By David Germain
The Associated Press

Flying reindeer beat flying fists as The Santa Clause 2 debuted as the weekend's top move, trouncing I Spy.

Overall, however, box office receipts were down steeply after climbing for seven straight weeks.

Santa Clause 2, with Tim Allen returning as the North Pole's No. 1 elf, collected $29 million, more than double the opening numbers for Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson's action comedy, according to studio estimates.

I Spy, loosely based on the 1960s TV series, opened a weak third with $14 million.

The Ring held up well, remaining No. 2 with $18.5 million and raising its 17-day total to $64.9 million. Last weekend's top flick, Jackass: The Movie, fell to fourth place with $13.1 million.

The top 12 grossed $103.1 million, off 22 percent from the same weekend last year, when Monsters, Inc. opened with $62.6 million, a record for an animated film.

Santa Clause 2 distributor Disney opened the 1994 original two weeks before Thanksgiving. That time slot this year was taken by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, forcing Disney to move up the sequel's release date.

"Kids don't care. They want Santa Claus to come early, so they're happy whenever he shows up," said Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations.