Analysis

'Christmas Carol' Set to Grab $33 Million

Phil Contrino

Saturday, November 7

According to BOXOFFICE.com's Early Weekend Estimates, Disney's A Christmas Carol is on pace for around $33 million this weekend. That's slightly lower than what many industry prognosticators expected, but it's still a solid opening. Carol should show healthy staying power in the weeks to come as audiences look for holiday-themed entertainment.

After topping the box office last weekend, Michael Jackson's This Is It is set to add around $14 million to its domestic haul. Even though it failed to live up to the astronomic expectations that were placed on it, This Is It is turning out to be a very strong earner.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is set to debut in third place. Overture is now on something of a hot streak after the recent success of Law Abiding Citizen.

The Fourth Kind and The Box will debut in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The fact that both films are aimed at horror enthusiasts most likely ended up hurting both of them during their opening frames.

Check back tomorrow for studio weekend estimates.

Numbers

Early Weekend Estimates: November 6 to November 8, 2009

Title Weekend Locations Location Avg. Total Gross Weeks Distributor
Wide (1000+)
1 Disney's A Christmas Carol $33,000,000 -- 3,683 -- $8,960 $33,000,000 1 Disney
2 Michael Jackson's This Is It $14,000,000 -40% 3,481 0 $4,022 $57,855,342 2 Sony/ Columbia
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $13,300,000 -- 2,443 -- $5,444 $13,300,000 1 Overture
4 The Fourth Kind $11,600,000 -- 2,529 -- $4,587 $11,600,000 1 Universal
5 The Box $8,300,000 -- 2,635 -- $3,150 $8,300,000 1 Warner Bros.
6 Paranormal Activity $8,000,000 -51% 2,558 +154 $3,127 $96,829,870 7 Paramount
7 Law Abiding Citizen $5,500,000 -26% 2,474 -290 $2,223 $60,200,598 4 Overture
8 Couples Retreat $4,200,000 -35% 2,846 -180 $220 $93,751,510 5 Universal
9 Where the Wild Things Are $3,000,000 -49% 2,756 -889 $1,089 $68,043,335 4 Warner Bros.
10 Saw VI $2,200,000 -58% 2,901 -905 $758 $26,420,442 3 Lionsgate