Come on, people: “Four Christmases” topped the Thanksgiving box-office weekend? I mean, sure, at 88 minutes it’s the shortest of all the new releases — even “Bolt” is longer — and can therefore have the most performance, but there’s the other thing: It’s terrible.

Of course, quality is never an issue at the ticket counter. But I’m still surprised that “Australia” placed above “Transporter 3”, coming in with $14.8 million to action sequel’s $12.3 million gross: The first two “Transporter” films did reasonably well, and “Australia” comes in at nearly three hours, which means even fewer shows per day.

I guess people still love their epic historical romances. Which is handy, actually, since they’re the subject of my latest Sympatico/MSN gallery — movies built around the collision of passion and history. And no, the “Lord of the Rings” movies are definitively not eligible.