'Marley & Me' leads strong holiday box office through Friday

After setting a box office record on Christmas day, Marley & Me was again top dog at the box office on Friday, raising its estimated two-day receipts to $28.6 million. Friday audiences also continued to make a winner of Oscar contender The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; the David Fincher-directed story starring Brad Pitt as a man aging backward banked $22 million heading into Saturday. Close on its heels was Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories, which took in $20.2 million, with weekend matinees for kids promising to boost its total by Sunday. The good news also extended to comeback kid Tom Cruise, whose Valkyrie scored a two-day estimate of $16.5 million. The other Christmas Day opener, The Spirit, had less to celebrate, barely sneaking into the top 10 with a two-day total of $6.5 million. Check back at EW.com on Sunday afternoon for the complete four-day Box Office Report.