TheChronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe scored the best opening ever in Argentina with 460.489 admissions from173 screens in its first four-day weekend (Jan 5-8).

The fantasy epic beat previous record set by The Matrix Reloaded with 450.839spectators from 115 theatres in May 2003, while Shrek 2 holds the record for a five-day weekend with 528.617tickets on 123 venues.

"The first weekend figures are impressiveand has far exceeded our expectations," says Pablo Sahores, TheatricalDistribution Senior Manager of Walt Disney Latin America. "Now it ispossible to break the two million admissions mark, which is great for this timeof the year in Argentina".

Buena Vista International launched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witchand the Wardrobe with 173 prints, making it the widest release of all timein this market. Argentina has only 1,000 screens for a population of 40 millionpeople.