Well, folks, it isn't often we here at moviegasm get to herald the arrival of a new star, but today is just such a day. The monster opening of Disney's Enchanted is certainly attributable to mostly positive reviews, a family-friendly story and relatively competition-free long Thanksgiving weekend, but agents, producers, and studio heads will all be giving most of the credit for the $50 million opening to star Amy Adams.
You may not have heard of Amy Adams, but rest assured, you will. The 33 year old actress first attracted notice, after plenty of TV work, for her Oscar-nominated turn in the indie film Junebug. 
I heard many people rave about Adams' performance, but I managed to miss it because, frankly, independent comedy/dramas about dysfunctional families just aren't my thing. In any event, that got her some critical notice, but Junebug's paltry $2 million earnings didn't put her in the commercial foreground. It did get her a stint on "The Office", and was followed by a decent supporting role in the monster hit Taladega Nights.
When I talk about balance in a career, like Tom Cruise mastered with M:I 2 and Magnolia, or Spielberg with Jurrasic Park and Schindler's List, this is why I preach it as a career philosophy in this fickle industry. The combo of critical support and commercial visibility landed her the lead in Enchanted, and now she's off and running. The question now is, will Adams be the next Naomi Watts or the next Julie Styles?
On a brief side note, I always find it fascinating the way a person's life can just change overnight in this industry. Surely, it's the biggest part of the allure that brings star-struck wannabe's (including yours truly) from all over the world to the sprawling metropolis that is Los Angeles. But what's funny to me is that no one, especially in the world of big budget features, wants to get ahead of the curve. I moved to L.A. the summer that The Fast and the Furious launched Vin Diesel, however briefly, into superstardom. I had been pitching him for projects since seeing Pitch Black, but went completely unheeded. But post-Furious, his pricetag went from $1 million to $10 million. Why wouldn't you want to get on board early, the way the Farrely's did with Jim Carrey, who was already attached to Dumb and Dumber when Ace Ventura was released? People who wouldn't take a phone call from Amy Adam's agent five days ago are scrambling to get her attached to this and that romantic comedy, and she will be a rich woman when the smoke clears.
Also having a good showing was This Christmas, an African-American themed Christmas comedy about a dysfunctional family reuniting for the holidays. Christmas brought in $27 million over the five day period from just 1,858 theatres for a $14.5k average that was actually higher than Enchanted's $13.4k average. 
I don't have much of a sense if this film is any good or not, but it's one of those movies that provides a great boost for a lost of unappreciated character actors. For instance, remember when I was praising Tyler Perry for hiring The Wire's Idris Elba for Daddy's Little Girls? Well, guess who pops up in this one. And right alongside him is Delroy Lindo, maybe one of the most underappreciated actors of all time (virtually every review I've ever read that mentions him refers to him as "the ever-dependable Delroy Lindo"). He was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his brilliant, conflicted work in The Cider House Rules by Michael Cane. Mekhi Phifer is someone I've been behind since his terrific, searing performance in Tim Blake Nelson's O, and it's nice see him and Regina King, who is still trying to capitalize on her outstanding work in Ray, get a boost from this film's strong box office. Nobody's scrambling to get their agents on the phone like they are for Ms. Adams, but it bumps up their asking price a bit and probably improves the quality of the roles they're being offered, too. Hats off to writer/director Preston A. Whitmore II for his eyes for casting.