Moviegoers played scrooge at the weekend box office as A Christmas Carol [CAROL] open to a less than expected $31 million. Six weeks before Christmas proved a tad early for the CG animated adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic story. However, A Christmas Carol should hold up well at the box office as the holidays approach and folks get into the Christmas spirit. Robert Zemeckis' [RZEME] similar themed The Polar Express debuted with $23 million in November, 2004, but finished its first run with $162 million.
Last weekend's box office king, Michael Jackson's This Is It [JACKO] declined just 40% to $14 million for second place. The musical documentary has already booked $57.8 million.
The comedy The Men Who Stared at Goats [MGOAT] debuted $13.3 million to edge out fellow newcomer The Fourth Kind [4KIND] at $12.3 million for third place. Meanwhile, the thriller The Box [THBOX] opened in sixth place with $7.8 million. With tepid reviews, the three new releases are likely to fade quickly in the upcoming weeks.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL | $31,000,000 | $31,000,000 |
| 2 | MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT | $14,000,000 | $57,855,000 |
| 3 | THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS | $13,309,000 | $13,309,000 |
| 4 | THE FOURTH KIND | $12,521,285 | $12,521,285 |
| 5 | PARANORMAL ACTIVITY | $8,600,000 | $97,430,000 |
| 6 | THE BOX | $7,855,000 | $7,855,000 |
| 7 | COUPLES RETREAT | $6,428,250 | $95,979,760 |
| 8 | LAW ABIDING CITIZEN | $6,172,000 | $60,872,598 |
| 9 | WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE | $4,225,000 | $69,268,000 |
| 10 | ASTRO BOY | $2,588,000 | $15,072,701 |
Source: Exhbitor Relations Co.
Tag(s): CAROL, RZEME, JACKO, MGOAT, 4KIND, THBOX