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Christmas Movies: What's Open, What Do You Plan To See?

Led by Les Miserables, a host of high-profile films are opening in late December

Some open to qualify for the Oscars.

Others open to catch the holiday movie crowd, especially Jewish families who don't celebrate Christmas and go to the movie theaters instead.

A host of high profile films are making their debuts this December. Are there any you have seen or plan to go see?

The holiday movie season, in most people's minds, began on Dec. 14, when The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey opened to long lines of teenagers waiting to see Peter Jackson's latest film. The movie took in $84 million in tickets sales its opening weekend.

Several comedies hit the silver screen in the past week, trying to take advantage of students being out of school and adults being on vacation.

The Guilt Trip, with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan, debuted on Dec. 19.

This is 40, starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, opened on Dec. 21.

Tom Cruise's latest film, Jack Reacher, also debuted on Dec. 21.

The Impossible, a film starring Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor about a family's struggle to survive the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, also hit the theaters on Friday.

The most anticipated movie of season, Les Miserables, will open on Christmas Day. The dramatic musical, based on the award-winning play and the book by Victor Hugo, is receiving Oscar buzz. It stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway.

An alternative to Les Miserables will be Parental Guidance, a comedy starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott. It also opens on Dec. 25.

Some films are opening in a limited number of theaters simply to qualify for the 2013 Oscars. Experts say there are distinct advantages to opening in December. Among them, your film is fresh in Hollywood's mind when nominating voting begins on Dec. 17.

Some movies, including Les Miserables and Parental Guidance, are widely opening in hopes of grabbing a large share of the Christmas movie-going audience. A significant portion of movie goers on Christmas Day are Jewish faithful who don't celebrate the Christian holiday and go the movies instead.

ElectraDaddy December 23, 2012 at 05:46 pm
I'll definitely be seeing Les Miserables.
Cheryll December 23, 2012 at 10:20 pm
In the last couple weeks I have seen: Lincoln, Life of Pi, and The Hobbit, ALL were AMAZING! Love the movie season!
Captain Bebops December 23, 2012 at 11:37 pm
I will avoid the crowds over the next week as even the matinees are full. I'm not into tentpole movies so haven't seen much this year at the nearby ContraCosta Cinemas. They've gone more tentpole too. The last film I saw there was "Cloud Atlas" which I enjoyed. It took two weeks for it to get there at that and only showed a week. Most of my movies consist of foreign and independent films. Some of those can even be watched before they are released to theaters via the streaming services. That's because a lot of the venue for those kind of films are disappearing (as is the CineMark 5).
srl99 December 25, 2012 at 12:20 pm
I think Elena Kagan was eloquent on where to find jewish people on Xmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tku61sKhPGo

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margot bray May 31, 2013 at 03:18 pm
Silly me, I was hoping for news about Beavers and Otter's around Martinez waterway's. I look forwardRead More to that.
Randall Hopper May 29, 2013 at 10:02 am
Paint the railroad trestle that crosses Alhambra. It's an eyesore.
margot bray May 29, 2013 at 01:28 pm
I agree, but the money is going to other places...whatever they are.