The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

finished on top in its debut weekend—grossing an estimated $24.5 million from 3,555 theaters—but it was nearly $12 million short of some analysts' expectations, USA Today reported.

Despite the pricey 3-D component, Dawn Treader had a disappointing opening for a series whose first two entries, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian debuted at $65.6 million in 2005 and $55 million in 2008, respectively. The third film in the franchise based on C.S. Lewis' beloved children's novels was released by Walden Media and 20th Century Fox.

"While box-office prognosticators were predicting a decline from prior 'Narnia' movies, no one foresaw Dawn Treader stumbling this much," Entertainment Weekly observed. "It's hard to decipher what went wrong."

About half the nation's movie critics recommended the movie, according to RottenTomatoes.com. But "Prince Caspian failed to impress critically or commercially, and probably sent some fans packing their bags," Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com told USA Today.

Makers of Dawn Treader heavily marketed the film to the faith-based community, including churches and parachurch groups.

At the foreign box office, the movie drew an estimated $81 million on 10,141 screens in 85 countries, bringing its total to $105.5 million for its debut weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Click here for more information on the movie and here to listen to an exclusive Christian Retailing interview with Dawn Treader Executive Producer Douglas Gresham.

Click below to watch a trailer of Dawn Treader.

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