We’re still weeks away from Thanksgiving, but theatergoers already have Christmas on their minds.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the umpteenth version of the Charles Dickens tale, brought the story back to life with a visual rendition. Robert Zemeckis’ latest holiday creation earned over $30 million, surpassing Polar Express’ open by $7 million. Although the Jim Carrey film didn’t come close to its reported $180 million budget, Carol still has weeks to go before Avatar takes over 3D screens.

Meanwhile, a film with no bells or whistles made an impact just outside the Top 10. Precious, Sundance’s Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize winner, broke a record while in limited release. The 12th place entry averaged a whopping $104,025 this weekend over only 18 theaters. That’s the largest per screen average for any film opening in more than 10 locations.

1. Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Disney, $30,051,075 (avg. $8159)
2. Michael Jackson’s This Is It, Sony, $13,157,944 (avg. $3780)
3. The Men Who Stare at Goats, Overture Films, $12,706,654 (avg. $5201)
4. The Fourth Kind, Universal, $12,231,160 (avg. $4840)
5. Paranormal Activity, Paramount, $8,278,605 (avg. $3236)
6. The Box, Warner Bros., $7,571,417 (avg. $2873)
7. Couples Retreat, Universal, $6,129,045 (avg. $2145)
8. Law Abiding Citizen, Overture Films, $6,003,737 (avg. $2427)
9. Where the Wild Things Are, Warner Bros., $4,177,249 (avg. $1516)
10. Astro Boy, Summit Entertainment, $2,626,103 (avg. $1369)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)