'Carol' gets cheery with No. 1 weekend spot

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- "A Christmas Carol" got plenty of early Christmas cheer, racking up $31 million for the No. 1 spot in U.S. box office receipts during the weekend.

"Michael Jackson's This Is It" held on to second place with $14 million.

All estimated box office receipts are from Box Office Mojo.

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" was third with more than $13.30 million; "The Fourth Kind" was fourth with more than $12.52 million; "Paranormal Activity" was fifth with $8.6 million; "The Box" sixth with more than $7.85 million.

"Couples Retreat" was seventh with $6.42 million; "Law Abiding Citizen" eight with more than $6.17 million; and "Where the Wild Things Are" was ninth with more than $4.22 million.

"Astro Boy" rounded out the top 10 with more than $2.58 million.