CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-'Marley & Me' top dog at busy Christmas box office

(In paragraph 2, corrects breed of dog to Labrador retriever from golden retriever) (Updates overall sales, adds details on "Benjamin Button," "Valkyrie" and "Doubt")

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES, Dec 28 (Reuters) - It may have been a bleak Christmas for U.S. retailers but Hollywood enjoyed a bumper holiday as new films, led by the dog tale "Marley & Me" and awards contender "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," drew throngs of moviegoers to theaters across North America.

"Marley & Me" sold an estimated $37 million worth of tickets during the traditional three-day weekend beginning on Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star in the adaptation of a bestseller about a couple and their Labrador retriever.

The movie about "life, love and family" -- according to Fox senior vice president of domestic distribution Bert Livingston -- played strongly with audiences of all ages seeking feel-good entertainment.

As with the four other new releases, "Marley & Me" opened on Thursday and earned $14.7 million -- a new Christmas Day record.

The old tally, set in 2001 when "Ali" opened to $10.2 million, was also broken by the new Adam Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories" and by "Benjamin Button," starring Aniston's ex-husband Brad Pitt.

Overall Christmas Day sales reached $75 million, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers, up about $10 million from last year.

Still, Hollywood is on course for a down year. With three days left, year-to-date sales are off about 1 percent at $9.5 billion, while the number of tickets sold has slid 5.2 percent, Media By Numbers said.