YES, IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME ALREADY. Today “Elf” lands in theaters. It’s the first Christmas movie of the season and, while I haven’t done comprehensive research on this, I believe it’s the earliest Christmas release in recent memory. In case you’re wondering why a movie about Santa Claus and the North Pole and Christmas magic is debuting seven days after Halloween, the answer is: Mike Myers.

In 2000, Universal’s bastardized Jim Carrey version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” opened on November 17 to the tune of $55 million, en route to a mammoth gross of $260 million. That’s big money. November 17 was, in case you’re wondering, the last Friday before Thanksgiving.