By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harry Potter (news - web sites) and James Bond each claimed victories at the North American box office during the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, while a Disney cartoon version of "Treasure Island" was a turkey.

According to studio estimates issued Sunday, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" reclaimed the No. 1 slot with ticket sales of about $32.2 million for the three days beginning Nov. 29.

The boy wizard narrowly beat the latest James Bond thriller "Die Another Day," which had opened at No. 1 last weekend. This time, Bond reported $31 million. However 007 did win the five-day race, which includes Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day Thursday, with $46.3 million against Potter's $45.8 million.

After 17 days in theaters, "Harry Potter" has grossed $200.2 million in the United States and Canada. It reached the double-century mark two days behind its 2001 predecessor "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which racked up $220 million in the same time frame.

The international total rose to $205 million, boosted by a $55 million weekend haul from 32 countries.

"Die Another Day," which marks Pierce Brosnan (news)'s fourth turn as the suave spy, tallied $101.6 million after 10 days, setting a new speed record for the 40-year-old spy franchise. The old mark was held by the last entry in the series, 1999's "The World Is Not Enough," which took 26 days.

"Harry Potter" was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. "Die Another Day" was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

PALLID "PLANET"

Five new entries also entered the field, but moviegoers largely ignored them. The highest profile dud was "Treasure Planet," a sci-fi version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, which bowed in at No. 4.

Since opening Wednesday, the Walt Disney Pictures release has grossed just $17.2 million, including $11.9 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period. Going into the long weekend, industry observers had speculated the family cartoon could be a strong contender for the No. 1 slot.

Walt Disney Co executives had more modest hopes -- around $25 million -- but were nonetheless disappointed.

"It's going to be a struggle, but hopefully we can tough it out the hard way with the holidays ahead of us instead of riding the laurels of a spectacular opening," said Chuck Viane, the company's president of domestic theatrical distribution.

The flop is more bad news for Disney, as it deals with a sagging stock price, grumblings about Chairman Michael Eisner's leadership, poor attendance at its theme parks, ratings woes at its ABC television network and a cruise ship which has given more than 100 people the flu on two consecutive trips.

"Adam Sandler (news)'s 8 Crazy Nights," a dark Hanukkah cartoon co-written and co-produced by the titular star, who also voiced four characters, opened at No. 5 with $10.1 million for the three days and $15.1 million for the five days.

However, the studio noted that the film was budgeted at just $34 million, about a third of what cartoons cost.

"It was very modest in its goals," said Jeff Blake, a vice-chairman at the Sony Corp (news - web sites).-owned studio.

"SOLARIS" TOO PROVOCATIVE?

The George Clooney (news) sci-fi romance "Solaris" opened at No. 7 with $6.8 million for the three days and $9.5 million for the five days. Executives at Twentieth Century Fox had opened for a three-day opening of $10 million-$12 million.

The cerebral, $40 million film, based on the book by Stanislaw Lem, may have been "a little too thought-provoking" for the holiday crowd, said Bruce Snyder, president of distribution at Fox, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc .

The thriller "Wes Craven (news) Presents: They" opened at No. 9 with $5.7 million for the three days and $8 million for the five days. It was released by the Dimension Films wing of Disney's Miramax Films unit. A spokesman said the studio paid just $4 million for North American distribution rights.

And opening well out of the top 10 was "Extreme Ops" with $2.3 million for the three days and $3.1 million for the five days. The sports film was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. A spokeswoman was unavailable for comment.

Disney's hit Tim Allen (news) comedy "The Santa Clause 2" rose one place to No. 3 in its fifth weekend with $12.3 million for the three days and $17.2 million for the five days. Its total rose to $113.9 million.

The top 12 films grossed $137 million for the three-day period, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The tally is down four percent from the equivalent portion of last year's Thanksgiving Day holiday, which fell one week earlier.

Wide new releases next weekend include "Analyze That," a sequel to the hit mob comedy "Analyze This," starring Robert De Niro (news) and Billy Crystal (news); and "Empire," a Latino-themed crime drama starring John Leguizamo (news).

Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the November 29-December 1 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .......... $32,117,496

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $200,159,012

2. Die Another Day .......... $31,010,183

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $101,379,700

3. The Santa Clause 2 .......... $12,133,257

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $113,587,046

4. Treasure Planet .......... $12,083,248

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $16,599,714

5. Adam Sandler 8 Crazy Nights .......... $9,434,175

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $14,045,244

6. Friday After Next .......... $7,363,181

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $25,048,794

7. Solaris .......... $6,752,722

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $9,418,664

8. 8 Mile .......... $5,758,815

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $107,393,455

9. The Ring .......... $5,261,634

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $119,780,914

10. They .......... $5,144,090

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $7,553,219

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  The box office is in a standstill now as the new movies can't break through the wall of Harry Potter, Bond, and Santa Claus.  Things should pick up in a couple of weeks.  Bye for now.