‘Kong’ reigns at top of holiday box office

He’s not only the eighth wonder of the world, but the No. 1 draw at the holiday box office as well.

A Sunday night surge gave “King Kong” the needed push for the No. 1 spot over the Friday-through-Monday period with $31.4 million, edging “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by $1.3 million.

“These two movies are energizing the business,” said Chuck Viane, president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, which released “Narnia.”

“Kong” and “Narnia” had no trouble holding off the slew of new films in the marketplace, beating back commercial hopefuls and Oscar contenders alike.

The best of the fresh lot was the Jim Carrey vehicle “Fun with Dick and Jane,” which overcame mostly negative reviews to take in $23.5 million between Friday and Monday for third place.

The returns were a bit less robust for “Cheaper by the Dozen 2.” The sequel debuted in fourth place with $14.8 million, followed by “The Family Stone” ($10.9 million) and “Memoirs of a Geisha” ($10.2 million).

Among the other new releases, the Special Olympics comedy “The Ringer” found its audience with $8.4 million for the four-day weekend, good for seventh overall, better than Jennifer Aniston’s “Rumor Has It,” which was eighth with just under $7.5 million.

The horror film “Wolf Creek” debuted in ninth place with $5.9 million in a bit of Christmas counterprogramming.

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” rounded on the Top 10 with a four-day tally of $5.7 million, pushing its North American box office take to $262.4 million.

Steven Spielberg’s controversial “Munich” was No. 11 with $5.7 million while playing in only 532 theaters. Its $10,714 per-screen-average was best of any film in the Top 12.