Weekend box office: 'Christmas Carol' weak, 'Precious' soars

Audiences said a surprising "humbug" to big-budget family fare this weekend while embracing one of the most grim and serious movies of the year.

Walt Disney Studios' nearly $200-million investment in producing its animated 3-D version of "A Christmas Carol" opened to a weak $31 million this weekend, according to studio estimates, while Lionsgate's "Precious" broke records by selling $1.8 million worth of tickets at just 18 theaters.

The "Christmas Carol" launch was particularly disappointing for Disney given the hype generated by its marketing and publicity machine, star Jim Carrey and the benefit of 55% of its theaters playing the movie on 3-D screens, which carry a ticket price surcharge. (Nearly three-quarters of ticket sales came from theaters playing "A Christmas Carol" in 3-D.)
Complete box office top 10 estimates:

1. "Disney's A Christmas Carol," $31,000,000
2. "Michael Jackson's This Is It!," $14,000,000
3. "The Men Who Stare At Goats," $13,309,000
4. "The Fourth Kind," $12,521,000
5. "Paranormal Activity," $8,600,000
6. "The Box," $7,855,000
7. "Couples Retreat," $6,428,000
8. "Law Abiding Citizen," $6,172,000
9. "Where the Wild Things Are," $4,225,000
10. "Astro Boy," $2,588,000