FLASH: Executives at Universal Pictures may be going apesh-t: Box office numbers are in from last night's opening night of "King Kong." It's not pretty.

$9.7 million. That's the total take for Wednesday night's showings of "Kong" on 3,567 screens. Despite great critical reviews, that means that "King Kong" might already be a disappointment. Box office insiders tell FishbowLA that at most, "Kong" is likely to get $45 million to $50 million for the whole weekend - a disasterous figure for a film that's rumored to cost over $250 million to make and another $100 million to market.

"I think everyone's going to be speechless," said a slack-jawed employee at a rival studio, "I am, and so is everyone else. We were comparing it to the first 'Lord of the Rings,' but now it looks like they'll be lucky if they beat 'Narnia.'"

To put it in all in context, "Lord of the Rings" took in $18 million from 3,359 screens on its first day.

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