Some encouraging news today from the LA Times: despite a weaker-than-projected opening weekend for Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the movie is still holding strong, with one of the smallest second-week drop-offs of 2009. As you may remember, Disney originally responded to the disappointing opener by pointing out that ‘A Christmas Carol’ would be successful by holding on to its momentum for the weeks leading up to Christmas, much as Robert Zemeckis’ other animated holiday film, ‘The Polar Express,’ did back in 2004.

“Christmas-themed movies opening in early November tend to have a much greater multiple than others and we know [director] Bob Zemeckis always tends to over-deliver on his multiple,” said Chuck Viane, Disney’s president of domestic distribution. Now, as the LA Times reports, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is holding up in theaters even better than ‘The Polar Express.’ Ticket sales over the weekend fell 25.8%–as the disaster epic 2012 seized the number one spot at the box office–whereas ‘The Polar Express’ dropped 32.8% after its first weekend.

The new 3D ‘Christmas Carol had an especially strong Veterans Day, as hoards of young people and grownups alike took advantage of their day off and hit the cinemas. The total domestic earnings for the film are now at $63.3 million, and will likely top $80 million by Saturday. In other words, don’t write off this movie just yet.

With two holiday hits, ‘The Grinch’ and now ‘A Christmas Carol,’ perhaps Jim Carrey should next consider doing a remake of ‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,’ one of the most celebrated and beloved holiday classics the world have ever seen.

Reuters reports that Disney’s A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey is no longer the #1 movie at the box office. The film opened last week with the #1 spot, earning an estimated $31 million, but fell to #2 this weekend as the highly-anticipated 2012 earned $65 million (based on early estimates). A Christmas Carol only brought in $22.3 million on its sophomore weekend.

George Clooney’s The Men Who Stare at Goats took the #3 spot this weekend, followed by Precious and This is It.

So far, A Christmas Carol has brought in a total of $63.3 million.

Although Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ proved to be a #1 hit in America last weekend, beating out the popular Michael Jackson concert film ‘This is It’ with a $31 million opening, the story overseas is quite different.

Variety reports that ‘This is It’ has remained the #1 film in the international market, and that Jim Carrey’s new 3D Scrooge story only grossed $12 million in 18 territories. By contrast, ‘This Is It’ brought in $29.5 million from 8,623 screens in 110 markets, bringing it to a worldwide total of $186.2 million.

‘A Christmas Carol’ has brought in disappointing numbers across the board for Disney, with less-than-projected sales even in America. Still, Disney execs are confident that the film will make up loss revenue by continuing to pick up steam as the holiday season approaches, much like ‘The Polar Express’ did back in 2004.

But with James Cameron’s highly-anticipated ‘Avatar’ coming to 3D screens in time for Christmas, theaters may have to push 3D-showing of ‘A Christmas Carol’ aside to make room.

Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ debuted at #1 over the weekend, but did not live up to projections. According to Reuters, industry analysts projected a $35-45 million opening weekend, but the film only delivered on $31 million.

‘A Christmas Carol,’ which currently holds a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, took the #1 spot from the popular Michael Jackson concert film ‘This is It,’ and also beat out the new George Clooney film ‘Men Who Stare at Goats,’ the UFO thriller ‘The Fourth Kind’ and the horror movie ‘Paranormal Activity.’

Despite the underwhelming opening however, Disney is confident that ‘A Christmas Carol’ will be a success. “You know you’re in for a marathon rather than a dash,” said Chuck Viane, Disney’s president of domestic theatrical distribution. The company believes that the film will continue to bring in revenue as the Christmas season draws closer, much like the popular 2004 movie ‘The Polar Express.’

I remember the first time I saw Jim Carrey on screen: I was about ten years old, and the movie was “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” And I remember looking up at that big screen, watching Jim Carrey use his own anus as a hand puppet, and thinking to myself, “That guy would make a great Ebenezer Scrooge.”

And now, an entire generation later, here we are. Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ has opened to much hype and anticipation, with 3D effects galore and no shortage of scenic eye candy. Clearly this is an upgrade from Christmas Carols past, which, although heavy on the emotional impact, do not contain the digital 3D magic that Charles Dickens intended when he wrote his classic morality tale.

And I’m being absolutely serious when I say that this movie contains some of the most breathtaking 3D animated imagery I have ever seen in my life. The London landscapes are absolutely mind-blowing, and if you do see this film, you have to see it in 3D. You won’t be sorry about the added cost.

In the story’s latest reimaging, Scrooge is portrayed by Jim Carrey, who incidentally also played the Grinch a few years ago (this guy must really be a downer at Christmas parties). He now joins an elite group of renowned Scrooges ranging from Patrick Stewart to the Muppets. But does he measure up? Surprisingly yes, and believe me, I had my doubts.

What I found remarkable is that Carrey gives Scrooge a layer of depth that is missing from so many Scrooge portrayals. In a recent London press conference, Carrey opined that “Scrooge’s lie was that he wasn’t worth loving and so he couldn’t afford to believe in love because he didn’t get any.” And Carrey portrays Scrooge in exactly this manner, so that we begin to empathize with the old man long before his ultimate transformation. We see signs that there is in fact a heart buried somewhere deep beneath that frosty exterior.

But Scrooge is just the tip of the iceberg. As you’ve probably figured out by now, Jim Carrey has plenty of personalities to go around, and all of them are dying to be set free. In this film, he plays elderly Scrooge, young Scrooge, younger Scrooge, medium Scrooge and three different ghosts (although the third has very little to say). Additionally, Gary Oldman is chilling as Jacob Marley and also touching as Bob Cratchit, a true talent. Other talented stars to be featured include Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn and the always lively Bob Hoskins.

Overall, I was very impressed. Save for a few embellished action sequences, the film is very true to the book, even incorporating elements that are absent from many film adaptations, such as the characterizations of Ignorance and Want. Carrey’s British accent is a bit off at times, but overall he does an outstanding job and I can think of very few complaints.

So be sure and check out this film, now in theaters everywhere.

Today is a huge day for Disney fans, so try and keep up…

Disney’s long awaited digital 3D movie ‘A Christmas Carol’ hits theaters, so be sure to get your tickets! The movie stars Jim Carrey and recreates the classic Dickens tale for a new generation.

Then, starting at 8pm/7pm central, be sure to check out a whole slew of premiers on the Disney channel. Up first is a brand new ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,’ where Justin goes toe to toe with a real life mummy. Then, in a brand new ‘Suite Life on Deck,’ Zack and Cody write a song for American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. Finally at 9pm, Phineas and Ferb travel through time, exploring both the past and the future.

Is if that weren’t enough, Saturday and Sunday night also feature premiers for the hit shows ‘Jonas’ and ‘Sonny with a Chance.’ In other words, this weekend has everything you need to remain stimulated, entertained and unconcerned with silly matters like studying, exercising or experiencing sunlight.

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In anticipation of his new 3D animated film “A Christmas Carol,” Jim Carrey attended a press conference in London and spoke about the challenges of playing not one, not two, but a whopping eight different characters for the new Disney film (in theaters Friday).

He described his multi-character role in the movie as “a huge challenge,” but Carrey is no stranger to pulling off multiple personalities. Remember, this is the same guy who starred in ‘Me, Myself and Irene’ (not to mention playing the Grinch, the Mask, Ace Ventura, and that poor Truman fellow).

I found one part of the press conference especially thought-provoking. “We walk around believing a lie about ourselves from a very early age,” Carrey told his captive audience. “Scrooge’s lie was that he wasn’t worth loving and so he couldn’t afford to believe in love because he didn’t get any.”

I seriously don’t even have any kind of joke or snarky remark in response to that (I was going to make a joke about how I’m also “not getting any,” but that would just be crass). That was just genuinely deep and touching. My hat’s off to you, Mr. Carrey. I look forward to seeing your film at midnight on Thursday. And since I have to get up for work at 6am on Friday, I’m probably going to be a bit of a cranky Scrooge myself for most of the day.

See more from the Associated Press:

The New York Times has an interesting piece about Disney’s A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey (in theaters November 6th). Apparently, Disney is sparing no expense with the advertising, marketing and hype, as this new, high-tech version of Charles Dickens’ classic novel is quickly becoming the most expensive marketing campaign in history, complete with elaborate TV spots and even visual exhibits.

But Disney is under a lot of pressure to crank out a hit after coming through a week quarter. Disney films have consistently been earning less-than-projected numbers and the company is reportedly disappointed with sales of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then again, perhaps consumers are just upset that they have to buy the Blu-Ray in order to get the DVD. That’s like saying, “Hey, you want to buy this MP3 player? No problem, it comes free with this $700 laptop. What a deal!”

But more importantly, do we really need another Christmas Carol? We already have it with Mickey, the Muppets, a bunch of old guys in black and white, Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Lucci and the Ani-freaking-Maniacs. In fact, if you search IMDB for “A Christmas Carol,” it returns a page that simply says “Can you be a little more specific, a**hole?”

But who am I kidding? Disney, Jim Carrey, AND 3D? You know I’m going to see this movie, and even if I hate it, I’ll probably see it again. But Jim Carrey certainly has his work cut out for him. There have been a lot of really great Scrooges, and he’s going to have a heck of time topping the powerhouse that is Scrooge McDuck.