The weekend grosses for "Milk" are steady...

Still playing in just 311 theaters, the ticket grosses of "Milk" cannot really be compared to such mega-Christmas weekend releases as Jennifer Aniston's "Marley & Me," Brad Pitt's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories" and even Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie."

All four of thiose films exceeded expectations.

But "Milk" is strong.as it grossed an estimated $1,830,000 Friday throughb Sunday for a to-date gross of $13,597,000. It's per-screen average of $5,884 is still extremely high and fuels optimism as Focus Features expands the release to more theaters in the coming weeks.