Saturday, November 7
If there's a Christmas-themed movie opening in November, then it's the official start of the holiday box office. (Hey, no studio waits for Thanksgiving anymore...) In 1st place: Disney's A Christmas Carol. You may know it better as Charles Dickens' novel, but Disney had a problem with title rights, so now it's their pic. Hollywood predicted the 3-D family film to make at least $35M and possibly even $40M this weekend because of its wide release into 3,683 theaters domestically, including 2,035 3-D locations and 181 IMAX screens). But now analysts are saying the Jim Carrey starrer (he plays lotsa roles, including all 3 ghosts) directed by Robert Zemeckis (who used the same performance-capture technology as Polar Express) may only make $31M after opening with an underperforming $9.4 million Friday. read more
Disney's A Christmas Carol, the 3-D animated update of the Charles Dickens classic from motion capture master Robert Zemeckis, scored a decent $9M on its opening day, and seems headed for a weekend of something in the $32M range. Perhaps handicapped by the fact that its release lands closer to Halloween than to Christmas, this Jim Carrey vehicle should continue to perform strongly through the holiday season. read more