The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which took a commanding early lead at the weekend box office in North America, will likely fall short of industry expectations, say the Industry observers.

 Walt Disney Co, the distributor of film, on Saturday claimed that "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" sold $19.3 million worth of tickets during its first day of release across the United States and Canada on Friday

According to tracking firm Box Office Mojo, Marvel Entertainment Inc's superhero smash "Iron Man," the box office champ for the past two weekends, was the No. 2 choice on Friday, with estimated sales of $8.6 million.

Industry observers said that they had expected "Prince Caspian" to do better than the first "Narnia" film, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" – The film earned $23 million on its first day in December 2005, and $65.6 million in its first weekend. They said the movie will likely fall short of industry expectations.

Last weekend, the kids movie "Speed Racer" crashed to a dismal $18.6 million during its first three days. On the other hand, "Iron Man" has surpassed all expectations, and has grossed about $200 million to date.

Based on the religious-themed books by C.S. Lewis, the "Narnia" series are co-produced by Walden Media, a film company owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. Both films were directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the "Shrek" series.