Four new movies opened this week, and the big one is Disney’s A Christmas Carol, which is yet another adaptation of the Charles Dickens story and the latest film to try out well-known actors doing motion-capture performances in an entirely-CG world. It is much like director Robert Zemeckis’s previous films The Polar Express and Beowulf, but this time with Jim Carrey at the helm. The problem with this one, and all of his other ones, is that he still hasn’t found a way to make the CG-people not look creepy; there’s something about how lifeless their eyes are that distracts from the story, and, not to mention, is a new Christmas Carol adaptation absolutely necessary? But despite this, it opened to a solid $31 million this weekend, but with an estimated budget of $200 million, it still has a ways to make its buck back. The Men Who Stare at Goats, the military comedy with an all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Space, opened at number 3 with just over $13 million. The Fourth Kind was number 4, with over $12 million, and is yet another horror flick to utilize the consumer-grade camerawork to convince viewers of the amateurish/nonfiction reality, much like the technique of Paranormal Activity. The Box, the fourth wide release, opened at number 6, with nearly $8 million; it stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, and is the latest film from Donnie Darko creator Richard Kelly. Michael Jackson’s This Is It dropped to number 2 this weekend, with a still-strong $14 million. It was intended to be only a two-week engagement, but that has since been extended to remain in theaters through Thanksgiving, thanks to its box office performance and positive critical reception. Also, Precious… opened in limited release at only 18 theaters, and it managed an impressive $1.8 million, for a roughly $100,000 per theater average, a high-record number and a sure sign for noteworthy numbers to come.
