The canines in Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Drew Barrymore's Chloe and George Lopez's Papi) may be small, but they took a very big bite out of the box office. The new live-action talking-dog movie grabbed a stunning $8.5 million on its opening day, and, with a predictably huge surge of family business Saturday and Sunday, BHC will likely reach an estimated $29 million for the three-day. If the number holds, this would be the all-time second-biggest Disney dog movie opening in history, trailing only 1996's live action 101 Dalmatians ($33.5 million). Early math is pointing toward a possible $105 million-$110 million total domestic take.

Eagle Eye (Dreamworks/Paramount), the holdover high-tech thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, scared up another $5.5 million on its second Friday, and it seems headed for an estimated $17 million weekend, down only 42 percent or so from its blockbuster opening weekend. Based on that hold, the D.J. Caruso-directed blockbuster will pass $50 million domestic sometime on Sunday and seems to be on track for $100 million-$105 million domestic.

Shia LaBeouf may be Hollywood's biggest Under 25 male star, but 20-year-old Michael Cera is in the conversation thanks to Superbad ($121.5 million cume) and Juno ($143.5 million cume). His new flick Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Sony), however, has opened below industry expectations. The exceedingly well-reviewed teen comedy (71 percent Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) checked in at No. 3 for the day with $4 million, and that will likely translate to a lower-than-expected $10.8 million opening weekend. Director Peter Sollett's first film was a quirky teen romance set in Manhattan called Raising Victor Vargas, which earned five Independent Spirit Awards, so he had the perfect sensibility to make a movie like this work. Despite the soft opening, the Infinite Playlist will still be very profitable, given its production budget of only $10 million.

The Richard Gere-Diane Lane tearjerker Nights in Rodanthe (Warner Bros.) is solidly entrenched at No. 4 for the day, and for the weekend. The Nicholas Sparks adaptation is luring Females 25 Plus to America's multiplexes with about $2.45 million on Friday and an anticipated second weekend of $7.5 million, down just 44 percent. That will give Rodanthe a new cume of $25.2 million or so by Monday morning.

The Ed Harris-directed Appaloosa (Warner Bros.) is proving that America still loves a good Western. With a cast that includes Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Oscar winners Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons, this second directorial effort for Harris has expanded to 1,045 playdates with terrific results. The old-fashioned shoot-em-up seized $1.7 million on Friday, and it is headed for a strong $5.2 million weekend, good for fifth place.

David Zucker's conservative comedy rant An American Carol (Vivendi) has surpassed industry expectations with $1.4 million on its opening day. The movie, which makes sport of liberal documentarian Michael Moore will likely sell $4.2 million in tickets over the weekend for a $2,563 PTA. Although it was not screened for critics, L.A. Weekly scribe Scott Foundas did manage to see it, and he says, "The movie's level of political discourse makes Couric/Palin look like Frost/Nixon." Regardless, it was not made for left-coast critics, and there is clearly room at multiplexes for movies made by and for conservatives.

Ironically, holdover Fireproof (IDP Films/Samuel Goldwyn), a Christian-themed film made by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., will likely outperform An American Carol for the three-day despite being in its second week and showing at almost 800 fewer locations. The red state-friendly Fireproof will likely reach $4.4 million for the frame for a new cume of $11.8 million. This is a massive success for filmmaker and Sherwood Baptist Church Associate Pastor Alex Kendrick considering that the movie was made for only $500,000 and all of the profit will be funneled back into the church ministries.

From the Godly to the godless we go, as the Bill Maher doc Religulous (Lionsgate), a nihilistic filmmaking exercise if there ever was one, will probably crack the Top 10 for the weekend. Maher attacks religion generally, and Christianity specifically, in this comic doc, and it has generated a surprisingly strong $1.1 million, which should translate to an impressive $3.3 million weekend despite being on only 502 screens. That would translate to an solid $6,500 PTA.

In a rather hodgepodge weekend of releases, the remaining three titles are all disappointments to varying degrees. Universal's feel-good Flash of Genius, the real-life story of Robert Kearns, who invented the intermittent windshield wiper (Kearns's invention stolen by Ford and Chrysler), scored about $729 per screen on Friday for an $800,000 gross. With a not insignificant number of positive reviews (59 percent Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a cast including Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine), Golden Globe nominee Lauren Graham (The Gilmore Girls) and Oscar nominee Alan Alda (The West Wing, M*A*S*H), Flash will still only reach $2.6 million for the three-day, and it will miss the Top 10 altogether.

Blindness (Miramax), the dismally-reviewed new movie from Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) stumbled to an embarrassing $700,000 Friday and, for the weekend, $2.1 million (a dismal $1,243 PTA is in the cards). Meanwhile, MGM's How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, starring the always-funny Simon Pegg, is a non-starter with just $400,000 on opening day, and a projected $1.2 million for the three-day. That is a weekend PTA of just $686.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW Beverly Hills Chihauhau (Disney) — $8.5 million, $2,644 PTA, $8.5 million cume
2. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) — $5.5 million, $1,564 PTA, $42.4 million cume
3. NEW Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Sony) — $4 million, $1,739 PTA, $4 million cume
4. Nights in Rodanthe (Warner Bros.) — $2.45 million, $907 PTA, $20.1 million cume
5. Appaloosa (Warner Bros.) — $1.7 million, $1,627 PTA, $2.25M
6. NEW An American Carol (Vivendi) — $1.4 million, $854 PTA, $1.4 million cume
7. Fireproof (IDP Films/Samuel Goldwyn) — $1.3 million, $1,526 PTA, $9.7 million cume
8. Lakeview Terrace (Sony) — $1.2 million, $466 PTA, $28.8 million cume
9. Burn After Reading (Focus) — $1.15 million, $480 PTA, $48.7 million cume
10. NEW Religulous (Lionsgate) — $1.1 million, $2,191 PTA, $3.3 million cume
11. NEW Flash of Genius (Universal) — $800,000, $729 PTA, $800,000 cume
12. NEW Blindness (Miramax) — $700,000, $414 PTA, $700,000 cume
* NEW How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (MGM) — $400,000, $229 PTA, $400,000 cume

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW Beverly Hills Chihauhau (Disney) — $29 million, $9,020 PTA, $29 million cume
2. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) — $17 million, $4,835 PTA, $53.9 million cume
3. NEW Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Sony) — $10.8 million, $4,639 PTA, $10.8 million cume
4. Nights in Rodanthe (Warner Bros.) — $7.5 million, $2,776 PTA, $25.2 million cume
5. Appaloosa (Warner Bros.) — $5.2 million, $4,976 PTA, $5.75M
6. Fireproof (IDP Films/Samuel Goldwyn) — $4.4 million, $5,164 PTA, $12.8 million cume
7. NEW An American Carol (Vivendi) — $4.2 million, $2,563 PTA, $4.2 million cume
8. Lakeview Terrace (Sony) — $4.1 million, $1,593 PTA, $31.7 cume
9. Burn After Reading (Focus) — $3.85 million, $1,606 PTA, $51.4 million cume
10. NEW Religulous (Lionsgate) — $3.3 million, $6,574 PTA, $3.3 million cume
11. Igor (MGM) — $3 million, $1,306 PTA, $18.3 million cume
12. NEW Flash of Genius (Universal) — $2.6 million, $2,368 PTA, $2.6 million cume
* NEW Blindness (Miramax) — $2.1 million, $1,243 PTA, $2.1 million cume
* NEW How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (MGM) — $1.2 million, $686 PTA, $1.2 million cume