Oscar hopeful “Precious” averaged a whopping $100,000 at 18 locations during its opening weekend. Variety claims this is a record, but the good folks at Box Office Mojo rank this the 11th-best opening average of the modern era. Eight of the all-time top 10 (led by “The Lion King” with 793K) are animated flicks, many shown at premium prices at huge venues like Disney’s El Capitan in Los Angeles, Radio City Music Hall and the Ziegfeld; the non-animated “Dreamgirls,” ranked at No. 8, got $20 for a ticket at the Ziegfeld three years ago. Based on the weekend estimate, the regularly-priced “Precious” came in just behind the $109,000 average posted by “Brokeback Mountain” at 9 venues back in 2005, when standard ticket prices were under $10. Disney’s “A Christmas Carol,” which is playing at the El Capitan with the usual stage show (as well as at more then 3,000 other North American venues, with around 2,000 IMAX screens also charging a premium) lead the chart with an unimpressive $31 million. Disney, which is reportedly on the hook for nearly $200 million, is praying this one is as long-legged as other holiday movies. The weekend’s other big surprise is that the quirky comedy “The Men Who Stare at Goats” with George Clooney landed in third place, only around $700,000 behind the No. 2 flick, the holdover “This is It.” Universal’s “Paranormal Activity”-style doc, “The Fourth King,” was close behind with $12.5M, a good number for a cheaply made film. Dead on arrival in sixth place (after “Paranormal”) was Warner’s pricey Richard Kelly thriller “The Box” with a paltry $8.9 million. It’s the second Warner flop this year for aging ingenue Cameron Diaz, after “My Sister’s Keeper” back in June. I think those who mocked me for questioning Sony’s judgement in casting her in “The Green Hornet” owe me an apology.