Could it be that people really could care less about a self-indulgent three hour remake of a classic film and that they prefer being transported into a bona-fide fantasy world reimagined from a child fantasy series staple? Hollywood Reporter notes that this week, Narnia has knocked Kong from its perch. Kong‘s total box office take? $174.3 million domestic and $400 million worldwide. Of course, given that the film cost at least $200 million to make and that the typical Hollywood rule is that a film must earn three times its budget to break even, this will not exactly sit pretty at Universal. Universal still needs $200 million, which they’ll get for the remainder of the film’s run and the DVD sales. But I don’t think this was the sum they’d really hoped for, do you?

This is likely a good thing for Peter Jackson, who demonstrated with this film that he’s transformed into an out-of-control filmmaker and may not be worth the $20 million paycheck plus grosses deal that he netted for this. Not until he proves to us that he’s more than an overgrown adolescent (and I, for one, am shakily optimistic on this score).