娱乐英语新闻:"A Christmas Carol" beat "This Is It" for first place of North America box office

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- "A Christmas Carol," Walt Disney Studios' latest animated tribute to Christmas has beat Sony's feature-length documentary depicting the late pop icon Michael Jackson's rehearsal "This Is It," and rose atop the North America box office over the weekend, projected statistics show Sunday.

The first IMAX 3D animated fantasy released by Disney, "A Christmas Carol" fetched 31 million dollars, a slight lower-than-expected harvest that anyway eclipsed Michael Jackson's tribute "This Is It". This animation is Disney's third adaptation from English writer Charles Dickens' timeless classic that was published in 1843. It tells an old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who, with the help of three ghosts, realizes the sharp of his own personality before kindness goes into his otherwise cold heart.

U.S. director Robert Zemeckis and his wife Leslie arrive for the world premiere of "A Christmas Carol" in Leicester Square in London November 3, 2009

    The film marks the first time for Jim Carrey to enter into cooperation with Disney. He voiced as Ebenezer Scrooge and three other roles. This is also the first movie that director Robert Zemeckis worked on with Disney since they last cooperated on animated-live action hybrid "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1988. The IMAX 3D computer technology applied in animated movies of "The Polar Express "(2004) and "Beowulf" (2007) were also used on the flick.

    "This Is It" trailed in second place with 14 million dollars in estimated sales this weekend, a drop of 40 percent from the first weekend when it debuted in theaters in the United States and Canada, and is on track for a 58 million domestic take during its two-week run, North America box office authorities said.

    Opening in third place this weekend is "The Men Who Stare at Goats", a George Clooney comedy drama from Overture Films, which premiered with a projected 13.3 million dollars in sales in less than 2500 theaters. It was based on a war novel written by English reporter Jon Ronson in a bid to investigate attempts by US military forces to use psychic powers. Some critics find its tone of satire and dark humor.

British actor Colin Firth and his wife Livia arrive for the world premiere of "A Christmas Carol" at Leicester Square in London November 3, 2009

    Rounding out the top five are: Universal's horror thriller "The Fourth Kind" debuting with 12.5 million dollars; and Paramount's "Paranormal Activity" with 8.6 million dollars this weekend and 97.4 million dollars over seven weeks.