Dreamgirls has lived up to expectations and has taken the box office by storm. The hit movie grossed nearly $9 million in it’s first day in North American Theaters.
The movie is an adaptation of the Broadway hit that was loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes. The movie came in second behind Ben Stillers comedy “Night at the Museum” which took in $11.8 million on Monday from four times as many theaters.
“This thing has been generating big numbers from the moment it opened,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of the box office tracking service Media By Numbers.
In comparison, the 2002, when the hit movie Chicago made $9.2 million between the Christmas weekend and the week that followed Christmas.
However, the Muhammad Ali boxing drama “Ali” still holds the Christmas day opening making $10.2 million on December 25th 2001.
Dreamgirls managed to score seven nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, and five nominations for the Golden Globes making it a serious contender for the Oscars.
All this before it publically hit a wide array of Theaters throughout the country. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce Knowles, and newcomer Jennifer Hudson.
A public service for the late Godfather of Soul will be held today at the Apollo Theater in New York City. James Brown died suddenly in the early hours of Monday morning after being admitted to the Emory Crawford Hospital in Atlanta, GA. He’d been diagnosed with pneumonia, but Heart Failure is the reported cause of death. Brown was 73 years old, and he’s survived by his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, who was one of his back-up singers, and at least four children. 
Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban made their first public appearance together since the Country Music star began rehabilitation for drug dependency.