There were no lumps of coal in Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston's stockings this Christmas.
The former couple both had movies in competition for the top spot on Christmas Day, and while Aniston's film pulled in the most money, both movies were winners at the box office.
Aniston's Marley & Me, a feel-good movie costarring Owen Wilson about a young family and mischievous dog, was the leader of the pack, grossing $14.8 million, the highest one-day total ever for a film opening on Christmas.
But Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wasn't far behind. The film, about the life-long romance between a man who ages in reverse (Pitt) and a woman (Cate Blanchett), set the record for the second-highest Christmas opening of all-time with $11.8 million.
Both films exceeded box office expectations by 40-50 percent, Variety reports.
Two other films also opened to strong numbers on Christmas Day.
Adam Sandler's kid-friendly Bedtime Stories picked up approximately $10.5 million to land in third place, and it could overtake Benjamin Button to land in second place for the long holiday weekend.
Tom Cruise's World War II epic Valkyrie opened to mixed reviews but a solid one-day gross of about $8.5 million.
The only other new release, director Frank Miller's Spirit – starring Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson – was the only underperformer, grossing about $4 million on its opening day.
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