Eddie Murphy and Tim Allen, both of whom became famous on TV before moving to the big screen, need a hit. Each has had a string of failures and box-office disappointments. They squared off over the weekend — Murphy is a film adaptation of the old Bill Cosby — Robert Culp TV series "I Spy" and Allen in a long-planned sequel to his biggest film success, "The Santa Clause" (1994). Forecasters expected a close race, but they didn't get one. "The Santa Clause 2" emerged as a no-contest winner on both the national and local charts. Across North America it topped "I Spy" by a two-to-one margin. Locally the difference is more than five-to-one.

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