'Little Fockers' tops Wednesday box office

LOS ANGELES - Universal's "Little Fockers" grossed in the $7.2 million to $7.3 million range as it debuted domestically in 3,536 theaters Wednesday, according to preliminary estimates.

Threequel topped the box office chart, but will need to make up ground if it's to meet Universal's expectation for a $60 million debut between now and Sunday.

Paramount's critically acclaimed Western "True Grit," from the Coen brothers, opened stronger than expected, grossing an estimated $5.5 million from 3,047 theaters, all but tying with Disney's "Tron: Legacy" for No. 2.

"Tron" grossed $5.6 million from 3,451 locations for a six-day cume of $62.1 million.

Other headline of the day was Fox Searchlight's "Black Swan," which grossed $1.8 million as it expanded into a total of 1462 theaters nationwide for a cume of $20.6 million. Specialty film placed a strong No. 7 for the day. "Black Swan" opened in a limited run in early December.

Coming in No. 8 was Paramount/Relativity's "The Fighter," which placed No. 8 with $1.4 million from 2,503 runs for a six-day cume of $17.5 million.

The holiday box office has been sluggish for bigger studio titles, and "Focker's" Wednesday number continued that trend. In 2004, "Meet the Fockers" debuted to more than $12 million on the same Wednesday on its way to a $70 million five-day opening.

Specialty titles like "Black Swan" and "Fighter" are attracting better interest. "True Grit" has more commercial appeal, but is still an adult drama, a defining trait of specialty films.