Was there an atheist boycott of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian? I only ask because another kid film underperforms for the second weekend in a row as Disney's Prince Caspian looks like it will come up approximately $20 million short of the anticipated goal many box-office prognosticators set out for it to reach.

The magic number appeared to be somewhere around $74-77 million for the sequel to the smash hit The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and some were even expecting almost $80 million. However, it appears my earlier speculation that not many knew or even cared about the film turned out to be true as it earned a meager $19.3 million on Friday and is expected to end the weekend around $51.3 million. Not a good sign for a film that has to have a budget somewhere north of $150 million considering the first film was budgeted at $180 million.

Last week it was teh $120 million budgeted Speed Racer that was dealt the death blow as kids films can't seem to hit their mark or just aren't interesting for their intended audience.

Perhaps it is the fact that Speed Racer was pushed as a film from the guys behind The Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta, all R-rated films, or in Caspian's position the fact that a PG-rated film features throat slicing mice and even a beheading. Yeah, the MPAA must have been paid off on this one as the rating reasoning of "for epic battle action and violence" doesn't really spell out either of those things.

So, it looks like Iron Man continues to remain the Summer 2008 lone hit as it still pulled in $9.25 million on Friday and is expected to remain at #2 for the weekend with an estimated $33 million brining it's total near $225 million in only three weeks.

What Happens in Vegas continues to edge out Speed Racer at #3 and #4 respectively and the top five is rounded out by Made of Honor.

We will be back tomorrow with the complete recap, but for now here are all of Friday's estimated results.

1. Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) – $18 million
2. Iron Man (Paramount) – $9.25 million
3. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) – $4.65 million
4. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) – $2.4 million
5. Made of Honor (Sony) – $1.65 million
6. Baby Mama (Universal) – $1.36 million
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) – $775,000
8. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo (Warner Bros) – $560,000
9. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) – $250,000
10. The Visitor (Overture Films) – $160,000

Related post categories: Box-Office News : Iron Man, Made of Honor, Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, What Happens in Vegas

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