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Tim Briody: Probably a year to even six months ago, The Muppets were a mystery to anyone under the age of 30, and got a response of "awww, I remember them from my childhood" to anyone aged, say, 30-40. Fortunately for that age group, Jason Segel used his burgeoning star power (and development deal with Disney) to get a Muppet movie made and did it right. Awareness was built with the clever parody trailers and with the rapturous reviews (seriously, it's the most positively reviewed wide-release of 2011 at Rotten Tomatoes. Did anyone see that coming?), it's no surprise that The Muppets effectively made its budget back already. Sure, it's another in a long line of reboots but this one revived a moribund franchise and I really hope there's a sequel.

I would also like to point out that David once publicly ridiculed me for seeing Muppets From Space in the theater, and this feels like sweet, sweet redemption. Maniacal laugh...maniacal laugh.

David Mumpower: I want to touch on something Matthew said. Next weekend's depreciation is only going to be a piece of the puzzle. We all know that the weekend after Thanksgiving at the box office is miserable more often than not. What frequently occurs with family films is that they recover afterward then hold on through the end of December, when a lot of late-in-the-release revenue is attained. So, the only news that would be noteworthy next weekend is if Muppets has a Puss in Boots-ish second frame.

With regards to this performance, Edwin already touched upon the logical comparisons, prior Disney Thanksgiving titles that appealed to the entire family. The other two I have been using are Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs. Both of these popular family programs in the same era that were largely forgotten for a while. Then, they were rediscovered upon their triumphant implementations as feature films. I always knew that Alvin and the Chipmunks' $44.3 million debut and $217.3 million domestic total were likely out of reach. What I find noteworthy is that the second Alvin and the Chipmunks release (you know, The Squeakquel) effectively doubled down in terms of box office. It matched its predecessor, which means that once a new generation of children were made aware of the premise, it was solidified as a franchise.

Whether the same thing happens with The Smurfs or The Muppets remains to be seen, but what we can say for certain right now is that The Muppets is a better investment to date. The Smurfs opened to $35.6 million on the way to $141.9 million during its domestic run; it had a stiff production budget of $110 million due to the CGI animation, though. This is the area in which The Muppets stands tall. Even in 2007, Alvin and the Chipmunks cost $60 million upfront to create. Because The Muppets are, you know, puppets (sorry for ruining the secret, kids), this project is much cheaper to produce. Before we bother factoring in the holiday toy sales, The Muppets is already car-rushing the competition in terms of box office intake against initial expenditure. This is a rather staggering box office triumph, assuming the film doesn't die immediately.

As for Tim going to see Muppets From Space in theaters, if mocking him for that is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

Arthur Christmas > Fred Claus

Kim Hollis: Arthur Christmas opened to $12.1 million over three days and $16.3 million over the five-day holiday period. What do you think of this result for the Aardman team/Sony?

Edwin Davies: It isn't great, and it is low by Aardman standards (particularly when you factor in that neither Flushed Away of Curse of the Were-Rabbit were in 3D), but I think that the box office story of Arthur Christmas will be determined by what happens over the next couple of weeks. As the only overtly Christmas-themed children's film out over the Christmas period, it's got a very good chance of sticking around for a while - especially when you factor in the very strong reviews and word-of-mouth - and of becoming the consensus choice for families wanting to see a good, festive film as we edge closer to the big day itself. The foreign box office should also be very good, since Aardman is an institution here in Britain, and all of their films to date have grossed over $100 million outside of America, a figure which I can easily see Arthur Christmas reaching.

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