles of Narnia, will be with us now and for many Christmases to come. Only Harry Potter has...

If the White Witch had understood the meaning of sacrifice... —Aslan Rarely do I view a movie in the theater, but I made an exception for the adaptation of CS Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" the first in the Chronicle of Narnia series. As a movie, it's one of the best produced film I've seen. Rarely does a film have so much going for it. During the opening credits, when the heroes (four English Children) are on a train, I could tell I was going to witness a cinematic masterpiece and Disney didn't disappoint in Lewis' fantasy...

After coming up dry on such costly movie flops as "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Sahara," Hollywood's highest-rolling wildcatter is looking for his first gusher. And once again, Philip Anschutz is risking big. The Denver-based multibillionaire, who made a fortune in oil, natural gas, railroads, telecommunications and real estate, has spent $90 million — half the film's $180-million budget — to produce the screen adaptation of the children's classic "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." But whether the movie, which opens Friday, will produce the lucrative family-oriented franchise that Anschutz hopes for depends...

...(GD=The Great Divorce; LM=Letters to Malcolm, M=Miracles, MC=Mere Christianity; PP=the Problem of Pain; RPO=Reflections on the Psalms, SJ=Suprised by Joy, SL= The Screwtape Letters: ...Theology Proper On Creation: Lewis believed that evolution was true to an extent in the past, but that it will be superseded in the future (MC, p.169). "...for we have good reason to believe that animals existed long before men...For long centuries God pefected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself...[Eventually,] God caused a new kind of consciousness to descend upon this organism" (PP,pp. 137,77). "...Man, the...

The movie version of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe has topped the UK box office with takings of £8 million in its opening weekend, figures showed today. The adaptation of the CS Lewis classic is the biggest UK opening for a Disney film - beating previous record-holder Toy Story 2. In the US, box office takings of 67.1 million dollars (£37.8 million) made it the second highest December opening of all time behind the final Lord Of The Rings film. O Worldwide, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe took 108.8 million US dollars...

The DUmmies are upset over the fact that there might be a (GASP! SHOCK!) message in the recently released Narnia movie as you can see in this THREAD titled, "Is anyone esle annoyed with the proselytizing of the Narnia movie?" Yeah, this is soooooo unique in a movie. As if "Bareback Mountain," "Syriana," or "Good Night and Good Luck" have no messages. The truth is that almost ALL movies have some sort of message. Often people might not even agree with the message to enjoy the movie. An example is "Doctor Strangelove" and its message that the U.S. military...

The Chronicles of Narnia rang in at the top of the box office over the weekend, with a total take of roughly $67,064,000, with $23,033,000 of that on just the first day. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe beat out (in order) SYRIANA, Harry Potter, Walk the Line and Aeon Flux. The film ranked 23rd in all-time openings and second behind Return of the King in December openings. It ranked third-best opening weekend of 2005. Get more detailed statistics here: http://www.narniaweb.com/boxoffice.asp

THIS WEEKEND Just days ahead of a giant ape's mighty yell, a ferocious lion roared into North American theaters as Disney's big-budget epic The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe generated an explosive opening weekend at number one fueling what should become a gargantuan end-of-year box office surge. Meanwhile, adult audiences flocked to the political thriller Syriana which expanded nationwide while in limited release Brokeback Mountain and Memoirs of a Geisha debuted to eye-popping results kicking off what is sure to be another exciting awards season. Delivering the third biggest opening of the year, Narnia attracted...