'Frost/Nixon' sets '08 box office record

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Universal Pictures says its film "Frost/Nixon" earned $180,708 when it debuted in three locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto last weekend.

The per-screen average of $60,236 gives Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation of Peter Morgan's play the highest per-screen debut of any film released in the United States this year, the movie studio said.

"This is a spectacular opening, and we are thrilled with the result," Adam Fogelson, president of marketing and distribution for Universal Pictures, said in a statement. "Ron Howard, his cast and crew created one of the best films of the year, and it is gratifying that audiences and critics alike are celebrating it with such enthusiasm. We look forward to bringing 'Frost/Nixon' to additional markets through Christmas so audiences everywhere can discover for themselves what has people crowding into these early theaters."

The film about British television personality David Frost's historic interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon stars Michael Sheen and Frank Langella as Frost and Nixon respectively.