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CHRISTMAS Celebrates Early

Disney's A Christmas Carol Debuts in 1st place.

By Jarrod Sarafin     November 09, 2009


Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis' DISNEY's A CHRISTMAS CAROL(2009).
© Walt Disney Pictures

 

Every passing year it seems as if large corporations across the nation begin sneaking in those Christmas shopping ads (and seasonal lit displays) earlier than what we expect. And a lot of those business establishments can now thank Walt Disney Pictures for throwing a holiday-spirited kick in the gut by inserting A Christmas Carol into the first weekend after Halloween.
The studio launched Robert Zemeckis’ latest motion-capture 3-D feature film into 3,683 theaters and found an estimated $31.0 million as a result. And while that’s a decent opening, it fell short of Disney’s early expectations for a film which reportedly cost $200 million to produce. Still, large budget aside, it will have nearly two months of box office reports to take advantage of its seasonal target audience and bring financial cheer to the house that Walt and Mickey built.
Following in 2nd place is Michael Jackson’s This Is It. The Sony release pulled in another $14.0 million on 3,481 theaters across the nation and grabbed an extra $29 million overseas, making it the 1st place winner for this weekend’s international race. With the latest numbers in the bag, it has a domestic tally of $57.8 million and a foreign gross of $128.6 million. Obviously, a very successful release for Sony Pictures, who’s decided to keep it showing across the globe despite the film initially being billed as a limited engagement.
Overture Films takes the 3rd spot with the debut of their comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats. The George Clooney release landed an estimated $13.3 million on just 2,443 theaters, which has it coming in with an average of $5,448 per showing. A very decent opening three days for a film which cost only $25 mil to produce and the second Overture release in as many months that looks to be profitable, following October’s Law Abiding Citizen ($60.8 mil).
Universal Pictures launched their alien abduction tale, The Fourth Kind, into 4th place with an estimated $12.5 million in receipts. The first three weekend’s numbers has it averaging $4,955 for audiences and while there’s no budget to judge its debut off of, it’s likely not a bad launch.
Paramount Pictures is nearing the $100 million boundary with their supernatural phenomenon, Paranormal Activity. The film, which cost just $15,000 to make and reportedly $11 mil to market, scared up another $8.6 million in the 5th spot to make for a domestic cume of $97.4 million.
The last new wide release to mention is Warner Bros. Pictures’ debut of The Box. Richard Kelly’s latest production was launched into 2,635 theaters over the weekend and found an estimated $7.8 million in cash. While it’s obviously not a stellar debut, the positive side for the studio is that the budget is listed at only $25 million.
The biggest story for this report is Lionsgate Films’ limited release of Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. The film somehow found $1.8 million on just 18 screens in its first weekend of limited release, which has it as the new record holder for a film’s average ($100,000 per showing). The studio plans to expand the film into more theaters later this month.
 

Rank
Movie
Weekend
Theaters
Average
Total
Budget
1
A Christmas Carol
$31.0 mil
3,683
$8,417
$31.0 mil
$200
2
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
$14.0 mil
3,481
$4,022
$57.8 mil
----
3
The Men Who Stare At Goats
$13.3 mil
2,443
$5,448
$13.3 mil
$25
4
The Fourth Kind
$12.5 mil
2,527
$4,955
$12.5 mil
----
5
Paranormal Activity
$8.6 mil
2,558
$3,362
$97.4 mil
$15,000
6
The Box
$7.8 mil
2,635
$2,981
$7.8 mil
$25
7
Couples Retreat
$6.4 mil
2,857
$2,250
$95.9 mil
$70
8
Law Abiding Citizen
$6.1 mil
2,474
$2,495
$60.8 mil
$50
9
Where the Wild Things Are
$4.2 mil
2,756
$1,533
$69.2 mil
$100
10
Astro Boy
$2.5 mil
1,918
$1,349
$15.0 mil
$65

 
 
Friday November 13, 2009 Releases:
Wide
2012 (3,000+)
Pirate Radio (900)
Limited
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Uncertainty
Women in Trouble
 

MOVIES REVIEWS

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 9 of 9
1 
Dazzler 11/9/2009 4:25:46 AM

Stare at goats was pretty good.  Seems odd with such a low budget for all the names in that.  Maybe there is a profit deal going? 

It does seem way too early for a Christmas pic.  Guess it does not matter if it makes budget or not to me since we all know the story.  An obvious money grab for the jumpstart of the holidays.

AlpineWoods 11/9/2009 5:48:42 AM

Saw The Box and The Fourth Kind this weekend. I liked The Box a little, but I liked The Fourth Kind a little bit more. So 2012 comes out this Friday. Did you know its earlier working title was A Few Days After the Day After Tomorrow? I like to joke around, but I'm looking forward to seeing 2012. I like disaster movies and end of the world movies. The last great end of the world movie was that Hannah Montana movie. :)

DarthDuck 11/9/2009 6:18:15 AM

It was WAY too early to be seeing a Christmas movie so we saw The Men Who Stare At Goats, which I really enjoyed.  I have little to no desire to see The Fourth Kind and having read the short story that The Box is based on I know how it ends and refuse to watch Cameron Diaz 'act' for two hours.

redhairs99 11/9/2009 6:58:57 AM

Any idea when Boondock Saints 2 is going wide?  Can't find a release date at any of the local theater websites here in Memphis.

Calibur454 11/9/2009 7:19:14 AM

Redgaurs- boondock Saints in only in limitted run at this point don't get your hopes up. I can't find it playing near me either. Kinda sucks but I was going to buy the dvd anyway when it came out.

 

Wiseguy 11/9/2009 8:31:46 AM

Boondock Saints is getting killed by critics and rottentomatoes has it at 21%. It's only averaging about 4k even though it's in only about 100 screens. All of that means that it more than likely won't get a wide release but you'll probably be able to buy the dvd in a week or two and if you wait another week or two you'll get it at the $5 bin at Walmart. Who thought that asshole could strike gold twice, not me that's for sure. Then again I didn't think the first was that great anyway

Looking forward to 2012, Ninja Assasin and Planet 51 for the rest of this month

shac2846 11/9/2009 10:56:26 AM

I saw Christmas Carol in 3d I was just about to complain at how the 3d in AVatar would hopefully be better than what I was watching and then the trailer played. It was awsome. It was the extended trailer with a few extra shots added to pimp the 3d and it was leaps and bounds better than the 3d trailers and the 3d used in Christmas Carol. I was impressed, as soon as the Avatar trailer ended the regular 3d went back in and you could tell the difference. And that wasn't even with the special projectors. Cameron and company really planned this out.

Dec 18 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

TKay42one 11/10/2009 12:56:45 PM

Yeah, can't say I'm surpised that somebody who LOVES both Transformers movies doesn't enjoy good movies.

Wiseguy 11/11/2009 8:37:20 AM

TK, don't know who the heck you talking to but if it's me then you talking out your butt. I don't love niether Trans. films but I did enjoy and liked both. I LOVED The Matrix, LOTR, IronMan and quite a few others but I never said I loved Transformers.

Oh and "good movies" is a matter of opinion and I know you aren't an authority on good movies. The fact that BS is only a cult hit lends itself to support my opinion more than yours too

1 

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