With one of Oscar's biggest players entering the box office ring this past weekend, the most resounding breakthrough rumbled just outside the top ten. The usual brawlers were there: that Michael Jackson documentary, a fantasy movie about a child and some monsters, some film about goats and George Clooney, and of course Disney's latest attempt to reinvent Charles Dickinson, despite Vanessa Williams' success with that initiative years ago. While Disney's A Christmas Carol leads the pack on numbers alone, the $200 million production budget saw only a seventh of that money trickle back with about $31 million opening sales. Many are terming the film a "flop" even though there's still over a month until Christmas. Precious is enjoying the opposite fate.

Opening only to limited release this weekend (four theaters throughout Manhattan, 18 nationwide), the Lee Daniels-directed drama broke some record as it grossed $1.8 million. More impressive: the film landed just outside the weekend's top ten highest-grossing films. It looks set to overtake at least half of its competition if its current momentum keeps up. Speaking of momentum, Astro Boy is losing it fast, only three weeks into its theatrical release. Additionally, a nation of moviegoers deemed Michael Moore more relevant than Anna Wintour. A recap of the Top 10 (plus a few more) highest grossing films and their weekend hauls:

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 ($7.9 million) 7. Couples Retreat ($6.4 million) 8. Law Abiding Citizen ($6.2 million) 9. Where the Wild Things Are ($4.2 million) 10. Astro Boy ($2.6 million) 13. Precious ($1.8 million)

Below the Top 20: Inglourious Basterds ($195,000), Capitalism: A Love Story ($162,000), New York, I Love You ($140,000), 9 ($90,500), and The September Issue ($44,500)