Lion-sized blockbuster

Peter Jackson's "King Kong" is big. It's got a big gorilla, big insects, big special effects and is doing relatively big box office nationwide. But in Colorado Springs, residents are thumbing their nose at Kong to see another furry King -- this one named Aslan -- again and again and again.

For the fourth straight week, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," a movie based on C.S. Lewis' classic children's story, has roared its way to box-office glory locally, leaving mighty Kong a chest-thumping runner-up. It's been the number one movie locally since its release -- a pretty remarkable run. Sure, it's been doing well nationally, too -- it looks as though it'll make $200 million without breaking stride, and reclaimed the top box-office spot nationally this week from "Kong," which had a two-week run on top. But still, it seems as though Springs residents have a special affection for "Narnia."

Why is this? Are our local evangelicals sending another economic message to Holllywood? Do Springs residents, statistically younger than the nation as a whole, just like the family-friendlier fare of "Narnia" better than the frenetic violence of "Kong"? Or do we just all have some rather disturbing obsession with talking beavers?