<B>During</B> the biggest Christmas weekend in history, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King retained its crown at the North American box office with an estimated haul of $51.2 million. The last film in New Line?s epic trilogy, based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson, has accrued an impressive $223.7 million in 12 days.

Despite its 3-1/2-hour running time, King crossed the $200 million mark on Saturday after 11 days ? the second fastest to that level behind Sony?s Spider-Man, which reached that plateau in nine days. Its three-day tally represents a drop of only 29 % from its opening stanza.

The top 12 films this Christmas weekend racked up a staggering estimate of $168.7 million ? up 8 % from last year?s holiday record. Four Christmas Day debuts helped business.

Cheaper by the Dozen from 20th Century Fox had the best performance among the new arrivals, opening at No. 2. The Steve Martin vehicle exceeded expectations with an estimated $28.2 million for the weekend. Families were out in force for the PG-rated Shawn Levy-directed picture, which grossed an estimated $36.4 million for four-days.

It was Martin?s second-biggest opening after Bringing Down the House ($31.1 million) earlier this year.

Miramax?s critically acclaimed Cold Mountain, a Civil War drama from director Anthony Minghella, got a warm reception with a No. 3 debut and a $14.5 million weekend haul from 2,163 theaters ? the lowest theater count among the session?s top-ranked films.