xmas carol The animated “retelling” of Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol earned top honors at the box office over the weekend. Featuring the voice talents of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright, and Cary Elwes among others, the film earned a solid $31 million as the No. 1 movie in America.

Meanwhile, last weekend’s top film, the Michael Jackson concert/documentary This is It, slipped to second place after pulling in just $14 million in gross revenues in its second week in release.

Third place went to the new George Clooney comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats, which took in $13.3 million, while the sci-fi abduction thriller The Fourth Kind made a decent showing against stiff competition, earning $12.5 million to put it in fourth.

Here’s the complete Top 10 at the box office for the weekend ending 11/8/09:

  1. A Christmas Carol, $31 million
  2. This is It, $14 million
  3. The Men Who Stare at Goats, $13.3 million
  4. The Fourth Kind, $12.5 million
  5. Paranormal Activity, $8.6 million
  6. The Box, $7.86 million
  7. Couples Retreat, $6.43 million
  8. Law Abiding Citizen, $6.17 million
  9. Where the Wild Things Are, $4.22 million
  10. Astro Boy, $2.59 million