As expected, Disney's new take on A Christmas Carol led the box office. It came in under expectations (well, mine at least) but still managed a gross more than double that of its nearest competition. I have always wondered why some Christmas-themed movies get released so early in the season. However, it does make a little sense in this case, considering you have to slot it in for the 3D theaters and Avatar already has December sewn up. But that is neither here nor there. I am looking forward to it, especially now that I have learned it lifts much of the dialogue directly from Dickens' text. So, in addition to the 3D animation, we get some authentic language. Interesting.
Coming in a distant second, but still respectable, is the short run release of Michael Jackson's This Is It. In two weeks of release it has made more than $57 million, which is not bad considering it will likely be on home video in time for Christmas. I have not seen it, but this has to be considered a success.
Third place plays home to the next of this week's new releases. The latest George Clooney film, The Men Who Stare at Goats, opened to mediocre reviews but a respectable box office. The film offers moderate entertainment. It never digs very deep, relying on surface farce and the fact that it is based on supposedly true events. The performances are pretty good and it does have some good ideas, but in the end is rather lightweight and insubstantial.
Close behind in fourth place is the latest indie seeking to make a big splash. The Fourth Kind purports to be based on actual events and is chock full of archival footage. I cannot say I believe it to be real, but taken just as a movie it is done with style and energy and you will be drawn in. I am not sure how much replay value it has, but it is definitely worth one spin.
There is one other new release on this week's list, The Box. This is Richard Kelly's latest offering and his first to go wide. This means that this is a big test for the young director. Does he pass? The jury is still out for me, although everything he has done has been quite intriguing. This latest film boils down to a simple morality tale, yet is filled with complex ideas on an epic scale of which we see only a small fraction on the big screen. The Box is as simple or as complex as you want it to be. It may not do well at the box office, but will likely do well on home video and down the line.
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