A dancing penguin and the world's deadliest spy have settled in for a long stay at the top of the box office. The animated penguin tale "Happy Feet" was the No. 1 movie for the third straight weekend, posting ticket sales of $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Also for the third straight weekend, the James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" ran a close second, taking in $15.1 million.

"Happy Feet," from Warner Bros., raised its total domestic gross to $121 million. Sony's "Casino Royale" has climbed to $115.9 million.

With a fairly open market for family crowds through Christmas, "Happy Feet" is expected to top out at $185 million or more, said Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager for Warner Bros.

Topping $300 million worldwide, "Casino Royale" is on the way to surpassing the $432 million total of "Die Another Day" to become the top-grossing Bond movie, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.

"It's been all about 'Happy Feet' and 'Casino Royale' for the past three weeks. Those films have really captured the marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "I've never really seen two movies define the start of a holiday season in the way these two have."