TWENTY YEARS AFTER 'DO THE RIGHT THING,' LEE AND HIS CO-STARS REFLECT ON HOW THEIR MOVIE MADE HISTORY

On Christmas Day, 1987, 30-year-old Brooklyn-based filmmaker Spike Lee started working on the script for his third feature, "Do the Right Thing." The film would examine the racial tension that enveloped New York City at the time, most of which was due to an incident that occurred in the predominantly white section of Howard Beach in Queens a year earlier: A group of white youths attacked three black men outside a pizza place for simply being the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood. One of the black men, 23-year-old Michael Griffith, was chased onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car and killed.

The movie wound up detailing how a single block in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant -- one with the white-owned Sal's Famous Pizzeria at its heart -- erupted in racial violence on the hottest day of the year. It featured a striking visual style, an idiosyncratic blend of comedy and tragedy, and an extraordinary ensemble cast including Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizzeria owner; Lee as Mookie, an unambitious deliveryman; and Ossie Davis as Da Mayor, the local drunk. It also instantly established Lee as a major talent who couldn't be ignored or dismissed.

When the film was released, audiences and critics were divided. Vincent Canby hailed it in the New York Times as "a remarkable piece of work," and Roger Ebert, in his four-star Chicago Sun-Times review, added that it came "closer to reflecting the current state of race relations in America than any other movie of our time."

On the flip side, Lee was criticized for presenting a crack-ravaged neighborhood as drug-free, and for being recklessly incendiary. In his review in the June 26, 1989, issue of New York magazine, David Denby said, "The end of this movie is a shambles, and if some audiences go wild, [Lee's] partly responsible." Jack Kroll in Newsweek called the film "dynamite under every seat." The critics' fears underestimated the audience -- no riots resulted.

The movie received two Oscar nominations (Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello and Original Screenplay), but no awards. The motion picture academy's political timidity was reflected in its choice for best picture, "Driving Miss Daisy," which featured Morgan Freeman as a Southern chauffeur. Lee, however, would have the last laugh. When the American Film Institute unveiled its list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, neither "Driving Miss Daisy" nor "sex, lies, and videotape," which beat out Lee's film for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, were anywhere to be found. "Do the Right Thing" came in at No. 96.

On June 30, the film celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Universal is releasing a two-disc special-edition DVD with hours of extras, including a never-before-seen documentary and new commentary from Lee. Since making "Do the Right Thing," Lee has averaged nearly a film a year -- his latest is the basketball documentary "Kobe: Doin' Work." But "Do the Right Thing" continues to be his most celebrated movie.

In this oral history, key members of the cast and crew, including Lee, who sat down for two lengthy interviews, were eager to discuss the controversy that accompanied the film, the tensions on the set and how the movie played a role in bringing our president and first lady together.

'It's gonna be a scorcher'

Spike Lee [Mookie], actor, writer, producer and director: The Howard Beach incident had happened, and I wanted to explore the love-hate relationship between African-Americans and Italian-Americans. I also wanted to do something that took place on the hottest day of the summer.

Ernest Dickerson, cinematographer: Spike and I were sitting together on a plane to Los Angeles and he was writing a script on a legal pad. The title at that point was "Heat Wave." He then asked me, "How do you portray heat on film? How do you get the audience to really feel it?" I remember we talked about having car radiators boiling over, hot asphalt and steam.

Lee: Paramount was on track to make the film. Then, at the last moment, out of nowhere, they didn't like the ending. They wanted Mookie and Sal to hug, all happy and upbeat. I wasn't doing that, so I called up Universal executive Sam Kitt, who I had known from my independent days, and he gave it to Tom Pollock.

Tom Pollock, then-chairman, Universal Pictures: I liked "She's Gotta Have It." I thought, "Wow, this guy's really talented." So when Spike submitted the script for "Do the Right Thing," I felt it had the potential of being great. I also had never before seen a movie that dealt explicitly with race and what was then called a race riot from a black director.

Lee: Tom said, "Make the film the way you want to, but you're not getting a penny more than $6.5 million."

'My people, my people'

Danny Aiello [Sal]: I was in New York at a party for Madonna and as I was leaving, this little guy runs after me and says, "I have this script." So we started a dialogue, which led to our meeting in restaurants, going to a Yankees game, going to a Knicks game. We became close.

Lee: I was in a Los Angeles club called Funky Reggae at a party for my birthday. This young lady was dancing on top of a speaker, and since it was my party, if she fell and broke her neck, I was going to get sued. So I told her to please get off, and she jumped down and cursed me out. I had never heard a voice like that before.

Rosie Perez [Tina]: That's fiction. There was a bunch of African-American girls on the stage bending over. It was a contest to see who had the biggest butt. I jumped on the speaker and started screaming for the women not to degrade themselves. I wasn't dancing.

Lee: I love Rosie, but she was not on top of the speaker saying, "Women, we must rise against this!" She was the choreographer for "In Living Color," and all the Fly Girls did were shake their asses. That story is bull.

Giancarlo Esposito [Buggin Out]: I'm half-Italian and half-black, so I understood both sides on a deep level. And a hard part of growing up for me was that I didn't want to take sides. But for this character, I had to.

Roger Guenveur Smith [Smiley]: All of my work throughout the film was improvised. There's no Smiley in any script.

Lee: Matt Dillon turned down the role of Pino. His agent told him not to do it. Then I saw the film "Five Corners," in which John Turturro beats a penguin to death and throws his mother out a window. I was like, "That's the guy I want to play Pino."

John Turturro [Pino]: When I read the script, I thought, "This is what's happening." I grew up in Hollis, Queens, which was basically more black than white. So I knew both sides.

'Bed-Stuy -- do or die'

Turturro: The neighborhood had a lot of energy, but it was dangerous to drive through at night. You definitely didn't want to have a flat tire at 4 o'clock in the morning. There were a lot of hungry dogs out on some streets.

Lee: There were crack houses in the neighborhood. The NYPD was not thought of that highly in most black communities, especially Bed-Stuy, so we got the Fruit of Islam [Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam's security force] to watch the set.

Dickerson: It became the safest block in Brooklyn!

Richard Edson [Vito]: I tried to get through to the Fruit of Islam guys. It was kind of a challenge because I knew they had very strong racial feelings. So every morning, I would say hello and try to engage them. I don't think they ever even acknowledged me. I finally gave up after about four weeks.

Esposito: Those guys were hard-core. They just didn't like or hang out with white people.

Turturro: They talked to me all the time. They called me Brother John. I guess Richard is not as black as I am.

'Burn it down, burn it down!'

Aiello: It was sad to watch Sal's burn down. I thought it should have been preserved, almost like a landmark or tourist attraction.

Lee: I wanted to use three Frank Sinatra songs in "Jungle Fever," so I approached Tina Sinatra, who handled that stuff. She said, "Spike, I don't know. My father wasn't happy about his picture being burned in the pizzeria." It's funny -- Pacino never said anything, De Niro never said anything. I had to do some serious smoothing over with Frank.

'Always do the right thing'

Lee: To this day, no person of color has ever asked me why Mookie threw the can through the window. The only people who ask are white.

Edson: I don't think Mookie did the right thing. He did what he felt he had to at that moment. But then did Sal do the right thing by smashing the radio? I think there were a lot of wrong things.

Bill Nunn [Radio Raheem]: I didn't really understand why Mookie did what he did. Sal was doing the neighborhood kids a favor by staying open late. He was trying to do a good thing.

Esposito: Mookie did the right thing for Mookie. But I think he definitely made a mistake.

'Together, are we gonna live?'

Barry Alexander Brown, editor: I showed a filmmaker friend of mine the movie. And afterward, he said, "You and Spike are irresponsible. There are going to be riots and people are going to get killed."

Lee: People actually thought that young black Americans would riot across the country because of this film. That's how crazy it was. It was the furthest thing from my mind because I had faith in my people. But I still feel that some white moviegoers were scared to see it in theaters because they might be filled with crazy black people.

Edson: It incited discussion, that's what it incited.

Perez: The Latin community just blew a gasket over my depiction. They were bothered that I was a single mom, that I was -- whether they would admit it or not -- impregnated by a black man, that my accent was heavy. I would say, "If you don't believe that there is truth to my character, walk into a welfare office." And that pissed them off even more.

Lee: It disturbed me how some critics would talk about the loss of property -- which is really saying white-owned property -- but not the loss of life. "Do the Right Thing" was a litmus test. If in a review, a critic discussed how Sal's Famous was burned down but didn't mention anything about Radio Raheem getting killed, it seemed obvious that he or she valued white-owned property more than the life of this young black hoodlum. To me, loss of life outweighs loss of property. You can rebuild a building. I mean, they're rebuilding New Orleans now but the people that died there are never coming back.

Aiello: Spike brought attention to the film and that is, of course, good. But he was quite controversial in his press conferences, talking about Malcolm X and so forth. If it wasn't for that, I feel the film had a chance to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Dickerson: ["Driving Miss Daisy" winning Best Picture] still hurts. It definitely does.

Lee: I let it go. But let's be honest. If you look at the Academy voters 20 years ago, which movie are they going to like? One with characters named Buggin Out and Radio Raheem? Or one with a subservient, obedient, yassah-massa character?

Aiello: I love Denzel [Washington, who beat Aiello in the supporting actor category, for "Glory"], but that film was a joke. I look at it today and laugh.

'We had a great, great day'

Turturro: They don't make movies like that anymore, man.

Aiello: We made something special.

Lee: There was a benefit for Barack Obama on Martha's Vineyard when he was running for the Senate. I didn't really know who he was. He came over and said, "You're responsible for me and my wife getting together." Then he told me how they saw "Do the Right Thing" on their first date, and then went to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream and talked about it.

Smith: We're actually responsible for a whole new era in American political achievement.

Lee: I think he is a very smart man, because if he had taken Michelle to see "Driving Miss Daisy," things would have turned out a whole lot different.

'Transformers' takes to sky with $112M weekend

LOS ANGELES – Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with $200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took in $112 million in the sequel's first weekend and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.

It was well on the way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.

That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released Monday.

Still, it was a colossal start for the "Transformers" sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the $319 million domestic total the franchise's first movie did over its entire run in 2007.

Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That's well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."

That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.

"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

For the first five days, the "Transformers" sequel was second only to last summer's "The Dark Knight" with $203.8 million.

This was the biggest opening weekend of this year, surpassing the $85.1 million debut of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in early May.

The sequel began with $60.6 million on its opening day Wednesday. That also was second only to "The Dark Knight," which had the biggest box-office day ever with $67.2 million on opening day.

With $14.4 million at 169 IMAX theaters, "Transformers" set a record for a five-day opening in the giant-screen format, nearly doubling the previous best of $7.3 million set by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

"Transformers" overcame harsh reviews from critics, who called it a visual-effects extravaganza without much story or human heart. Director Michael Bay has a history of bad reviews and big box office with "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor."

"Michael Bay knows how to build the perfect summer box-office beast," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "He squarely aimed right at the demographic, right at what summer movie-goers want, and he put it on the screen. And audiences can't seem to get enough of it."

The sequel broadened the franchise's fan base. Females accounted for just 40 percent of the audience for the first "Transformers" but 46 percent for the sequel, Moore said.

Much of that was due to the on-screen romance for the characters played by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who were relative unknowns when the first movie came out.

With a $13 million weekend, Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up" became the year's top-grossing film domestically at $250.2 million. It surpassed Paramount's "Star Trek," which did $3.6 million over the weekend to hit a $246.2 million total.
The reign of "Up" at the top of the year's box-office chart will be short-lived, though. The "Transformers" sequel should shoot past it in a matter of days.

The Warner Bros. melodrama "My Sister's Keeper," with Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 5 with $12 million. Breslin plays a daughter conceived as a donor for her older sister, who has leukemia.

Summit Entertainment's Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" had a strong start in limited release, taking in $144,000 in four theaters for an average of $36,000 a cinema. That compares to an average of $26,453 in 4,234 theaters for "Transformers."

Starring Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie as members of a U.S. bomb squad in Baghdad, "The Hurt Locker" has a chance to become the first real commercial success among recent war-on-terror movies, which audiences generally have avoided.

"The Hurt Locker" has earned stellar reviews since debuting at film festivals last year. It rolls out to more theaters on July 10.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $112 million.
2. "The Proposal," $18.5 million.
3. "The Hangover," $17.2 million.
4. "Up," $13 million.
5. "My Sister's Keeper," $12 million.
6. "Year One," $5.8 million.
7. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," $5.4 million.
8. "Star Trek," $3.6 million.
9. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $3.5 million.
10. "Away We Go," $1.7 million.

Neve Campbell rejects 'Scream 4'

Scream creator Kevin Williamson has been forced to re-write his screenplay for a fourth SCREAM movie, after the franchise's star Neve Campgell refused to reprise her role.

Director Wes Craven recently revealed Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette were returning for a fourth instalment of the movie series, to shoot a screenplay written by Williamson.

The filmmakers hoped Campbell would reprise her role as Sidney Prescott for a fourth time - but the actress has turned down the offer.

Now Williamson has to go back to the drawing board.

He tells NYPost.com's PopWrap blog, "I've had numerous conversations with Neve. She's a friend. Nicest girl on the planet. It just ain't workin' out and it sucks for me. It was no cameo. I'd never play Sid out that way. And I ain't got no Sid-less scenario. So, I don't know yet what to do."

'Moneyball' can't find a place in Hollywood's lineup

At a time when expensive adult dramas keep striking out at the box office, it appears not even Brad Pitt and director Steven Soderbergh can entice a Hollywood studio to spend about $57 million on a baseball movie.

Pitt and Soderbergh, who were given a short window to set up their adaptation of the 2003 bestselling book "Moneyball" at a rival studio after Sony Pictures unexpectedly killed the project just three days before production was to begin today, have been turned down by Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, which shared concerns about the film's high budget and limited commercial appeal.

Sony movie chief Amy Pascal had given them the weekend to try and set the movie up at the two studios where they have the closest ties. Pitt's production company is based at Paramount, and the actor and Soderbergh have made the "Ocean's 11" movies at Warner.

On Friday, as first reported by industry trade paper Daily Variety, Sony's Pascal pulled the plug on the production after Soderbergh turned in a rewrite of the script by Steve Zaillian that she found unacceptable, according to people close to the situation. A person informed about the matter said that Pascal had liked Zaillian's adaptation of Michael Lewis' book about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, but when Soderbergh's rewrite came in last Wednesday, she was surprised that there were "substantial changes."

Pascal met with Soderbergh in her Culver City office to see if he was willing to revise his take, but the two couldn't agree on a vision for the film. They also disagreed over Soderbergh's plan to shoot the film in a more improvisational documentary style, the person said.

She then made a last-minute decision to scrap the production, shocking those who were about to start shooting, said one individual involved in the project.

By Monday, Paramount and Warner Bros. had already decided to pass. Similarly budgeted dramas aimed at adults, such as "State of Play," "Duplicity" and "The International," have all fared poorly at the box office this year. "Moneyball" has the added burden of being about baseball, which would not only limit its appeal among women, but also overseas audiences. International receipts from theatrical, television and DVD sales typically account for more than half of a film's total sales.

As studios continue to tighten their belts, those added up to more than enough reasons to flash a red light.

"In light of the economic climate, Warner and Paramount said they weren't going to make the movie," said Pitt's manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante. She added that Pitt "totally supports Steven all the way" in his vision for the movie.

Soderbergh's manager, Michael Sugar, declined comment on behalf of the director.

One executive who had considered bringing the project to his studio said the movie would have had to gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office just to break even.

Sony is still weighing its options, which now appear limited to either convincing Soderbergh to alter his vision, proceeding with another director, or putting the entire project on the disabled list.

Either way, the studio will be on the hook for the nearly $10 million it has already spent on preproduction and screenplay development.

"Transformers" director rips studio in leaked memo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Powerhouse Hollywood director Michael Bay, who returns to theaters worldwide on Wednesday with a "Transformers" sequel, has blasted the marketing efforts of the film's studio, Paramount Pictures.

In a memo sent last month to top brass at the Viacom Inc unit, and published on Sunday by celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com, Bay complained there was no buzz surrounding "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

"Right now we are not an event. We are just a sequel, which is very different. There is no anticipation. Remember back to 'Spider-Man 2' -- it was everywhere," he wrote.

Bay added that advance word on the $200 million robot extravaganza in publications like Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times had been an "abject failure," and he described as "lame" a plan for him to preview a small clip at the MTV Movie Awards this month.

"I cannot figure if this is a cash issue with your company? Is there some clever idea why we are not spending? I'm not sure," he said. "I'm sure though the movie will do fine, but not to your internal expectations because right now we are fooling ourselves by being cocky."

But in a second e-mail, sent June 6, Bay compared Paramount to a family and thanked the executives for "busting your butts and bringing your 'A game' for the release of Transformers."

A Paramount spokeswoman declined to comment other than to point out that the latter e-mail "clearly speaks to a differing stance than the former." Two of the top production executives on Bay's e-mail list were coincidentally ousted on Friday amid a failure to speed up production of in-house movies.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is the follow-up to "Transformers," which earned $708 million worldwide in 2007. Bay, 44, recently told Forbes magazine that he earned $80 million from that film.

Early reviews of the latest film have been unfavorable. In Britain, where the film debuted at No. 1 this weekend, The Guardian newspaper said the 150-minute movie was "like watching paint dry while getting hit over the head with a frying pan."

Bullock's 'Proposal' woos date crowds with $34.1M

LOS ANGELES – Movie audiences accepted a proposal from Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, who scored the summer's first big romantic comedy hit.

Bullock and Reynolds' "The Proposal" took in $34.1 million to open as the weekend's No. 1 movie, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Disney flick delivered the biggest opening ever for Bullock, nearly double that of her previous best of $17.6 million for the 2007 paranormal thriller "Premonition."

Bullock stars as a ruthless publishing executive who coerces her put-upon assistant (Reynolds) into a fake marriage so she can avoid deportation back to her native Canada.

"I think the market was ready for a really fun, broad romantic comedy," said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group.

"The Proposal" took over the top spot from the Warner Bros. bachelor-party comedy "The Hangover," which slipped to second place with $26.9 million. A surprise smash hit, "The Hangover" raised its total to $152.9 million.

Disney's animated adventure "Up" was No. 3 with $21.3 million, lifting its total to $224.1 million and following Paramount's "Star Trek" as the second movie of 2009 to cross the $200 million mark.

Debuting in the fourth spot with $20.2 million was Sony's caveman comedy "Year One," starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as Neanderthals on a road trip after they are banished from their village.

It was summer's second big-name comedy set in prehistoric times to take a back seat to a wedding-themed romp. Will Ferrell's "Land of the Lost" opened at No. 3 in early June, the same weekend "The Hangover" pulled off a No. 1 upset.

"June is officially comedy month at the theaters. Comedy is really ruling things," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

Woody Allen's latest comedy, "Whatever Works," had a strong start in limited release, hauling in $280,720 in nine theaters for an average of $31,191 a cinema. That compares to an average of $11,163 in 3,056 theaters for "The Proposal" and $6,684 in 3,022 cinemas for "Year One."

Released by Sony Pictures Classics, "Whatever Works" stars Larry David as a misanthropic New Yorker who forges unlikely relationships with a conservative Southern family (Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr.).

While some of June's comedies performed well, the month generally has been a downer for Hollywood, which tore through the first part of the year with a record box-office pace.

Revenues this weekend were up slightly compared to the same period a year ago, but that followed three straight weekends of declining box-office receipts.

For the year, revenue remains up a solid 10 percent, though summer ticket sales are dead even with last year's, Dergarabedian said.

That should turn around this coming weekend with the debut of the blockbuster sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which industry analysts say could deliver the year's first $100 million opening.

Paramount's "Transformers" sequel got off to a big start in Great Britain and Japan, where it opened this weekend in advance of its U.S. debut Wednesday, pulling in $14.1 million in Britain and $5.8 million in Japan.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Proposal," $34.1 million.
2. "The Hangover," $26.9 million.
3. "Up," $21.3 million.
3. "Year One," $20.2 million.
5. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," $11.3 million.
6. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $7.3 million.
7. "Star Trek," $4.7 million.
8. "Land of the Lost," $4 million.
9. "Imagine That," $3.1 million.
10. "Terminator Salvation," $3.07 million.

Cruise, Abrams prepare for new 'Mission'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have chosen to accept another impossible mission.

Cruise and Abrams have signed on to produce a fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise for Paramount. Abrams directed Cruise's last outing as covert operative Ethan Hunt in 2006's Mission: Impossible III.

While they have set 2011 as a target release date, it's still unknown if Cruise will star again or if Abrams will return to direct. According to studio spokeswoman Katie Martin Kelley, Cruise and Abrams are only attached as producers at this point.

It would mark a reunion for Cruise and Paramount after the studio cut the actor loose from a long-term development deal in 2006.

Harold Ramis Doesn't Think Ivan Reitman Wants To Make Ghostbusters 3

Harold Ramis is doing the rounds of publicity for his upcoming comedy Year One, and you know what that means: more Ghosbusters 3 rumors! Ramis has confirmed that he's still waiting to see the first draft from The Office writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and will see where things go from there.

"Everyone says they'll do it, they've all said they'll do it. No one has signed anything yet--we haven't signed anything either--but there's the spirit of willingness in the air."

Ramis also suggested that, whoever directs, the movie, it might not be either him or Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two. "I don't think he wants to; I'm not sure I want to (direct). It's just a lot of open questions. Until we see a script, I don't think anyone really knows how they feel about it. Everyone's open to doing it, that's the main thing, that's what got it moving forward."

I'm pretty sure it's not necessarily Reitman's potential direction, rather the participation of the original cast, that has everyone tentatively excited about this. Will the movie be better if Reitman or Ramis, now an established director himself, handles it? Maybe. But it's just as likely that, with a new cast taking the story in a new direction, a fresh face could handle things even better.

'Hangover' takes down `Up' for top box-office spot

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood had a bigger hangover this weekend than expected.

The Warner Bros. comedy "The Hangover" drew larger audiences than earlier projected to raise its weekend ticket sales to $45 million, about $1.8 million more than the studio estimated Sunday.

That made it the No. 1 draw for the weekend instead of Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up," which came in second with $44.1 million. Sunday studio estimates had "Up" edging "The Hangover" by about $1 million.

It's rare that the first- and second-place movies on Sunday flip-flop when final numbers come out Monday. But strong attendance Sunday allowed "The Hangover" to pull ahead.

With heavy matinee traffic, family films such as "Up" usually hold on better through Sunday than adult movies like "The Hangover."

Warner Bros. had expected Sunday's National Basketball Association playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic to cut into business for the R-rated "The Hangover," the tale of four friends at an out-of-control bachelor party weekend in Las Vegas.

Yet more people turned up for the movie than anticipated, said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.

"The Lakers weren't the only winners," Fellman said. "We had an unbelievable day."

Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said the studio was happy to finish at No. 2 with "Up," whose final weekend total came in about $100,000 lower than the studio estimated Sunday.

"Up" has topped $137 million in just 10 days and is on track to become the latest $200 million blockbuster from Disney and Pixar, whose hits include "WALL-E," "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo" and the "Toy Story" movies.

"Up" retains altitude, tops box office again

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Up," the story of a floating house, its grumpy 78-year-old owner and an inquisitive 8-year-old accidental stowaway, remained atop the weekend box office in North America, selling $44.2 million of tickets its second weekend in theaters.

The family-friendly Disney/Pixar animated release about a house lifted by colorful balloons and the odd couple's adventures showed surprising staying power. Its weekend gross was down 35 percent from its opening weekend but still made a strong showing for a film in its second week.

Movie industry analysts had predicted that "Up" would bring in less than $40 million.

"The Hangover," released by Warner Bros. Pictures, was a close second at $43.3 million. The film about a group of men trying to reconstruct what happened at a wild, Las Vegas bachelor party benefited from a good buzz and positive reviews. It also was the first big comedy released after a month dominated by action flicks.

Universal's "Land of the Lost," a new release starring Will Ferrell, finished a disappointing third at $19.5 million. It is a remake of a mid-1970s U.S. children's television series.

Four of the top five films attracted families with small children as recession-weary parents continued to seek entertainment at the movies.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," collected $14.7 million and landed in the No. 4 spot. It made about $54 million when it opened two weekends ago, and has taken in $127 million overall.

"Star Trek," a Paramount issue, also showed staying power, finishing fifth for the weekend in its fifth week of release. It brought in $8.4 million. Its cumulative total stands at $223 million.

ANGELIC WORLD GROSS

"Angels & Demons," from Sony/Columbia, earned $6.5 million in North America during the weekend and its worldwide gross surpassed the $400 million mark, making it the No. 1 film in the world in 2009.

The film, based on Dan Brown's popular novel about conspiracy in the Catholic church, is the follow-up to the Brown novel and 2006 movie, "The Da Vinci Code."

Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said the weekend pushed the "Angels & Demons" international gross to about $405 million. "The Da Vinci Code" brought in about $540.7 million globally.

The website rottentomatoes.com, which aggregates movie criticism, showed that positive reviews for "The Hangover" helped it prevail over "Land of the Lost" in their debut weekends. "The Hangover" gathered 75 percent positive reviews, compared to only 28 percent for "Land of the Lost."

A reason for the resilience of "Up" may be the fact that it had a 98 percent rating on the website.

Third among new released and seventh for the week overall was Fox Seachlight's "My Life In Ruins," which took in $3.2 million. It suffered from negative reviews -- only 12 percent positive criticism according to rottentomatoes.com.

Reitman Mulls Over Ghostbusters 3 Offer

Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman is considering returning to direct the long-awaited third installment of the spooky movie franchise.

Original stars Billy Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson are returning to the big screen for a second sequel - a full 20 years after Ghostbusters 2.

Reitman, who directed the first two films, has been offered the chance to complete the trilogy - but is waiting until he reads the script before he commits.

He tells MTV News, “I’ve never ruled (directing it) out. I certainly was responsible in every capacity for the first two movies so I certainly wouldn’t wander away from the third one - especially if it’s something we all think is worth doing.

“The script is going to be turned in a month or so and we’ll see. All the casting and directing speculation is really just speculation.”

'Land of the Lost' may be summer's first flop

If pre-release audience polling proves right, not many moviegoers will find "Land of the Lost" this weekend.

Universal and Relativity Media's $100-million comedy based on the 1970s TV show is tracking to sell $30 million to $35 million worth of tickets this weekend. That's in line with other recent films starring Will Ferrell, such as "Step Brothers." But for a big-budget summer event movie, it would be a weak debut.

The movie's marketing campaign doesn't seem to be drawing enough teenagers or adults. Its best hope is to draw families with older kids who aren't interested in "Up."

Universal surely picked this Friday to open the film in hopes it would launch in a dominant first-place position. But a movie that originally looked like counter-programming, "The Hangover," will probably end up close and could possibly beat it.

Warner Bros. and Legendary's modestly budgeted comedy is tracking to open in the mid-$20 millions. Both men and women seem to be drawn to the film's hilarious advertisements -- you can never go wrong with a baby in sunglasses -- despite the lack of a major star.

Regardless of which new movie comes out on top, the No. 1 film this weekend almost certainly won't be a new one. If it follows the pattern of previous Pixar animated features, "Up" will drop less than 50% on its second weekend in theaters, meaning it should gross close to $40 million. Strong weekday ticket sales as children start getting out of school have boosted "Up's" total gross to $86.9 million after a $68.1-million opening weekend.

Fox Searchlight is also opening the low budget Nia Vardalos comedy "My Life in Ruins." It will probably gross under $10 million.

In international markets, the major new release will be "Terminator Salvation." Sony Pictures is releasing the film in 61 countries on behalf of the Halcyon Co., which has to hope the fourth series entry will do better overseas than it has at home. After a two full weeks, "Salvation," which had a production budget around $200 million, has grossed only $95.9 million in the U.S. and Canada, suggesting its own salvation has yet to come.

Pixar goes `Up' with $68.2 million debut weekend

LOS ANGELES – The animated action comedy "Up" is soaring in its first weekend at theaters.

According to distributor Walt Disney, the film from Pixar Animation pulled in $68.2 million.

That's the third-best opening weekend for a Pixar animated film, just behind the $70 million debuts for "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." "Up" came in about $5 million ahead of Pixar's "WALL-E" last summer.

Factoring in higher admission prices, some other early Pixar movies such as "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc." also sold more tickets than "Up" over their first weekends.

Critics gave glowing reviews to "Up," the story of a lonely widower who ties helium balloons to his house and flies off on a South American adventure.

"Up" up and away at the weekend box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Things are looking "Up" at the weekend box office where Disney is rolling out its latest Pixar cartoon to predictably rave reviews.

Boasting a notably unflashy voice cast headlined by Ed Asner and newcomer child actor Jordan Nagai, "Up" tells the story of an old man traveling the globe in a balloon-hoisted house with an 8-year-old stowaway.

The 3-D adventure toon was directed by Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and Bob Peterson, a first-time fimmaker who penned the original screenplay.

The most recent Disney/Pixar release, "WALL-E," opened with $63 million in June and grossed $224 million domestically. Those represent sensible targets for "Up," though studio executives said they would be happy with an opening anywhere north of $50 million.

"I'm very bullish," said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's domestic theatrical distribution. "The reviews have been nothing but spectacular, and it could be our time."

RottenTomatoes.com, which tracks critical reaction to upcoming releases, had "Up" attracting 97% positive reviews (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/up/) late Thursday. Even the oft-tough crowd of Cannes cineastes responded enthusiastically when the film opened the festival this month.

"Up" will play in 3,766 theaters, with at least 1,530 3-D auditoriums set for its first weekend. That's the biggest number of extra-dimensional screens for any release as the industry scrambles to roll out 3-D systems amid burgeoning public interest in such films.

The stiffest competition for "Up" is likely to come from Fox's holdover family comedy "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." The No. 1 grosser last weekend, the Ben Stiller sequel opened with $70 million over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, and a 50% drop from its Friday-Sunday tally would see "Smithsonian" fetch $28 million during its second session.

But there is another wide opener Friday: the Universal horror picture "Drag Me to Hell" also had a well-received Cannes screening and has drawn overwhelmingly positive early reviews.

Toting a PG-13 rating, "Hell" normally would be expected to skew female. Yet with "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi guiding the frightfest, Raimi's more male-skewing fan base could round out opening audiences and help the Alison Lohman-Justin Long vehicle reach the upper teen millions through Sunday.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" returning to big screen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – A new incarnation of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" could be coming to the big screen, courtesy of the director of the original movie.

"Buffy" creator Joss Whedon isn't involved and it's not set up at a studio, but director Fran Rubel Kuzui is working on a relaunch with Vertigo Entertainment, which specializes in English-language remakes of Asian films, such as "The Grudge" and "The Departed."

While Whedon is the person most associated with the "Buffy" franchise, Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the "Buffy" script from then-unknown Whedon. She developed the script while her husband Kaz put together the financing to make the 1992 movie, which was released by Fox.

Kuzui later helped bring back Whedon to make the TV series, which began its successful run on the WB in 1997. She received executive producer credits on "Buffy" and its spinoff, "Angel."

The new "Buffy" film, however, would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike.

Kuzui and Vertigo are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon.

One of the underlying ideas of "Buffy" allows the filmmakers to do just that: that each generation has its own vampire slayer to protect it. The goal would be to make a darker, event-sized movie that would, of course, have franchise potential.

The parties are meeting with writers and hearing takes, and later will look for a home for the project. The producers do not rule out Whedon's involvement but have not yet reached out to him. Speaking from Tokyo, Fran Kuzui said she is constantly approached not only about sequels but theater, video games and foreign remakes for "Buffy." When Vertigo's Roy Lee contacted them, they were intrigued.

"It was Roy's interest in taking Buffy into a new place that grabbed us," she said. "It was based on our respect for what he does, and his particular sensitivity to Asian filmmakers, that we wanted to work with him."

Kuzui, who is preparing to direct a movie in Japan in the fall, added: "Everything has its moment. Every movie takes on a life at some point, and this seems like the moment to do this."

Memorial Day box office sluggish as 'Museum' opens strong but 'Terminator' struggles

The healthy box office seemed to lose its mojo over Memorial Day.

Overall ticket sales for the weekend rose only 2% from last year, according to Hollywood.com, a big downward shift in a year where the total is up more than 14%.

"Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian" grossed a healthy $70 million over the four days, while "Terminator Salvation" came in at a relatively weak $53.8 million. However, combined, they barely matched the opening of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" last year, leading to virtually flat total sales for the industry.

The opening of Fox's family sequel was right in line with estimates based on pre-release tracking and a solid figure given its $125-million production budget, after Canadian tax rebates. However, its $50.1-million gross in 93 foreign markets was less impressive compared with other movies that have opened simultaneously worldwide this year. That's an early indication it may not mirror the performance of the original, which made more money overseas than in the U.S. and Canada.

Family films tend to hold on very well at the box office, but "Smithsonian" will face significant competition Friday from Disney and Pixar's "Up," which is pursuing the same audience.

"Terminator" paled next to other big summer action movies like "Wolverine" and "Star Trek" and didn't even match the opening weekend of "Terminator 3" six years ago. The $200-million movie started relatively well Thursday but quickly lost momentum. That's a sign of weak word of mouth and should leave Warner Bros. and The Halycon Co., which financed the film, concerned that it will decline rapidly in the coming weeks.

"Salvation's" hopes now rest largely on international markets, where Sony Pictures will launch the film next week.

"Dance Flick" did decent business for a low-budget spoof comedy, grossing $13.1 million through Monday on its opening weekend.

Here's the domestic box-office top 10 chart for the weekend based on studio estimates and data from Hollywood.com. While all grosses are over four days, percentage drops are based on the Friday-Sunday receipts so that the comparison with last weekend is fair.

1. "Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian" (Fox): Opened to a healthy $70 million for the four-day weekend. Overseas its performance was less impressive, as it debuted to $50.1 million in 93 countries.

2. "Terminator Salvation" (Warner Bros.): Its four-day gross of $53.8 million was a soft launch for a $200-million summer event film. The total gross since Thursday is $67.2 million. Sony opens the film internationally in two weeks.

3. "Star Trek" (Paramount): Continuing to post relatively modest declines, it fell 47% and grossed $29.4 million through Monday. Domestic total (19 days): $191 million. International total: $87.5 million.

4. "Angels and Demons" (Sony): Grossed $27.7 million on its second weekend, down 53%. Foreign grosses continue to be big, though the figures for U.S. and Canada are not. Domestic total (11 days): $87.8 million. International total: $198.3 million.

5. "Dance Flick" (Paramount): Opened to $13.1 million, about what was expected.

6. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (Fox): Grossed $10.1 million, down 46%. Domestic total (25 days): $163.4 million. International total: $156.7 million.

7. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (Warner Bros. / New Line): $4.8 million, down 43%. Domestic total (25 days): $47 million.

8. "Obsesssed" (Sony / Screen Gems): $2.5 million, down 57%. Domestic total (32 days): $66.4 million.

9. "Monsters vs. Aliens" (Paramount / DreamWorks Animation): $1.9 million, down 55%. Domestic total (60 days): $193.5 million.

10. "17 Again" (Warner Bros. / New Line): $1.3 million, down 70%. Domestic total (39 days): $60.6 million.

"Museum" comedy beats "Terminator" at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Ben Stiller beat Christian Bale in the North American weekend box office duel between their respective "Night at the Museum" and "Terminator" sequels, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

Reigning champ Tom Hanks fell to No. 4 with "Angels & Demons," although the Vatican thriller remained the top choice internationally.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" sold $53.5 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning Friday, said 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

The comedy far exceeded the $30.4 million debut of its 2006 predecessor, "Night at the Museum," and also set a new live-action record for Stiller, one of Hollywood's most reliable box office performers.

Stiller, 43, reprises his role as a night security guard, this time at the center of a battle involving historical figures at the massive Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The cast includes Robin Williams as former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and Amy Adams as aviatrix Amelia Earhart. The film cost about $125 million to make, Fox said.

It also enjoyed a strong foreign debut, earning $50.5 million from 93 markets, bested only by the $60.4 million haul for "Angels & Demons" from a similar number of territories.

"Terminator Salvation," meanwhile, earned $43.0 million in North America. The film failed to beat the $44 million start for the previous entry in the cyborg series, 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," the swan song of franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the race between the two new sequels was closer than it appeared because Warner Bros. got a head start on the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend by opening "Terminator" on Thursday, when it earned about $13.4 million. Much of those ticket sales would have been pushed over to the weekend if it had opened on Friday. Its four-day total was $56.4 million.

"TERMINATOR" BATTLES "TREK"

The studios generally try to avoid each other when they roll out their big movies. In this case, "Night at the Museum" played to a broad audience, while "Terminator" was more targeted at male moviegoers.

Time Warner Inc-owned Warner Bros. said "Terminator" was likely more affected by competition from the similarly-skewing "Star Trek," which slipped one place to No. 3 in its third weekend with $22 million. The National Basketball Association playoffs also appeared to siphon off older men in cities such as Los Angeles.

Warner Bros. paid $50 million for domestic distribution rights. The post-apocalyptic film, in which "Batman" star Bale takes on the freedom-fighter role of John Connor, cost about $180 million to make, the studio said.

"Angels & Demons," sequel to 2006 film "The Da Vinci Code," earned $21.4 million, taking the 10-day total for the Columbia Pictures release to $81.5 million. By contrast, "The Da Vinci Code" had earned $136.5 million after the same period.

But the Sony Corp unit has said it never expected the second film to be as big. As was the case with "The Da Vinci Code," the film is a much bigger international draw. Its overseas total now stands at $198.3 million.

Paramount Pictures' youth-oriented reboot of the "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise has earned $183.5 million after three weekends.

The Viacom Inc unit also claimed the No. 5 spot with "Dance Flick," a comedy spoof from the Wayans family. It earned a modest $11 million.

Aykroyd spills details of third Ghostbusters

The ghostbusters are set for a new round of paranormal policing.

Ottawa native Dan Aykroyd tells the Los Angeles Times there will be a third Ghostbusters film starring himself and original cast members Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.

Aykroyd says production could be under way by winter.

The Saturday Night Live alumnus and Ramis co-wrote the first two films in the sci-fi comedy franchise, about eccentric paranormal exterminators in New York City.

The hit 1984 debut and its 1989 sequel also starred Rick Moranis and Annie Potts and were directed and co-produced by Ivan Reitman.

The next instalment is penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who also write for the TV series The Office.

In a report on the L.A. Times website, Aykroyd says Reitman is too busy to helm the third incarnation of Ghostbusters, so Ramis might direct instead.

Aykroyd – who was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Driving Miss Daisy – also says some females might be added to the ghost-busting team.

He thinks Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku would be good in the roles.

Milano already stars in part of the franchise – she voices the character of Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, a brainy curator, in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, written by Aykroyd and Ramis.

'Angels & Demons' wins box office from 'Star Trek'

NEW YORK – "Angels & Demons" took the box office from "Star Trek" by earning $48 million in its first weekend of release.

The haul was far less than the earlier Dan Brown adaptation "The Da Vinci Code" — which earned $77.1 million when in opened in 2006 — but still enough to topple the popular "Star Trek," according to studio estimates Sunday.

In its second weekend, Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek" took in $43 million, a strong number after its $75.2 million opening last weekend, excluding its Thursday midnight screenings. The cumulative total for J.J. Abram's reboot of the sci-fi franchise is $147.6 million.

Sony's "Angels & Demons" reunites Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard for the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code." It opened without the benefit of the buzz and controversy that propelled "The Da Vinci Code" to a $753 million worldwide total.

Overseas business was again strong for "Angels & Demons," which earned $104.3 million internationally. Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, said the studio expects the film will eventually take in half a billion altogether in theatrical release.

"That chemistry (of Hanks and Howard) worked incredibly well with 'Da Vinci' and it looks like it's absolutely headed in that same vein, certainly on a lesser scale," said Bruer. "We never expected anything to the phenomenon of `Da Vinci.'"

Like "The Da Vinci Code," reviews were not illustrious for "Angels & Demons," but they were mostly better. Bruer called Brown's action-packed best-seller "a far more cinematic story" than "Da Vinci." In it, Hanks again plays Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon who's trying to prevent a series of murders at the Vatican.

"Sony positioned it well," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "They didn't try to say, `This is going to be "The Da Vinci Code."' It was actually quite the contrary. They tried to say this was not `Da Vinci Code,' that it was a different kind of movie."

"Angels & Demons" was the only new wide-release film of the weekend. Coming in third was "X-Men Originals: Wolverine," which earned $14.8 million in its third week, bringing its total to $151.1 million. The prequel to the "X-Men" franchise, starring Hugh Jackman as the mutant with metal claws, had a step drop-off in its second week.

On the whole, it was another robust weekend of business at movie theaters, which have been drawing large crowds throughout the recession. Dergarabedian pegs the year-to-date box office at a 16 percent increase over last year.

"We're headed toward a record breaking summer," said Dergarabedian. "If you've got a blockbuster in the pipeline, you're very happy about all the strength of the box office right now. Momentum is key in this business."

That's good news for the two blockbusters opening next weekend: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Terminator Salvation."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Angels & Demons," $48 million.
2. "Star Trek," $43 million.
3. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," $14.8 million.
4. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $6.9 million.
5. "Obsessed," $4.6 million.
6. "17 Again," $3.4 million.
7. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $3 million.
8. "The Soloist," $2.4 million.
9. "Next Day Air," $2.2 million.
10. "Earth," $1.7 million.

Kevin Smith Gunning For An Oscar?

Kevin Smith has revealed to MTV News exclusively that he's planning to collaborate on his next film with... Mitch Albom.

Yeah, Mitch Albom, the Tuesdays With Morrie guy, who is quite possibly your sentimental dad's favorite author. In 2003 Albom and rock icon Warren Zevon collaborated on the song "Hit Somebody," shortly before Zevon's death from cancer. Now Smith, a longtime hockey fan, wants to adapt the song about a violent hockey goon into a feature film.

“The song’s been one of my favorites since I heard it and I’ve always seen this whole movie behind. I got in touch with Mitch because Warren Zevon has passed on and we started talking about it and he was into it and into what I was kind of pitching.”

Not only that, but Smith thinks this is one that might gain some end-of-the-year Oscar traction. For real. You can read all about it at MTV, and hockey fans, prepare to replace Slapshot as your favorite hockey movie of all time.

Martin Scorsese to direct biopic of Frank Sinatra

LOS ANGELES – Martin Scorsese will tell Frank Sinatra's life story on film.

The Academy Award-winning director of "The Departed" will direct "Sinatra," the first feature film about Ol' Blue Eyes' life, Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures said Wednesday.

The film will be "an unconventional biopic," said Mandalay Pictures President Cathy Shulman, who is co-producing the film with Mandalay Chairman Peter Guber.

"It's not a cradle-to-the-grave traditional portrait of the consecutive events in a man's life," Shulman said. "Instead it's more of a collage and, in many ways, it will feel like an album itself. It's a collection of various moments and impressions in his life and together we hope they'll tell the full story and present full themes."

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson ("Field of Dreams") has spent "at least a year buried in 30,000 pages of research" to write the screenplay, Schulman said.

No casting decisions have been made and no production date has been determined, she said, adding: "It's everyone's hope that this will be a movie that comes to the screen shortly."

It took two years to secure the rights to Sinatra's life and music, Shulman said. Warner Music Group and the Sinatra estate are partners on the project.

Having Scorsese bring "Sinatra" to the screen "seems like a match made in heaven," she said.

"In any family, you're dealing with a precious life, and in this case, you're dealing with an extraordinary life," she said. "We knew Scorsese would lead the troops to a true, fair, exciting and entertaining portrait of the man."

Sinatra's daughter, Tina, said it was "personally pleasing" to know Scorsese would oversee the celluloid version of her father's life story.

"My father had great admiration for the talent of the people he chose to work with, and the talented people who worked with my father had great admiration for him," she said, adding, "to me that this paradigm continues with Marty Scorsese at the helm of the Sinatra film."

An iconic entertainer, Sinatra was known for his smooth voice and even smoother personal style. He was part of the Rat Pack that included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

Sinatra "was indisputably the 20th century's greatest singer of popular song," according to Rolling Stone.

"Not only did his freely interpretive approach pave the way for the idiosyncrasies of rock singing, but with his character a mix of tough-guy cool and romantic vulnerability, he became the first true pop idol, a superstar who through his music established a persona audiences found compelling and true," the magazine says on its Web site.

Sinatra, who died in 1998, performed on more than 1,400 musical recordings, was awarded 31 gold records and earned 10 Grammys. He also appeared in 58 films and won a supporting-actor Oscar for 1953's "From Here to Eternity." In 1971, he was presented with another Oscar: the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Sinatra's story has been told before on the small screen. A 1992 made-for-TV movie, "Sinatra," starred Philip Casnoff in the title role. It won a Golden Globe for best miniseries and an Emmy for director James Sadwith. Ray Liotta played Sinatra in the 1998 HBO film, "The Rat Pack."

At one time, Scorsese was in talks to direct a Dean Martin biopic, but that project never came to fruition.

Summer movie preview

Welcome to summer, post-Blart. Excited? Hollywood is, primed by the momentum of an already booming box office.

As 2009’s first smash (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) showed, in times of crisis moviegoers just want to escape — and they’re not terribly discerning about where they escape to. Thus, such lunkheaded hits as Fast & Furious, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Knowing and Race to Witch Mountain.

That’s good news for studios, but bad news for discriminating film goers. Compare last year’s summer line-up — packed with such cross-demo offerings as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Wall•E and Sex and the City — to this summer’s slate. Can

X-Men Origins: Wolverine really duplicate the dazzling heights of Iron Man? Does anyone think the new Transformers will resonate beyond clang-bang-metal mayhem?

Sure, there may be the odd surprise — J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek or Michael Mann’s Public Enemies — but by and large this is a summer made by the Blarts for the Blarts. Oh well.

So what will hit, and what will miss? Here are 10 we suspect will come up aces with audiences:

Star Trek

(May 8)

In 25 words or less: A vengeful Romulan screws with the space-time continuum so that the early adventures of Kirk and Spock aren’t exactly what fans remember.

Who’s in it: Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (McCoy), Eric Bana and some old dude named Leonard Nimoy.

Who’s directing: Geek god J.J. Abrams, who co-created Lost.

Why do we care? If Abrams can convince kids Trek is cool — thus why the Enterprise looks like an Apple store — then the franchise may well live long and prosper (at least for the already-announced sequel).

We’d pay to see ... William Shatner beam up to shoulder-flip Pine.

Angels & Demons

(May 15)

In 25 words or less: Symbologist Robert Langdon races to foil a plot against the Vatican by a secret society called the Illuminati.

Who’s in it: Tom Hanks, along with Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgaard.

Who’s directing: Ron Howard. One of these pays for a dozen Frost/Nixons.

Why do we care? The Da Vinci Code was a sanctimonious bore, so why make a sequel? Because it still grossed $700 million worldwide, people.

We’d pay to see ... the Fonz turn up as Pope.

Terminator Salvation

(May 21)

In 25 words or less: Grown-up John Connor (Christian Bale) leads resistance fighters in a post-apocalyptic landscape overrun by terminators.

Who’s in it: Aside from Bale, newcomer Sam Worthington (whose character, Marcus, offers a potential link between man and machine), Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter.

Who’s directing: The reviled McG (Charlie’s Angels) looking for a little street cred.

Why do we care? Bale. The script was rewritten by Jonah Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento). And if audiences embrace a Terminator flick without creator James Cameron and star Arnold Schwarzenegger, it will mean new life for the series.

We’d pay to see ... a cameo by California’s governor. (And thanks to digital wizardry, we’ll get our wish.)

Up

(May 29)

In 25 words or less: Grumpy old man Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) ties thousands of balloons to his house and soars away, seeking adventure.

Who’s in it: The voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and John Ratzenberger.

Who’s directing: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson.

Why do we care? Pixar hasn’t misfired yet, which makes this a can’t-miss proposition.

We’d pay to see ... whatever Pixar makes.

The Hangover

(June 5)

In 25 words or less: Three groomsmen lose the groom after a night of debauchery in Vegas.

Who’s in it: Up-and-comers Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and still-hot Heather Graham.

Who’s directing: Todd Phillips (Old School).

Why do we care? Could be the sleeper comedy of the summer — which explains why the studio is already plotting a sequel.

We’d pay to see ... Rollergirl back in her skates.

Year One

(June 19)

In 25 words or less: Two Old Testament bumblers wander through Biblical times.

Who’s in it: Jack Black and Michael Cera, basically playing themselves. Along the way, they encounter such old favourites as Cain and Abel (David Cross and Paul Rudd) and Abraham and Isaac (Hank Azaria and Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

Who’s directing: Ghostbuster Harold Ramis.

Why do we care? Judd Apatow — he of the Midas touch — is the producer.

We’d pay to see ... this turn out to be more Superbad than Walk Hard.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

(June 24)

In 25 words or less: The Decepticons exact their revenge on Optimus Prime after the exhaust-pipe whipping they got in 2007.

Who’s in it: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and robots. Lots and lots of robots.

Who’s directing: Michael Bay, who never met an explosion he didn’t think was “Awesome!”

Why do we care? The original earned $700 million worldwide and imprinted the small of Fox’s back on the minds of heterosexual men and bi-curious women everywhere.

We’d pay to see ... Shia get squashed.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

(July 15)

In 25 words or less: The boy wizard faces the gathering forces of evil. And his hormones.

Who’s in it: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the rest of Britain.

Who’s directing: David Yates (The Order of the Phoenix), who will follow this with a two-part adaptation of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Why do we care? You have to ask?

We’d pay to see ... them condense this thing to a brisk two hours.

G.I. Joe:

The Rise of Cobra

(August 7)

In 25 words or less: An elite military unit clashes with a nefarious organization known as Cobra. Based on the 1980s cartoon and toyline.

Who’s in it: Dennis Quaid (Gen. Hawk), Channing Tatum (Duke), Rachel Nichols (Scarlet), Cobra Commander (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Destro (Christopher Eccleston) and the Baroness (Sienna Miller).

Who’s directing: Stephen Sommers, architect of craptaculars The Mummy and Van Helsing.

Why do we care? Aside from Nichols and Miller in dueling skintight body-armour, we don’t. But if this rakes in nearly as much cash as Transformers, look for sequels for years to come.

We’d pay to see ... the Baroness finding ways of making us talk.

Inglourious Basterds

(August 21)

In 25 words or less: Pulp Fiction meets Valkyrie? We can hope.

Who’s in it: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, B.J. Novak, Diane Kruger, Samuel L. Jackson and — as an Allied general — Mike Myers.

Who’s directing: Quentin Tarantino, hoping to show he’s relevant even though it’s not 1994.

Why do we care? Because it sounds bloody and outrageous. Set in the Second World War, a band of Jewish-American soldiers enter German-occupied France looking to collect Nazi scalps.

We’d pay to see ... someone teach Tarantino how to spell.

Fans fixate on Beyonce as 'Obsessed' takes in $28M

LOS ANGELES – Audiences were in the mood for some fatal attraction action at the box office. Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba's "Obsessed" debuted as the top weekend movie with $28.5 million in ticket sales. The Sony Screen Gems thriller stars Knowles and Elba as a couple whose ideal marriage lands on the rocks after a psychotic temp played by Ali Larter begins stalking the husband.

The strong opening for "Obsessed" helped maintain Hollywood's hot streak, with overall revenues at about $112 million, up 23.5 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The busy summer season starts Friday with 20th Century Fox's spinoff "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman in the title role he played in three "X-Men" blockbusters.

Studios head into summer on a box-office tear, with receipts running at a record pace. Revenues for the year are at $3.06 billion, up 17.4 percent over last year. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 15.7 percent.

"We have never been in this strong a position heading into the summer season, ever," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

Zac Efron's "17 Again" and Channing Tatum's "Fighting" were neck-and-neck for the No. 2 spot. With Sunday estimates of $11.7 million, the Warner Bros. comedy "17 Again" had the edge. After debuting in first-place a week earlier, "17 Again" raised its 10-day total to $40 million.

Rogue Pictures' "Fighting," starring Tatum and Terrence Howard in the story of a rising star in New York City's underground bare-knuckle fight circuit, debuted with $11.4 million.

The two movies were close enough that rankings could change when final numbers come out Monday.

Paramount's drama "The Soloist" opened at No. 4 with $9.7 million. It stars Jamie Foxx as a schizophrenic music prodigy living on the streets of Los Angeles and Robert Downey Jr. as a reporter who befriends him.

Disney's nature documentary "Earth" premiered in fifth place with $8.6 million, bringing its total to $14.2 million since opening Wednesday.

"Obsessed" was not screened in advance for critics, and those who reviewed it generally trashed the movie as a lame retread of 1987's "Fatal Attraction," which starred Glenn Close as a demented woman pursuing a married man, played by Michael Douglas.

But "Obsessed" had the lure of singer Knowles stepping out from her pop star image and duking it out with the crazy lady threatening her home and marriage.

"There's something about wanting to see Beyonce kick butt. She's taking on one wacked chick, played very well by Ali Larter," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "Let's face it, everyone loves Beyonce, and to see her in this role is a treat."

Documentaries rarely open in nationwide release or break into the top 10, but Disney aimed for a wide audience with "Earth," which traces families of polar bears, elephants and humpback whales over the course of a year.

Disney pledged to plant a tree for every viewer who sees the movie in the first week, with the number climbing to more than 2 million after five days. The film was tied to Earth Day and was the first release of the studio's Disneynature label.

"We just felt like if we make an event out of this, tied it to this whole plant-a-tree effort, tied it to Earth Day, maybe we could break the mold and come up with the kind of opening that you'd be satisfied with on a regular film," said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Obsessed," $28.5 million.
2. "17 Again," $11.7 million.
3. "Fighting," $11.4 million.
4. "The Soloist," $9.7 million.
5. "Earth," $8.6 million.
6. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $8.5 million.
7. "State of Play," $6.9 million.
8. "Hannah Montana: The Movie," $6.4 million.
9. "Fast & Furious," $6.1 million.
10. "Crank: High Voltage," $2.4 million.

Robert Rodriguez wields 'Machete'

Robert Rodriguez is ready to cut a wide swathe, and his plans include re-launching the "Predator" franchise for Fox and co-directing "Machete."

For the later, the filmmaker will create a feature out of the blade- wielding antihero who appeared in a mock trailer that was part of "Grindhouse."

Rodriguez is eyeing a June start date in Austin for "Machete," a film that is financed and produced by Overnight Productions, with Danny Trejo starring as the title character.

Machete is a Mexican ex-Federale with a gift for wielding a blade, who hides out as a day laborer, who is double-crossed by a corrupt state senator.

Rodriguez wrote the script and will direct the film with Ethan Maniquis, his longtime editor. The film is being produced by Rodriguez, Rick Schwartz of Overnight Productions and Aaron Kaufman.

Not immediately clear is whether Rodriguez and Overnight will find a way to use the irresistible marketing slogan that appeared in the "Grindhouse" trailer: "This time, they fucked with the wrong Mexican." It is the first non-studio movie that Rodriguez has directed since "El Mariachi."

For Fox, Rodriguez has scripted "Predators," a film that will bring back the dreadlock-sporting alien hunter who originated in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger hit "Predator." While a sequel didn't become a hit, Fox kept the alien sharp by launching the "Alien Vs. Predator," a wildly profitable series that has racked up strong grosses and DVD sales, wit little or no gross out the door.

While Rodriguez juggles these projects, he's also directing his script "Nerveracker" for Dimension Films, with Bob Weinstein setting a 2010 release for the futuristic action thriller.

CSI movie in the works, says former star, producer Petersen

TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is heading to the movies, according to executive producer and former star William Petersen.

The actor, whose paternal forensic investigator Gil Grissom left the drama earlier this season, told the U.K.'s Radio Times that a movie featuring the Las Vegas team is in the works.

Petersen, who has since returned to the theatre world, acknowledged that some fans might feel "a little trepidatious" about the prospect of a CSI film project.

"Usually people leave it till a series has finished — they did that with The X-Files and Sex and the City," he told the magazine.

"But it's about finding the right story…You don't just do it because you want to make money. You do it because there's a story that can't be told on TV and needs to be told from CSI's perspective, and the audience wants it," Petersen said.

"And we can't wait for CSI to end or Grissom will be about 90."

Petersen had previously expressed a desire to see a CSI movie, quipping "that's the real reason Grissom isn't going to die of a brain tumour."

Having portrayed the show's lead investigator since the series debut in 2000, Petersen made his exit this season — the show's 10th — paving the way for Emmy and Tony Award-winning film, TV and stage actor Laurence Fishburne to join the cast of the top-rated forensics drama.

Petersen has since joined Chicago's celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre Company as a member of its acting ensemble.

Adults steering clear of movies As Recession forces studios to aim younger

Pricey, star-driven thrillers and dramas will struggle for profitability as the recession intensifies a trend toward youth-dominated openings.

That's the consensus after the weekend's soft opening for Universal's Russell Crowe starrer, the latest in a series of misfires by adult-oriented releases. Investigative-journo thriller "State of Play" rung up just $14.1 million over its first frame, meaning the Americanized adaptation of a British miniseries must overperform dramatically overseas for the $60 million production to break even.

The pic's travails reflect this rude awakening in Hollywood: Older demos may be resisting the recent enthusiasm for moviegoing. Certainly it's been months since anything has caught fire at the arthouses.

But it's the ill-fated outings of studios' highest-profile adult fare that's stirred the most concern.

"Not as many adults are going to the movies because of the recession," a highly placed studio exec lamented. "More and more, it's the kids who come out and support the pictures over opening weekend and not as much the older adults."

The good news is that ticket sales are pacing ahead of last year's by a healthy single-digit percentage, and boxoffice is up by a double-digit margin on a calendar-year basis. In fact, the market has been so robust it can produce even the odd adult-driven success: Fox's Liam Neeson starrer "Taken" -- produced for under $30 million -- rang up $218 million in worldwide boxoffice after unspooling in January.

"The success of 'Taken' has a lot to do with the audience rooting so hard for Liam Neeson to find his daughter in the picture," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said. "The audience involvement is great. That personal involvement doesn't happen often with these kind of movies. It's more common in the younger movies, but that emotional note is important to hit."

Marketing also figures prominently in any success or failure at the boxoffice.

"Adults are a harder audience to motivate, and the problem with some adult movies is compounded by their not being high-concept films that you can boil down to 30-second spots," a top studio exec said. "With 'Taken,' it was, 'You took my kid, motherfucker, and you're going to pay.' "

A succession of adult-oriented boxoffice laggards has been noticeable for at least six months, though the trend was in evidence with 2007's critically lauded but commercially constrained "Michael Clayton." Warner Bros. rung up less than $93 million worldwide with the George Clooney starrer.

More recently, Uni absorbed a bottom-line hit with its recent Julia Roberts-Clive Owen starrer "Duplicity," a mere $39 million domestic performer through five frames that's unlikely to compensate with outsized foreign coin. Warners registered a similar sum with the thriller "Body of Lies" -- an October opener starring Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio that overperformed only modestly overseas -- while Sony's political thriller "The International" unspooled over Valentine's Day and raked in less than $50 million worldwide.

With films like "State of Play," critical praise is nice but goes only so far. If the kids don't take notice, then it's fingers-crossed for a successful DVD release to stanch some of the inevitable red ink -- though adult thrillers also have been a tough sell on shiny disc.

The worrisome trend is likely to put additional pressure on studios to rein in production costs on adult-skewing films where possible, including talent deals.

"If these things were made for a reasonable cost, it wouldn't be a problem," a studio exec groused.

"Not a lot of them break through," acknowledged another top distribution exec. "With an R-rating you're playing to an older audience, and the subject matter has to be something besides politics. People at the moment are kind of fed up with that stuff."

Warners hit big last year with Clint Eastwood's older-skewing but leggy "Gran Torino," a neighborhood-vigilante tale of personal redemption. Like the avenging-father thriller "Taken," "Torino" was a crowd-pleaser with emotional wallop. The pic grossed $237 million worldwide.

"Material-wise, I thought 'State of Play' was too 'been there, done that,'" a studio exec mused.

The comment echoed sentiment heard repeatedly last week when pre-release interest in the pic prompted forecasts for a limp "Play" bow.

"The opening was better than expected," a Uni publicist noted Monday.

Summer heroes: Wolverine, Kirk & Spock, Potter

LOS ANGELES – What a who's who list Hollywood has lined up for its summer action spectacles: Wolverine. Transformers. Harry Potter. James Kirk. G.I. Joe. Terminator.

If there's one word to sum up it all up, it's this: Relentless.

Starting May 1, barely a weekend will pass without another brawny special-effects extravaganza landing in theaters.

Appropriately, summer starts with a couple of prequels.

After co-starring in three "X-Men" adventures about the Marvel Comics mutants, Hugh Jackman steps out from the pack for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The film spins the back story of Jackman's metal-clawed loner, a military experiment gone rogue amid a government conspiracy to control his super-freak kinfolk.

Next, the starship Enterprise is relaunched in "Star Trek," with a new cast taking on the characters originated in the 1960s TV show. Chris Pine inherits William Shatner's role as dashing James Kirk, while Zachary Quinto plays Vulcan egghead Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who created the role, pops up as the older Spock).

Like "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams, Pine grew up more a "Star Wars" kid than a "Star Trek" kid. After snagging the role, Pine started watching the original series but stopped halfway through the first season.

"It was kind of nice to familiarize myself with the world, but it didn't help me much at all to delve any deeper," Pine said. "If anything, it was a hindrance to kind of watch what Mr. Shatner had done, because he'd done it so well, and he was so specific.

"There were certain mannerisms that I think are definitely Kirk-ian things that I wanted to use in my portrayal, but for the most part, I wanted to free myself up to create something new."

The director of the final four "Harry Potter" movies, David Yates, is still giving thanks for the young cast he inherited, led by Daniel Radcliffe as boy wizard Harry and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as his school pals.

"There was something very, very, very clever in their choices. Not a day goes by I'm not grateful for this bunch they put together," Yates said. "It's a remarkable bunch of kids."

In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Harry is charged with uncovering a forgotten memory from a new Hogwarts teacher (Jim Broadbent), information the young sorcerer needs for his final showdown against dark wizard Voldemort.

While Yates marvels over how his youthful cast has blossomed, "Transformers" director Michael Bay was thrilled over the improved acting chops of his computer-animated robots for the sequel.

"We were just touching the surface last time in what they're capable of doing," Bay said. "This time, they really emote."

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" reunites puny but plucky human Shia LaBeouf with his giant, shape-shifting Autobot buddies in a rematch against the evil Decepticon robot clan.

Also in a rematch are Tom Hanks and Ron Howard with "Angels & Demons," their follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code." This installment hurls Hanks' symbologist into an ancient feud between the Vatican and a secret brotherhood that has kidnapped the cardinals in line to become the next pope.

Howard felt less pressure this time adapting Dan Brown's best-seller than he had with "The Da Vinci Code," a literary phenomenon whose did-Christ-have-kids premise put the movie under a severe microscope by fans and detractors alike.

"Documentaries are being made about `Da Vinci Code.' Theologians develop symposiums around it. Ministers were using it as a way to, frankly, entice people to church," Howard said, adding that the new film "remains provocative, yes, but it doesn't hold that same place at the center of the zeitgeist. So it's really full-on escapism.

Other action highlights:

• "Terminator: Salvation": Christian Bale leads the last shreds of humanity against machine enemies as the franchise reboots without Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra": The action figures get their own movie as the G.I. Joe guys take on an arms dealer and a militant secret organization.

• "Inglourious Basterds": Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino resurrect "Dirty Dozen"-style action as Jewish soldiers dish out chaos among the Nazis.

• "Public Enemies": Johnny Depp is gangster John Dillinger and Christian Bale is G-Man Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's Depression-era crime saga.

• "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" — The remake casts Denzel Washington as a subway dispatcher and John Travolta as a bad guy ransoming a trainload of passengers.

• "Drag Me to Hell": "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi returns to his "Evil Dead" roots with a horror tale about a bank employee (Alison Lohman) tormented by a vengeful customer's supernatural curse.

• "District 9": "Lord of the Rings" overlord Peter Jackson produces a sci-fi tale about a human who becomes an unlikely ally for aliens held in a South African ghetto.

Efron turns '17 Again' into No. 1 hit with $24M

LOS ANGELES – Zac Efron has taken the box-office crown from his Disney teammate Miley Cyrus.

Efron's comedy "17 Again," in which he plays the youthful version of a middle-aged man magically transformed to high school age, debuted as the top weekend movie with $24.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The No. 1 opening for the Warner Bros. movie solidifies the big-screen potential for Efron, who rose to fame with Disney's "High School Musical" series.

"There's no question that Zac's a star," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "He's such a hardworking, talented individual. He certainly has given his all to promote this movie."

Universal had the No. 2 movie with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck's Washington thriller "State of Play," which pulled in $14.1 million. Crowe plays a reporter investigating a series of deaths linked to an old college friend (Affleck) who's now a rising star in Congress.

Cyrus' "Hannah Montana: The Movie" slipped from first place to fourth with $12.7 million. That lifted the domestic total for Cyrus' movie spinoff of her Disney Channel show to $56.1 million after 10 days in theaters.

"Hannah Montana" finished just behind DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which took in $12.9 million to raise its domestic haul to $162.7 million.

Estimates for "Hannah Montana" and "Monsters vs. Aliens" were close enough that the movies could switch rankings when final numbers are reported Monday.
Jason Statham had a so-so opening for his action sequel "Crank: High Voltage," which came in at No. 6 with $6.5 million, $4 million less than the first weekend for the 2006 original.

The Lionsgate sequel features Statham in a race to recover his heart, which has been stolen by organ thieves and replaced with a mechanical one.

Hollywood maintained a record box-office pace with just one weekend to go before the busy summer season arrives May 1 with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," Hugh Jackman's spinoff of the blockbuster "X-Men" franchise.

Overall revenues were at $112 million, up nearly 20 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

For the year, Media By Numbers is tracking receipts at $2.92 billion, 17.3 percent ahead of 2008's and well above the box-office pace of 2007, when Hollywood took in a record $9.7 billion. Accounting for higher ticket prices, movie attendance this year is up 15.6 percent compared to last year's.

The movie business is poised to top $10 billion at the box office for the first time in 2009, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

"It's going to be a record year, because we've never had a start to a year this strong," Dergarabedian said. "Unless the world goes off its axis and spins into the sun, I don't see how we're not going to have a $10 billion year."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "17 Again," $24.1 million.
2. "State of Play," $14.1 million.
3. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $12.9 million.
4. "Hannah Montana: The Movie," $12.7 million.
5. "Fast & Furious," $12.3 million.
6. "Crank: High Voltage," $6.5 million.
7. "Observe and Report," $4.1 million.
8. "Knowing," $3.5 million.
9. "I Love You, Man," $3.4 million.
10. "The Haunting in Connecticut," $3.2 million.

Carell, Fey playing 'Date Night' for laughs

So this one time, Steve Carell and Tina Fey had a romantic night out.
"And it goes crazy. Everything that can possibly go wrong goes wrong, and they're caught up in a web of malice and intrigue," Carell says.

He's referring to the comedy Date Night, directed by Night at the Museum's Shawn Levy. The flick starts shooting in a few weeks and stars the comedy dream team of Carell and Fey, who have never done a movie together. The stars of The Office and 30 Rock play a married couple who go out to a trendy Manhattan bistro for some couple bonding time, when things go terribly awry thanks to a case of mistaken identity.

"I'm a huge fan and have known her for some time, so it's great that we finally get to do something," Carell says.

Neeson to star as Zeus in `Clash of the Titans'

LOS ANGELES – Liam Neeson is set to begin work on his first film since the death of his wife, Natasha Richardson.

Neeson will play Zeus, king of the gods, in a remake of "Clash of the Titans" opposite Ralph Fiennes as Hades, ruler of the underworld. Louis Leterrier ("Transporter 2," last year's "The Incredible Hulk") will direct the film, which is scheduled to begin production in the United Kingdom later this month, Warner Bros. said Thursday.

Longtime friends Neeson and Fiennes haven't shared the screen since 1993's "Schindler's List." Also among the cast are "Casino Royale" villain Mads Mikkelsen, Sam Worthington of the upcoming "Terminator Salvation" and Alexa Davalos ("Defiance").

The original "Clash of the Titans" from 1981 starred Laurence Olivier as Zeus.
This marks the first project for Neeson, 56, since Richardson's death in a skiing accident. The 45-year-old actress died March 18 after falling and hitting her head during a lesson at Quebec's Mont Tremblant two days earlier. He had signed on to star in the movie before her death.

Neeson's most recent movie, the kidnapping thriller "Taken," became a surprise hit with nearly $140 million at the domestic box office earlier this year. He just finished work on the Atom Egoyan film "Chloe," which he was in the middle of shooting when his wife died.

Jackman 'heartbroken' over leaked superhero film

SYDNEY (AFP) – Hugh Jackman, who plays superhero Wolverine in the new X-Men movie, said Wednesday he was "heartbroken" that the film was leaked on the Internet a month before its official release.

The Australian star of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was on the case and he believed the culprit would be found.

"It's a serious crime and there's no doubt it's very disappointing -- I was heartbroken by it," Jackman told reporters at a promotion for the movie in Sydney.

The leaked version of the 20th Century Fox action movie was reportedly downloaded tens of thousands of times within a day of being posted on file-sharing websites at the end of March.

"Obviously, people are seeing an unfinished film," Jackman said. "It's like a Ferrari without a paint job."

The 40-year-old Hollywood heartthrob, named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine last year, said he was convinced that whoever had posted the copy would be tracked down.

"The FBI are on to it and they're taking it very, very seriously," he said. "Rest assured that person will be found."

Jackman arrived by helicopter on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, where some of the movie was filmed, for the first stop of a world promotion tour ahead of its official release at the end of the month.

He then delighted hundreds of invited guests and media by swooping down from a clifftop on a cable before unveiling 20 minutes of completed footage.

Jackman said he was heartened by the fact that most people had condemned the leak and thought fans would still go to see it at the cinema.

The leak has already claimed at least one casualty -- a US entertainment columnist who was fired for reviewing a stolen copy downloaded from the Internet.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns both 20th Century Fox Films and Fox News, said writer Roger Friedman had been "promptly terminated" after posting his column on the Fox News website last week.

"We, along with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, have been a consistent leader in the fight against piracy and have zero tolerance for any action that encourages and promotes piracy," News Corporation said in an emailed statement.

"When we advised Fox News of the facts they took immediate action, removed the post, and promptly terminated Mr Friedman."

The "X-Men" film, based on the eponymous comic book characters, was apparently spread with BitTorrent file-sharing technology that lets people exchange large data files between computers.

'Fast & Furious' accelerates to $72.5M opening

LOS ANGELES – "Fast & Furious" left the competition in the dust with a $72.5 million opening weekend, the best so far this year.

That topped last weekend's $59.3 million debut for DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which slipped to second place with $33.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $105.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "Fast & Furious" also raced to a record for April debuts, easily passing the previous best of $42.2 million set in 2003 by "Anger Management."
It was a blockbuster opening more customary to summer. But Hollywood has been extending its busy season more and more by placing summer-style flicks earlier in the year.

"It's summer time in April," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "We've seen the summer season stretch from what used to be Memorial Day through Labor Day, then the first of May through Labor Day. Now maybe with `Fast & Furious,' it's going to be early April as the beginning of summer."

The weekend's other new wide release, Miramax's 1980s nostalgia comedy "Adventureland," debuted at No. 6 with $6 million. The movie stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart as summer workers at a second-rate theme park in the late '80s.

The fourth installment of the "Fast and the Furious" street-racing franchise brings back the four stars of the 2001 original — Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. The new movie has Diesel's fugitive driver and Walker's undercover cop reteaming for more illegal races as they take on a murderous drug lord.

The reunion paid off for distributor Universal, which also pulled in $30.1 million in 32 other countries where "Fast & Furious" was playing.

The original was a surprise hit, but the franchise was slowly running out of gas after the sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious," which starred Walker. Part three, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," had a new cast and took in a solid but unremarkable $62.5 million over its entire run.

But "Tokyo Drift" ended with a cameo by Diesel, sparking interest in reviving the series with the "Fast & Furious" reunion.

"The marketing campaign let everyone know it's not what you've seen before. It's the original cast," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "For the audience, the first main reason to see the movie was the action, then the car racing, then Vin Diesel."

"Fast & Furious" paced Hollywood to another huge weekend, with overall revenues at $160 million, up 68 percent from the same period last year.

For the year, domestic revenues are running at a record pace of $2.57 billion, up 14.5 percent from 2008's, according to Media By Numbers. Factoring in 2009's higher ticket prices, movie attendance is running 12.8 percent ahead of last year's.

"The title of this movie perfectly describes the box office year of 2009. Fast and furious," Dergarabedian said.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Fast & Furious," $72.5 million.
2. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $33.5 million.
3. "The Haunting in Connecticut," $9.6 million.
4. "Knowing," $8.1 million.
5. "I Love You, Man," $7.9 million.
6. "Adventureland," $6 million.
7. "Duplicity," $4.3 million.
8. "Race to Witch Mountain," $3.4 million.
9. "12 Rounds," $2.3 million.
10. "Sunshine Cleaning," $1.9 million.

Woody Allen takes Manhattan again

LAS VEGAS - Woody Allen is back on familiar ground with his latest movie, the first shot in his beloved New York City after four made in Europe.

And for "Whatever Works," Allen has found a suitable mouthpiece for his cynical humour in Larry David, star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The film received a warm reception and a lot of laughs at a screening Thursday at ShoWest, an annual convention of theatre owners. "Whatever Works" opens the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22 in advance of its theatrical debut in June.

Allen had shot most of his films in New York before doing three straight in London - "Match Point," "Scoop" and "Cassandra's Dream" - then making last year's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" in Spain, which featured Allen's frequent collaborator, Scarlett Johansson.

Patricia Clarkson, who had a small role in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and takes on a key part in "Whatever Works," said the New York shoot was a pleasure - since she lives there, too.

"It was so nice to be shooting with Woody Allen in New York. It was divine," said Clarkson, who introduced "Whatever Works" to the ShoWest crowd. "There were a couple of days I walked to work. It was beautiful.

"He was definitely on his own turf," Clarkson said. "When we were shooting in Barcelona, it was like shooting with Mick Jagger. I mean, the streets were lined wherever we went for Scarlett and for Woody. It was like they were rock stars. In New York, the crowds gather, but I think because it's Woody, they're actually respectful of him."

"Whatever Works" casts David as a brilliant, misanthropic physicist whose dour outlook drives him to failed suicide attempts. After splitting with his worldly wife and giving up his teaching job, he becomes a cranky chess instructor in a May-December relationship with a naive southern beauty (Evan Rachel Wood), whose mother (Clarkson) schemes to split them up.

David delivers nicely as the sort of eccentric New Yorker that Allen has played himself in past films. But David is more than a stand-in for Allen, Clarkson said.

"They are kissing cousins. They are kindred spirits, absolutely," Clarkson said. "But Larry David is very different in the film. He's very different than he is on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' People think he's absolutely that person on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' but he's a different man, and he's different in the Woody Allen film.

"It's Larry's own DNA mixed with Woody's writing. Those are two powerful DNAs mixing. It's inspired."

Another Ghostbusters Sequel Update

About a month ago, Dan Ackroyd gave an update on the next Ghostbusters movie. Now another star and co-writer from the original movies is offering his take on the new sequel, and when we can expect it.

Harold Ramis, Egon Spengler for those familiar with the jumpsuit-wearing Ghostbusters characters, talked with MTV’s Splash Page about that long-talked about sequel. His take is pretty similar to Ackroyd’s: the sequel is coming, the script is underway, and the original players will all be involved, albeit passing the torch to new characters.

"We're all going to be in it in different kinds of roles. We're going to be the sage mentors. There are going to be young Ghostbusters," Ramis declared. When he says “we” he means all of the originals, even the notoriously difficult Bill Murray. "Bill Murray is just waiting for the truckload of money to arrive to get him out of his office," Ramis jabbed, before turning a bit more serious. "I haven't talked to him about it. I want to talk to him about it eventually. I think we just need a script, because he's the thorniest of the group."

As for who those younger Ghostbusters will be, Ramis pointed out that rumors have been going on as far back as including Chris Farley in the cast (along with Ben Stiller, and Chris Rock). The truth is nobody’s been cast, and the movie is still in the script phase, with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky handling the script duties while Ramis, Ackroyd, and director Ivan Reitman serve as consultants.

The actors aren’t the only thing up in the air for the third movie in the series. Reitman is not planning on returning to direct, nor does Ramis want the task, leaving the director’s chair open. With Judd Apatow already signed on to produce, somehow I don’t think finding a director is going to be all that difficult.

'Monsters vs. Aliens' hurtles to $58.2M debut

LOS ANGELES – Movie beasts from old-time Hollywood got a makeover as heroes and conquered the weekend box office.

DreamWorks Animation's action comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens," which features creatures from 1950s flicks in a showdown with invading extraterrestrials, launched itself into the No. 1 spot with a $58.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was the biggest debut so far in 2009, topping the $55.2 million first weekend of "Watchmen" in early March.

Opening in second place was Lionsgate's ghost story "The Haunting in Connecticut" with $23 million in ticket sales.

The previous weekend's top movie, Summit Entertainment's apocalyptic thriller "Knowing," slipped to third with $14.7 million, raising its 10-day total to $46.2 million.

The big opening for "Monsters vs. Aliens" boosted Hollywood revenues after a couple of down weekends. Movies overall pulled in about $148 million, up 39 percent from the same weekend a year ago, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

For the year, revenues have reached $2.38 billion, up 12 percent from 2008's, according to Media By Numbers. Accounting for this year's higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 10.4 percent.

Hollywood historically weathers recessions well given the relative low cost of movies compared with other entertainment such as concerts or sports events. But the declining revenues of the previous two weekends showed that audiences will not run out to just any old flick, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

"The recession offers a framework from which movies can do well for people looking to escape," Dergarabedian said. "But they have to want to escape to these movies. The appeal has to be there, and it clearly was for `Monsters vs. Aliens.'"

Reese Witherspoon leads the cast of "Monsters vs. Aliens," providing vocals for a woman who grows to nearly 50 feet after an encounter with a meteor. The voice cast also includes Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Stephen Colbert.

"Monsters vs. Aliens" was the latest success story for digital 3-D projection. While the 2,080 3-D screens accounted for just 28 percent of the roughly 7,300 on which the movie played, they made up 56 percent of its total box-office haul, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.

Tickets for 3-D movies typically cost a few dollars more than the 2-D version.
"Audiences donned 3-D glasses in the biggest way ever," Globe said. "`Monsters vs. Aliens' serves as valuable proof of concept for the next generation of 3-D."
The company plans to offer 3-D versions of all of its future animated films, including next year's "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Shrek Goes Fourth," the third sequel to the blockbuster ogre franchise.

Other upcoming 3-D releases this year include Pixar Animation's "Up" and James Cameron's sci-fi adventure "Avatar."

Large-screen IMAX theaters showing "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3-D accounted for $5.2 million of the movie's overall grosses. Those 143 IMAX theaters represented only about 2 percent of the screens on which the movie played but contributed 9 percent of its total box office.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $58.2 million.
2. "The Haunting in Connecticut," $23 million.
3. "Knowing," $14.7 million.
4. "I Love You, Man," $12.6 million.
5. "Duplicity," $7.6 million.
6. "Race to Witch Mountain," $5.6 million.
7. "12 Rounds," $5.3 million.
8. "Watchmen," $2.755 million.
9. "Taken," $2.75 million.
10. "The Last House on the Left," $2.6 million.

Warner Bros. launches 'on demand' DVD sales

One of Hollywood's biggest movie vaults is about to be opened wide.

Warner Bros. is launching an innovative "on demand" DVD initiative in which fans eventually will be able to order any of the 6,800 theatrical features in the studio's library not available on disc and receive a custom-made DVD within a week for $20.

Only about 1,200 films in the Warner library have been released on DVD, large part because of space constraints at retail. "This news is going to make a lot of people really happy," says George Feltenstein, senior vice president of theatrical catalog marketing at Warner Home Video.

The Warner Archive Collection launches today (warnerarchive.com) with an initial slate of 150 films that have never been on DVD, such as 1943's Mr. Lucky, with Cary Grant and Laraine Day, and 1962's All Fall Down with Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint. The oldest film in this first wave is the 1923 silent scorcher Souls for Sale; the newest is 1986's Wisdom, with Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez.

Plans call for 20 or more classic films and TV shows to be added each month, Feltenstein says. To order films, consumers go to the website, select titles and place orders, which are manufactured and shipped in shrink-wrapped plastic cases identical to those of commercial DVDs. Consumers also will be able to order films digitally, downloaded directly to their computers, for $15.

"Our goal is to eventually open up our entire vault," Feltenstein says. "We've been working on this for three years. I've always said it would be great if people could buy anything in our library, and now the time has come, because the technology finally exists."

As a general rule, films considered for release are evaluated by how well they did in the VHS era, which saw about 4,100 movies from Warner's library released on videocassette over a span of more than 20 years. Other factors include the availability of good-quality prints, consumer requests and interest on the black market.

"Some films that are not available on DVD have gotten a lot of bootlegging," Feltenstein says. "We track that on the Internet."

Initially, special features will be limited to original theatrical trailers, but down the road additional extras might be added, Feltenstein says. "Right now, our focus is to get some of these movies that have been sitting in the vaults for years out there to the public, so that by Christmas we'll have at least 350 films available," Feltenstein says.

That's music to the ears of film aficionados such as Mike Weldon, 64, of Costa Mesa, Calif. "I think it's great, because there are a lot of movies out there we just don't get exposure to anymore," he says. "There are films I'd like to own and see every few months, but I just can't find them anywhere."

Scanning the initial list of titles, Weldon points to Homecoming, a 1948 romantic drama from MGM starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner. "Here's one right now," he says. "I've been looking for that everywhere."

Sci-fi thriller "Knowing" tops weekend box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The science-fiction adventure "Knowing," starring Nicolas Cage, grossed an estimated $24.8 million in its first three days in theaters to top the North American box office this weekend, according to studio figures on Sunday.

"Knowing," which features Cage as an astrophysicist racing to save the world from impending doom, easily beat out two other movies opening in wide release -- the male-bonding comedy "I Love You, Man" and the spy thriller "Duplicity," co-starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.

"I Love You, Man," featuring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, opened at No. 2 with just over $18 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales estimated for Friday through Sunday.

"Duplicity" was No. 3 with $14.4 million in receipts, according to numbers compiled by box office tracking service Media By Numbers.

Last weekend's top movie, "Race to Witch Mountain," fell to fourth place with receipts of $13 million, while the superhero film "Watchmen" rounded out the top five at $6.7 million.

Vulcans 'deserve their day in the sun,' says Spock

CALGARY–Mr. Spock would never admit to any emotion, but the actor who portrayed the very logical character is peeved about a decision not to show the premiere of the new Star Trek movie in a southern Alberta town.

Leonard Nimoy thinks Star Trek XI should go where no film has gone before.

A mission by the town of Vulcan, southeast of Calgary, to beam in the movie on opening day May 8 appeared to have failed this week when Paramount Pictures said it couldn't work out details.

The community with the same name as Spock's birthplace has used that connection to develop itself as a tourist attraction.

And now Spock has returned to help his people.

"It seems to me that someone at Paramount should show some interest and not take this lightly. This is a serious issue," Nimoy said in a phone interview from Los Angeles with The Canadian Press.

"The people of my home planet of Vulcan are not happy about this. I won't say they're sad or upset because that would express emotion but they think it's illogical that somehow Paramount could not arrange to get a screening of the movie up there in Vulcan," he said, laughing.

Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original series as well as several Star Trek movies, only learned of Vulcan, Alta.'s existence when he saw the story about its failed bid Thursday on the Internet.

He said he's been sending emails to Paramount every couple of hours in an attempt to force the movie giant to do something for the town.

"I got the word out to Paramount that there's an issue here that should be dealt with," he said. "The Paramount press people are aware of it and hopefully the word will filter into the proper offices and somebody will do something about it."

"My position is if they can produce this gigantic movie and get it done with all the physical requirements that are involved in making this film, they can find some way to show it in Alberta, Canada," Nimoy added.

"The people of Vulcan deserve their day in the sun."

Nimoy has a small part in Star Trek XI, which focuses on Mr. Spock and Capt. James T. Kirk's early years, and is scheduled to premiere on stardate 05-08-09, otherwise known as May 8.

Vulcan pulled out all the stops to try to gain the premiere or even a sneak peak of the movie. It even launched a Facebook site which now boasts over 1,500 members.

"This is the voyage of a small town's quest for the Star Trek XI movie premiere," begins a video on the Facebook site with the Star Trek theme playing in the background.

"Our Mission – to showcase our Star Trek spirit, to help Hollywood showcase the new Star Trek movie and to host a spectacular event that brings Spock home to Vulcan, Alta."

Dayna Dickens, tourism co-ordinator for Vulcan, was nearly speechless over Mr. Spock's endorsement and had an embarrassing admission.

"I got a call from Leonard Nimoy this morning but I ... seriously thought it was a prank call," she sighed.

"We get calls from people pretending to be Montgomery Scott (Scotty) and Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. I always respond professionally and I will play along to a certain extent. But I can't believe this. Wow."

Nimoy laughed when told that Dickens questioned the authenticity of his call and noted she did appear a "bit guarded". He said he will not be beaming in any reinforcements from the old Star Trek cast including Canadian-born William Shatner.

"No, I think this is strictly a Vulcan project but Zachary Quinto, who plays the young Spock, he might be interested. I'll have to talk to him," said Nimoy.

Vulcan held its first Vul-con convention in 1993. Two years later, the town unveiled its own Star Ship FX6-1995-A to welcome visitors. A plaque includes greetings written in English, Vulcan and Klingon.

Another sign welcomes visitors with the Vulcan motto "Live Long and Prosper." There's also a space-themed visitors centre and, in an odd combination of Prairie tradition and outer space zeal, there's also the annual Spock Days Rodeo.

Nimoy, who also starred in the popular series, In Search Of, said he has a soft spot for the Star Trek series and his alter ego.

"I care a lot. It's been very good to me and I have to be good in return," he said.

"It has given me a great life, creative opportunities. I have no disappointment, no anger, no frustration and I am very grateful."

Natasha Richardson mourned as a 'wonderful woman'

NEW YORK – Tributes have begun to pour in from across the show business generations for Natasha Richardson, the Tony Award-winning actress who died after suffering a head injury on a ski slope.

"She was a wonderful woman and actress and treated me like I was her own," said Lindsay Lohan, who as a preteen starred with Richardson in a remake of "The Parent Trap" in 1998. "My heart goes out to her family. This is a tragic loss."

Actress Judi Dench told the BBC that Richardson was "a really great actress" who had "an incredibly luminous quality, that you seldom see, and a great sense of humor."

"It's just so shocking, really shocking, and I hope that everybody leaves the family quietly to somehow pick up the pieces," Dench said.

Sam Mendes, who produced the Broadway musical "Cabaret" for which Richardson won a Tony, said, "It defies belief that this gifted, brave, tenacious, wonderful woman is gone."

Richardson fell during a private lesson Monday at a ski resort in Quebec. She was not wearing a helmet. The 45-year-old actress was seemingly fine afterward, but about an hour later, she complained that she didn't feel well. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York.

Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband, Liam Neeson, confirmed her death Wednesday without giving details on the cause.

There were no details on funeral arrangements.

Neeson and Richardson's sister, actress Joely Richardson, were seen leaving Lenox Hill hospital Wednesday. Actress Lauren Bacall also visited the hospital.

Yves Coderre, director of operations at the emergency services company that sent paramedics to the Mont Tremblant resort where Richardson suffered her fall, told The Globe and Mail newspaper Wednesday the paramedics who responded were told they were not needed.

"They never saw the patient," Coderre told The Globe and Mail. "So they turned around."

Coderre said another ambulance was called later to Richardson's luxury hotel. By that point, her condition had gotten worse and she was rushed to a hospital.

Richardson's career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret."

Richardson was a proper Londoner who came to love the noise of New York, an elegant blonde with large, lively eyes, a bright smile and a hearty laugh.

Jane Fonda on Wednesday recalled meeting a young Richardson on the set of "Julia," the 1977 film Fonda starred in opposite Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave.

"She was a little girl but already beautiful and graceful. It didn't surprise me that she became such a talented actor," Fonda recalled on her blog. "It is hard to even imagine what it must be like for her family. My heart is heavy."

As an actress, Richardson was equally adept at passion and restraint, able to portray besieged women both confessional (Tennessee Williams' Blanche DuBois) and confined (the concubine in the futuristic horror of "The Handmaid's Tale").

Like other family members, she divided her time between stage and screen. On Broadway, she portrayed Sally Bowles in the 1998 revival of "Cabaret." She also appeared in New York in a production of Patrick Marber's "Closer" (1999) as well as the 2005 revival of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," in which she played Blanche opposite John C. Reilly's Stanley Kowalski.

She met Neeson when they made their Broadway debuts in 1993, co-starring in "Anna Christie," Eugene O'Neill's drama about a former prostitute and the sailor who falls in love with her.

The New York Times critic Frank Rich called her "astonishing" and said she "gives what may prove to be the performance of the season."

Her most notable film roles came earlier in her career. Richardson played the title character in Paul Schrader's "Patty Hearst," a 1988 biopic about the kidnapped heiress for which the actress became so immersed that even between scenes she wore a blindfold, the better to identify with her real-life counterpart.

Richardson was directed again by Schrader in a 1990 adaptation of Ian McEwan's "The Comfort of Strangers" and, also in 1990, starred in the screen version of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale."

She later co-starred with Neeson in "Nell" and with Mia Farrow in "Widows' Peak." More recent movies, none of them widely seen, included "Wild Child," "Evening" and "Asylum."

Richardson was born in London in 1963, the performing gene inherited not just from her parents (Redgrave and director Tony Richardson), but from her maternal grandparents (Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson), an aunt (Lynn Redgrave) and an uncle (Corin Redgrave). Her younger sister, Joely Richardson, also joined the family business.

She also is survived by two sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12.

Friends and family members remembered Natasha as an unusually poised child, perhaps forced to grow up early when her father left her mother in the late '60s for Jeanne Moreau. (Tony Richardson died in 1991).

Interviewed by The Associated Press in 2001, Natasha Richardson said she related well to her family if only because, "We've all been through it in one way or another and so we've had to be strong. Also we embrace life. We are not cynical about life."

Her screen debut came at 4, when she appeared as a flower girl in "The Charge of the Light Brigade," directed by her father, whose movies included "Tom Jones" and "The Entertainer." The show business wand had already tapped her the year before, when she saw her mother in the 1967 film version of the Broadway show "Camelot."

"She was so beautiful. I still look at that movie and I can't believe it. It still makes me cry, the beauty of it," Richardson said.

She studied at London's Central School of Speech and Drama and was an experienced stage actress by her early 20s, appearing in "On the Razzle," "Charley's Aunt" and "The Seagull," for which the London Drama Critics awarded her most promising newcomer.

She and her mother acted together, most recently on Broadway to play the roles of mother and daughter in a one-night benefit concert version of "A Little Night Music," the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical.

Before meeting up with Neeson, Richardson was married to producer Robert Fox, whose credits include the 1985 staging of "The Seagull" in which his future wife appeared.

She sometimes remarked on the differences between her and her second husband — she from a theatrical dynasty and he from a working-class background in Northern Ireland.

"He's more laid back, happy to see what happens, whereas I'm a doer and I plan ahead," Richardson told The Independent on Sunday newspaper in 2003. "The differences sometimes get in the way but they can be the very things that feed a marriage, too."

She once said that Neeson's serious injury in a 2000 motorcycle accident — he suffered a crushed pelvis after colliding with a deer in upstate New York — had made her really appreciate life.

"I wake up every morning feeling lucky — which is driven by fear, no doubt, since I know it could all go away," she told The Daily Telegraph newspaper in 2003.

Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman find 'Important Artifacts'

Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman want you to buy what they're sellin'.

Pitt and Portman have signed on for the adaptation of Leanne Sharpton's (deep breath) "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry," according to Variety. The transition from Sharpton's novel to the big screen should be interesting, to say the least: "Important Artifacts" reveals the characters not through narrative but via a mock auction catalog, leaving readers to explore the relationship based on the items for sale and their descriptions.

Instead, Variety says the film will be a romantic comedy with Pitt and Portman in the title roles.

Pitt, 45, will co-star this year in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds." Portman, 27, last starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in "The Other Boleyn Girl."

Salma Hayek back acting in Adam Sandler comedy

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Actress Salma Hayek will return to movie screens in a comedy alongside Adam Sandler, after a break in which she was producing and acting for television, Hollywood media reported Wednesday.

Hayek joins funnyman Sandler and his fellow former "Saturday Night Live" stars Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade in a comedy about best friends from high school who reunite 30 years later, according to Variety.

The 42-year-old star of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and "Traffic" has been devoting time to producing the US TV series "Ugly Betty" and guest-starring in the Golden Globe-winning "30 Rock."

Sandler co-wrote the new project and his "Happy Gilmore" director Dennis Dugan is onboard, said the Hollywood press. It will start shooting in the coming months, ready for release in 2010.

Hayek wed French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault last month in Paris. The couple have an infant daughter together.

She became famous after starring in a telenovela in her native Mexico when she was 22 years old, before moving to Hollywood.

Hayek has also starred in the action flicks "Desperado" and "Wild Wild West" and appeared in "Dogma." Her role as the eccentric Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in the film "Frida" earned Hayek a best actress nomination at the 2003 Oscars.

'Transformers 3,' 'Thor' get new release dates

The Autobots and Decepticons will battle it out again, this time over Independence Day weekend in 2011.

Paramount has given "Transformers 3" a coveted July 1 release date for that year, despite the lack of director, script or signed stars, sources say. Despite opening the weekend after July 4, the first installment pulled in more than $70 million. "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen" won't be waiting for the fireworks: It hits theaters on June 24 this year.

Marvel's "Thor," meanwhile, will move to May 20, 2011. Just last week, the movie was pushed back a year from its original 2010 spot.

'Witch Mountain' races to top spot at box office

LOS ANGELES – Disney's "Race to Witch Mountain" raced to No. 1 at the weekend box office, bypassing expectations with $25 million in ticket sales.

The PG-rated sci-fi flick starring Dwayne Johnson as a cab driver with a pair of alien teenagers along for the ride topped the R-rated superhero epic "Watchmen," which earned $18.1 million in its second week.

Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group, said analysts had predicted that "Race to Witch Mountain," director Andy Fickman's re-imagination of the 1975 live-action film "Escape to Witch Mountain," would fly away with $20 million or less. Now he expects this "Witch Mountain" to maintain a high orbit in theaters with kids on spring break.

"I think audiences this weekend were really drawn to the action adventure of 'Race to Witch Mountain,'" said Zoradi. "There was also this element of parents over 30 who remembered the original and were drawn to this one, so I think that combination is what helped us exceed what folks in the industry thought this movie was going to do."

Ticket sales for "Watchmen" plummeted 67 percent from last weekend's $55.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. executive vice president of distribution, said the studio anticipated the big dip for director Zack Snyder's comic book adaptation about a team of subversive superheros.

"It's very common with higher profile, highly anticipated movies," said Goldstein.
Also opening this weekend in wide release was "The Last House on the Left," the Universal horror remake, which turned up at No. 3 with $14.7 million in ticket sales, and "Miss March," the Fox Atomic comedy in the No. 10 spot with $2.4 million. 20th Century Fox's thriller "Taken" remained at No. 4 with $6.7 million in its seventh weekend in theaters.

Factoring in 2009's higher admission prices, the weekend box office total was down 16 percent compared with last year, making it the first down weekend in six weeks. Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers, does not believe the shift signals the end of 2009's otherwise stellar year at the box office.

"I don't think this down weekend reflects any kind of lack of interest by the audience," Dergarabedian said. "I think it has to do with 'Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who' opening a year ago with $45 million. That's really a tough comparison. Not every weekend this year is going to be up when you have some strong openings like that from last year."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Race to Witch Mountain," $25 million.
2. "Watchmen," $18.1 million.
3. "The Last House on the Left," $14.7 million.
4. "Taken," $6.7 million.
5. "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail," $5.1 million.
6. "Slumdog Millionaire," $5 million.
7. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $3.1 million.
8. "He's Just Not That Into You," $2.9 million.
9. "Coraline," $3.3 million.
10. "Miss March," $2.4 million.

Marvel delays "Thor," "Avengers"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The superheroes will take just a little longer to arrive on the scene.

Marvel Entertainment said Thursday it was pushing back by a year a pair of key properties in its comic book franchises "Thor" and "Avengers."

"Thor" will now come out on June 17, 2011 (it had previously been scheduled for July 16, 2010), while "Avengers" will hit theaters May 4, 2012 (it had been slotted for July 15, 2011).

Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel said the move "maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multicharacter 'The Avengers' film in 2012."

It's likely, however, that the studio wanted to ensure at least one tentpole in as many years as possible. Under the previous schedule, it had nothing slated for 2012. Also, as Maisel suggested, the move gives maximum runway for the characters leading up to "Avengers," which will wrap in roles for many of its top-tier characters.

Had it let the previous dates stand, it would have seen the bunching of two properties (Iron Man and Thor) in 2010 and then three (Captain America, Spider-Man and the multicharacter Avengers) in 2011. Under the new schedule, it will space out the characters more: just one (Iron Man) in 2010, Spider-Man, Thor and Captain America in 2011, and Avengers in 2012.

The studio also announced that it was pushing the release of the Captain America picture, titled "The First Avenger: Captain America," back several months, from May 6, 2011, to July 22, 2011.

That move was not unexpected given that Sony, which is releasing "Spider-Man 4" via its licensing deal with Marvel, is bringing out its picture in May of that year. Marvel clarified on Thursday that that pic will come out on May 6, 2011. It had previously given the month of May but no exact date.

Marvel is pursuing a strategy similar to that of its classic comic books, in which characters frequently cross over between properties. Samuel Jackson recently signed a nine-picture deal to play superhero Nick Fury, who will appear in many of its upcoming pics.

The studio's current priority is "Iron Man 2." Casting is coming together for the project, with Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson recently signing on for the project, which will shoot this year.

ScarJo & Mickey Rourke Help Raise Iron Curtain

(E! Online) – Scarlett Johansson is joining the superhero set.

Her rep confirms that the actress has signed on to play Black Widow in the Iron Man sequel opposite Robert Downey Jr. The deal was signed Wednesday afternoon.

"Scarlett is thrilled to be a part of Iron Man," her rep, Marcel Pariseau, is quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, after months of negotiations...The Wrestler's comeback kid Mickey Rourke has finally sealed a deal to play the villain Whiplash, according to Variety.

Rourke's team had reportedly held out for more money after Marvel's initial offer was just $250,000.

Scheduled for a May 2010 release, part two of the franchise will also include Gwyneth Paltrow returning as Pepper Potts along with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Don Cheadle playing Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

"Watchmen" hits big time at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Watchmen," an unorthodox superhero movie that took two decades to reach the big screen, took the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, but fell a little short of expectations.

The adaptation of a cult comic book series sold an estimated $55.7 million in tickets in its first three days, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said, becoming the biggest opening of the year.

But pundits had expected an opening in the $60 million-plus range, and the tally was considerably lower than the $71 million start two years ago for "300," the previous film from "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder. The ancient battle epic holds the record for a March opening. "Watchmen" ranks at No. 3.

"Our expectations were met," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic theatrical distribution at the Time Warner Inc-owned studio.

He said the film's 161-minute running-time inevitably affected business, restricting theaters to one main evening screening. Male moviegoers accounted for about two-thirds of the audience, with the "sweet spot" aged between 17 and 35, Fellman said.

The occasionally gruesome film, which cost about $120 million to make, revolves around a team of crime-fighters targeted in a dastardly plot with dangerous implications for mankind.

OBSCURE ACTORS, CHARACTERS

A relatively unknown cast plays a similarly obscure lineup of characters, including the vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), the naked blue giant Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), and the occasionally topless Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman).

The project is based on the sprawling 1980s "Watchmen" comic books by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, which were long considered unfilmable because of their multiple characters, violence, digressions and abundance of dialogue.

That did not stop studios such as Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures from attempting adaptations. Warner Bros. came aboard in late 2005, and brought on Snyder who was working on the effects-heavy "300" at the time.

But all the hard work on "Watchmen" was almost ruined earlier this year by a last-minute legal challenge from Fox, which claimed it held the distribution rights. Under a settlement announced in January, the News Corp-owned studio will take 8.5 percent of gross profits.

Warner Bros. is already sharing profits with closely held financier Legendary Pictures, its partner on "The Dark Knight," and foreign distributor Paramount. The Viacom Inc-owned studio opened the film simultaneously in much of the world. Sales data were not immediately available.

Top critics were largely underwhelmed by "Watchmen," according to Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com), a web site that aggregates reviews.

After two weekends at No. 1, "Madea Goes to Jail" slipped to a distant No. 2 with $8.8 million, taking its 17-day haul to $76.5 million, a record for prolific actor/writer/director Tyler Perry. The black-themed comedy was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Fox's unstoppable Liam Neeson thriller "Taken" rose one place to No. 3 with $7.5 million in its sixth weekend. It has earned $118 million to date.

Previewing Hollywood's spring movies

Optimism may be a scarce commodity in most quarters of the economy right now but hope springs eternal in the movie business. The box office was booming through the first months of the year and Hollywood's hoping that it can stave off a slump as it readies a huge slate of releases for the spring movie season.

But what with a new U.S. president in office and folks everywhere facing the worst economic conditions in decades, these movies are entering a far different world than their makers might have expected. How will they fit with viewers' new demands and expectations? Do audiences want escapist fluff or opportunities to vent their anger and anxiety?

All that seems certain is that middle-aged action heroes are in (the Liam Neeson flick Taken was a surprise smash) and crass displays of consumerism are out (sorry, Confessions of a Shopaholic).

Here's a list of the movies coming soon to theatres and how they might fare in light of the current crisis.

MARCH 13

Race to Witch Mountain

Who's in it: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino

What it's about: In this remake/reboot of the Disney science-fiction series spawned by the books by Alexander Key, two mysteriously gifted teens and their reluctant protector race to prevent an alien invasion.

Recession ready: Yes – the highway chase scenes are rendered plausible again due to depressed gas prices. Our interplanetary visitors may also have some valuable advice about alternate energy sources.

Gomorrah

Who's in it: Toni Servillo, Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Cantalupo

What it's about: A defiantly unglamorous sort of mob movie, this Cannes prize winner from Italy exposes the inner workings of a crime syndicate in Naples.

Recession ready: Definitely. Thoughtful viewers will appreciate Gomorrah's bracing portrayal of the ways that greed and criminality turn an economy toxic.

MARCH 20

Duplicity

Who's in it: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti

What it's about: Two corporate spies (and ex-lovers) team up to get back at a company that burned them in writer-director Tony Gilroy's follow-up to Michael Clayton.

Recession ready: Not as much as it seems. Gilroy's film is poised to capitalize on viewers' anger at corporate weasels but the poor performance of The International doesn't bode well for biz-minded thrillers.

MARCH 27

Monsters vs. Aliens

Who's in it: Voices of Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Hugh Laurie

What it's about: In this 3-D animated feature from the DreamWorks team behind Shrek and A Shark's Tale, a ragtag crew of mutant humans helps defend the Earth from – you guessed it – an alien invasion.

Recession ready: Hollywood bean-counters are banking on ever-improving digital 3-D technology to turn young viewers (and their parents) into loyal ticket buyers.

Before Tomorrow

Who's in it: Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Madeline Ivalu, Paul-Dylan Ivalu

What it's about: Named the best Canadian first feature at TIFF last September, the latest production by the team behind Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) tells of an elderly Inuit woman and her grandson who struggle to survive in the Far North after their community is devastated.

Recession ready: Yes. The depiction of the pair's hardships in the Arctic is a vital reminder of what people can endure (though maybe not for very long).

APRIL 3

Adventureland

Who's in it: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds

What it's about: Young amusement-park employees get up to no good in this comedy by Superbad director Greg Mottola.

Recession ready: Fer sure. Adventureland's nostalgic '80s setting removes it from the stresses of the here and now.

Fast & Furious

Who's in it: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez

What it's about: The stars of the original The Fast and the Furious movie reunite to bring down a heroin operation and to race some more hot cars.

Recession ready: Looks dicey – the withering auto market could spell doom for this car-crazy franchise. Plus, real-life tragedies due to illegal street racing have made the phony kind a lot less sexy.

APRIL 10

Hunger

Who's in it: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham

What it's about: The debut feature by video artist Steve McQueen recounts the circumstances surrounding the early-1980s hunger strike by Bobby Sands and other members of the IRA.

Recession ready: Yes. Major awards from TIFF, Cannes and nearly everywhere else make Hunger one of the movies of the moment.

Even so, its horrific images of brutality and suffering are tough to take at any time.

Observe and Report

Who's in it: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta

What it's about: A dim-witted mall security guard gets a chance to shine when he becomes part of a police operation to catch a flasher.

Recession ready: More so than you'd think. The surprise success of Paul Blart: Mall Cop suggests that viewers still have warm feelings for shopping malls despite not having any money to spend.

APRIL 17

17 Again

Who's in it: Matthew Perry, Zac Efron, Leslie Mann

What it's about: An unhappy man gets a chance to rewrite his life story when he's mysteriously transformed back into his teenage self.

Recession ready: Weirdly so – what with unemployment rising and expectations sinking, it already feels like we've been transported back to 1976, the same year that audiences flocked to see Freaky Friday or 1988 for Big – other tales of youth regained.

Crank: High Voltage

Who's in it: Jason Statham, Dwight Yoakam, David Carradine

What it's about: Despite dying at the end of its over-adrenalized 2006 predecessor – regarded by action fans as the best of Statham's star vehicles – Chev Chelios is back for more abuse as he hunts the baddies who have his heart – literally.

Recession ready: Damn straight – if this sequel even has half of the ridiculous velocity of the original Crank, that'll be more than enough to take your mind off your woes.

APRIL 24

The Soloist

Who's in it: Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener

What it's about: In this adaptation of the memoir by Steve Lopez, a reporter befriends a Juilliard-trained violinist he discovers living on skid row in Los Angeles.

Recession ready: Better now than last fall. Though The Soloist's postponement from its November release date was interpreted as a sign of trouble, this story of small triumphs in hard times may actually benefit from our tough new economic climate.

MAY 1

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Who's in it: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston

What it's about: A sensitive young mutant – a French Canadian in the original Marvel comic, though he's since been Americanized – copes with life with an indestructible metal skeleton.

Recession ready: Looking good. The all-pervasive atmosphere of dread is likely to encourage viewers' fondness for internally conflicted movie heroes, a trend already established with the popularity of The Dark Knight's Batman, James Bond and Jason Bourne.

The Ghost of Girlfriends Past

Who's in it: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Emma Stone

What it's about: An incorrigible ladies' man gets a supernatural kind of comeuppance when he is taught some harsh lessons by the ghosts of former girlfriends on the eve of his younger brother's wedding.

Recession ready: Women think so. The healthy box office for female-targeted films like Mamma Mia! and He's Just Not That Into You have helped keep the studios in the black. What's more, McConaughey's charms are powerful enough to make hits even out of movies as awful as Fool's Gold and Failure to Launch.

MAY 8

Star Trek

Who's in it: Chris Pine, Zachary Pinto, Simon Pegg

What it's about: J.J. Abrams and his young cast boldly go where umpteen Star Trek TV shows and feature films have gone before. That said, the Enterprise crew's new mission could freshen up a moribund franchise.

Recession ready: Fanboys think so, plus, the multiracial cast and Obama-appropriate emphasis on hope and cooperation may capture the zeitgeist more successfully than other new blockbusters.

Adoration

Who's in it: Scott Speedman, Arsinee Khanjian, Rachel Blanchard

What it's about: A Toronto teen's phony claims to be the offspring of would-be bombers sparks an inquiry into the real history of his parents' tragic demise.

Recession ready: Atom Egoyan hopes so. The latest feature by the local auteur marks a return to some favourite themes and a more modest scale after the big-budget misfire of Where the Truth Lies.

MAY 15

Angels and Demons

Who's in it: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard

What it's about: In this follow-up to The Da Vinci Code (presented as a sequel here, though Dan Brown's original book was actually that bestseller's predecessor), more of the Vatican's best-guarded secrets are brought to light by intrepid professor Robert Langdon.

Recession ready: Iffy. Recent troubles have made many people more interested in spiritual matters than in sinister conspiracies.

MAY 22

Terminator Salvation

Who's in it: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard

What it's about: The science-fiction franchise launched by James Cameron's 1984 hit enters its latest incarnation by returning to the early days of warfare between humans and machines.

Recession ready: We refuse to speculate lest we incur Bale's fiery wrath.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Who's in it: Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Robin Williams

What it's about: Statues and dioramas get lively once again as Stiller and his co-stars cause a ruckus in another American institution.

Recession ready: Yes indeed. A movie ticket still remains far cheaper than an actual visit to Washington, D.C.

MAY 29

The Brothers Bloom

Who's in it: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz

What it's about: In this caper movie by Brick director Rian Johnson, sibling con men meet their match when they try to bilk an heiress who's just as crafty.

Recession ready: Hard to say. The Brothers Bloom might have missed its moment when its release was postponed from last October. And its cool reception at the Toronto International Film Festival the month before suggests that audiences may be wary of these grifter brothers.

And do we really need to be reminded of the Bernie Madoffs of the world?

'Madea' locks up top spot at weekend box office

LOS ANGELES – "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail" locked up $16.5 million in ticket sales to claim the top spot at the box office for a second straight weekend, beating out "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience."

The Jonas Brothers film, featuring the band on stage and off, took in $12.7 million, the second-biggest opening for a concert film behind 2008's "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert." That 3-D film, chronicling fellow Disney idol Miley Cyrus, premiered at the top of the charts after playing in just 683 theaters. "Jonas Brothers" opened in 1,271 theaters.

"'Hannah Montana' set a bar so high it's going to take forever to knock it off," said Chuck Viane, president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. "Everything about it worked. She was coming off a great album and tour and three years on the Disney Channel. I don't think any set of circumstances will ever be quite what 'Hannah' had."

Feisty, pistol-packin' granny Madea remained unstoppable at the box office. The two previous films centering on Perry's foul-mouthed character — 2005's "Diary of Mad Black Woman" and 2006's "Madea's Family Reunion" — also debuted at No. 1, and they grossed more than $150 million total.

"We've been talking a lot lately about people going to the movies to escape," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "Usually, people want to escape from jail, but people keep wanting to escape to jail with Madea. That character has made a huge mark. If you've got 'Tyler Perry' or 'Madea' in the title, you've got a hit."

"Slumdog Millionaire," riding high after collecting eight Oscars last week, finished third with $12.1 million, bringing its total to $115 million and giving it the biggest post-Academy Awards weekend for a best picture Oscar winner in 10 years.

"I still run into people who haven't seen it," said Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution at Fox Searchlight. "I'm like 'Hello? Do you live on the planet?' But obviously, there were a lot of people who hadn't seen it yet or we wouldn't have gone up 45 percent this weekend, so it's really terrific."

The week's other new wide release, the video game adaptation "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" distributed by 20th Century Fox, opened at No. 8 with $4.6 million.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail," $16.5 million.
2. "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience," $12.7 million.
3. "Slumdog Millionaire," $12.1 million.
4. "Taken," $9.9 million.
5. "He's Just Not That Into You," $5.8 million.
6. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $5.6 million.
7. "Coraline," $5.2 million.
8. "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," $4.6 million.
9. "Confessions of a Shopaholic," $4.4 million.
10. "Fired Up," 3.8 million.

John Cusack, Rob Corddry Dip Into 'Hot Tub Time Machine'

The star of classic '80s teen films "Say Anything..." and "One Crazy Summer" will pair with Rob Corddry for "Hot Tub Time Machine," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The plot follows four buddies who, missing their wild high-school days, stumble upon the titular device and revisit 1987.

Craig Robinson ("Pineapple Express") and Clark Duke ("Sex Drive") are in talks to round out the group.

Cusack, 42, can be seen this November in end-of-the-world flick "2012." Corddry, 38, co-starred in 2008's "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."

'Friday the 13th' nails No. 1 spot with $42.2M

LOS ANGELES – "Friday the 13th" had all the luck as the remake of the 1980 slasher flick opened with $42.2 million, putting blood and guts ahead of hearts over Valentine's Day weekend.

That was a record for the horror genre, topping the $39.1 million debut for 2004's "The Grudge." Accounting for today's higher admission prices, "The Grudge" sold slightly more tickets, however.

Released by the Warner Bros. banner New Line Cinema, "Friday the 13th" updates the grisly story of killer Jason Voorhees and his rampage among youths at a secluded summer camp.

On opening day — which fell on Friday the 13th — the remake pulled in $19.4 million, slightly more than the $19 million it cost to make the movie.

"It's a great title, and it was a great weekend to open. We had Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "I've seen it play a number of times, and the audience is with it the whole way. A lot of screams and a lot of laughs."

The "Friday the 13th" series has been one of the most-enduring horror franchises, spawning 10 sequels, including the crossover grudge match "Freddy Vs. Jason," pitting Voorhees against the boogeyman from "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

The movie bumped off the previous weekend's top earner, the Warner-New Line romance "He's Just Not That Into You," which fell to second-place but held up strongly over Valentine's weekend with $19.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Among other new movies, Disney's comedy "Confessions of a Shopaholic" landed in fourth-place with $15.4 million, while Sony's thriller "The International" is No. 7 with $10 million.

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" stars Isla Fisher as a magazine retail writer coping with her own compulsive buying habits. "The International" features Clive Owen as an Interpol agent and Naomi Watts as a prosecutor uncovering a bank's global misdeeds.

The combination of solid debuts and strong holdovers lifted Hollywood to its best President's Day weekend ever. The three-day overall total of $190 million blew away the previous best of $157.1 million over President's Day weekend in 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

For the year, revenues continue to soar, with revenue at $1.44 billion, up 22 percent through the same point in 2008. Factoring in 2009's higher ticket prices, movie attendance is running 20 percent higher than last year's.

"Hollywood seems to be unstoppable right now. With this notion of the recession helping the box office, I guess this is just another example of that," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "People want to go to the movies and just have fun and escape. `Friday the 13th,' as scary as your mortgage banker is, Jason's scarier."

Academy Awards front-runner "Slumdog Millionaire" heads into Oscar weekend with sturdy box-office momentum. The Fox Searchlight release took in $7.2 million, raising its 14-week total to $86.5 million.

"Slumdog Millionaire" has dominated at earlier Hollywood honors and is considered the likely best-picture winner at next Sunday's Oscars.

"The awareness for the film just keeps increasing every week," said Richard Shamban, vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight. "The publicity from the awards themselves will continue to help, win or lose."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Friday the 13th," $42.2 million.
2. "He's Just Not That Into You," $19.6 million.
3. "Taken," $19.3 million.
4. "Confessions of a Shopaholic," $15.4 million.
5. "Coraline," $15.3 million.
6. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $11.7 million.
7. "The International," $10 million.
8. "The Pink Panther 2," $9 million.
9. "Slumdog Millionaire," $7.2 million.
10. "Push," $6.9 million.

Adam Sandler Leads Comedy Dream Team

Variety reports Sandler will be joined on his next movie by Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade. They'll play former high-school classmates who come together during a reunion.

All four have worked separately with Sandler, but this is the first time they've been together in one place. Sandler and James co-starred in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"; Rock and Sandler were teammates in "The Longest Yard"; and Spade worked with Sandler in "Chuck and Larry." Schneider has had roles in most of Sandler's movies, most recently "You Don't Mess with the Zohan."

"Dark Knight" director setting up sci-fi movie

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan has set up his next movie, an original sci-fi project he hopes to shoot in the summer.

"Inception," which Nolan also wrote, is described as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." It will be released in summer 2010 through Warner Bros.

This pushes back any potential filming on a new Batman film, but three years -- and "The Prestige" -- passed between "Batman Begins" and last year's blockbuster "The Dark Knight." Nolan has also long been attached to direct a big-screen adaptation of the British TV series "The Prisoner" at Universal.

'He's Just Not That Into You' woos with $27M debut

LOS ANGELES – Movie fans were into "He's Just Not That Into You" as the ensemble romance got a jump on Valentine's Day to lead the weekend box office with a $27.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The movie whose cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Connelly knocked off the previous weekend's top flick, the abduction thriller "Taken," which dropped to second place with $20.3 million.

With Valentine's Day falling in the middle of next weekend, the movie released by the Warner Bros. banner New Line Cinema is positioned for another solid showing, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

"We're really walking into a terrific weekend. The biggest bump you can ever get for a romantic comedy is when Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday," Fellman said. "We'll see the girls, female power, drag the guys back in next Saturday."

"Taken," distributed by 20th Century Fox, raised its 10-day total to $53.4 million, its second-weekend gross dropping just 18 percent from its debut. Top films often can drop 50 percent or more in their second weekend.

Two movies featuring Dakota Fanning opened in the top 10 — Focus Features' animated adventure "Coraline" at No. 3 with $16.3 million and Summit Entertainment's sci-fi thriller "Push" at No. 6 with $10.2 million.

Steve Martin's Inspector Clouseau bumbled through the weekend as "The Pink Panther 2" turned in a so-so $12 million debut to finish at No. 4. The Sony-MGM sequel came in well behind 2006's "The Pink Panther," which premiered with $20.2 million.

Hollywood continued its hot streak as the top 12 movies hauled in $131.4 million, up 46 percent from the same weekend last year, when the romantic comedy "Fool's Gold" was No. 1 with $21.6 million.

Overall revenues are just above $1.2 billion for the year and are running 19.4 percent ahead of 2008's, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"It seems like every film that's been opening has been doing better than expected, or many of them have," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "I've not seen the start of a year this strong in my entire career."
Academy Awards front-runner "Slumdog Millionaire" continued to make good on its Oscar buzz, pulling in $7.4 million and raising its total to $77.4 million. The movie passed "Sideways" to take second-place on Fox Searchlight's list of highest-grossing films, behind "Juno" at $143 million.

In narrow release, the Weinstein Co. comedy "Fanboys" opened modestly with $164,000 in 44 theaters, averaging $3,727 a cinema. That compared to an $8,650 average in 3,175 theaters for "He's Just Not That Into You."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "He's Just Not That Into You," $27.5 million.
2. "Taken," $20.3 million.
3. "Coraline," $16.3 million.
4. "The Pink Panther 2," $12 million.
5. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $11 million.
6. "Push," $10.2 million.
7. "Slumdog Millionaire," $7.4 million.
8. "Gran Torino," $7.2 million.
9. "The Uninvited," $6.4 million.
10. "Hotel for Dogs," $5.8 million.

Sex and the City Sequel: SJP & Co. Make it Official!

(E! Online) – Break out the bubbly—the Sex and the City sequel is finally official!

I can exclusively reveal that all four stars—Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis—and writer-director Michael Patrick King have now signed their deals for another round of Carrie Bradshaw & Co.

"Everything was finalized yesterday afternoon," a source reports.

Until now, everyone had agreed to do a sequel, but there were no contracts signed with New Line, the studio behind the megahit.

As it is, King has yet to write a script, but shooting will reportedly begin this summer with a release date sometime in summer 2010.

Reps for the stars and the studio did not immediately comment.

In its first weekend alone, Sex and the City opened with almost $58 million in ticket sales, reportedly making it the biggest R-rated comedy opener ever. Budget to make the movie? A cool $65 million.

Quick recap in case you were one of the few who missed it: When we last left Carrie, she had married Mr. Big even after he left her at the altar. Samantha and her young beau (Jason Lewis) split, while Miranda and Steve (David Eigenberg) patched things up after he cheated on her. Charlotte and Harry (Evan Handler) not only adopted a baby girl, but Charlotte gave birth to a second daughter.

"Taken" captures weekend box office lead

LOS ANGELES – Liam Neeson's CIA thriller "Taken" bumped off "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" at the weekend box office, raking in $24.6 million and helping fuel the first $1 billion January in Hollywood history.

North American box office revenues were up nearly 20 percent in January over the same period last year, reaching a record $1.03 billion for the month. Attendance was up 16 percent over last year, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media by Numbers.

"This is exactly how you want to start a year," Dergarabedian said Sunday. "I think people feel movies are a good value for their dollar. Going to a movie is a habit people aren't willing to break."

"Taken" follows Neeson as a former CIA operative trying to track down a group of kidnappers who want to sell his daughter into the sex slave trade.

"We are thrilled. It's an all-audience movie," said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "When people come out they are going to talk about it. I think it's going to play for a long time."

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop," the Kevin James comedy about a clumsy security guard, had been No. 1 the previous two weeks. Although it dropped to second place, it earned $14 million to boost its three-week total to more than $83 million.

Also opening this weekend was "The Uninvited," a remake of the 2003 South Korean thriller that pits two sisters against their potentially evil stepmother. It earned $10.5 million for third place.

In fourth was "Hotel for Dogs" with $8.7 million, followed by "Gran Torino" with $8.6 million.

"Gran Torino," directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as a bigot who becomes a reluctant neighborhood hero, has now earned more than $110 million, making it Eastwood's highest grossing film.

It surpassed "In the Line of Fire," which starred Eastwood and made $102 million, and "Unforgiven," directed and starring Eastwood, which earned $101 million. "Unforgiven" won Oscars in 1992 for best picture and best director.

"Slumdog Millionaire," which continues to collect honors this awards season, was sixth with $7.7 million, bringing its total to more than $67 million in 12 weeks, as it moves into wider release across the U.S.

Its director, Danny Boyle, won the top honor Saturday night from the Directors Guild of America.

The awards are "adding to the prestige of the film in the marketplace and making it more important for the public to see," said Richard Shamban, vice president of theatrical distribution for the film's distributor, Fox Searchlight.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Taken," $24.6 million.
2. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $14 million.
3. "The Uninvited," $10.5 million.
4. "Hotel for Dogs," $8.7 million.
5. "Grand Torino," $8.6 million.
6. "Slumdog Millionaire," $7.7 million.
7. "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," $7.2 million.
8. "New in Town," $6.7 million.
9. "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," $4.3 million.
10. "Inkheart," $3.7 million.

Laserdisc - Goodbye old friend

Pioneer has closed the doors on it's final three Laserdisc production lines today. Twelve years after the lauch of DVD, Laserdisc graciously made way with class (despite some fearful resistance from the LD owners of that day). So power on your Pioneer Elite today and watch The Godfather Collection, the original Star Wars, Frighteners, The Jaws documentary, Dune or Chasing Amy.

And do you remember: "Leonard Nimoy Demonstrates the Magnavox LaserVision Player".

Good times!!

'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' grabs top box office spot

LOS ANGELES – "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" wasn't ready to turn over his box-office badge this weekend as the film about a bumbling shopping center security guard earned $21.5 million to nab No. 1 for a second week in a row.

The comedy, starring Kevin James as the guard who tries to protect the mall where he works from criminals, has now grossed $64.8 million in its two weeks of release and appears on its way to surpass $100 million.

"It's just a very funny film," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony. "It's not only a great family film, it really is a film that everyone loves."

The third installment of the "Underworld" series fared well in its opening weekend. "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," a prequel that looks at the roots of a feud between vampires and werewolves, made $20.7 million. Its two predecessors — "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution" — earned $21.7 million and $26.8 million, respectively, in their opening weekends.

The fantasy adventure "Inkheart" was unable to cast a spell over movie-goers, earning only $7.7 million in its debut. The movie, taken from the best-selling novel by Cornelia Funke, features Brendan Fraser playing a bookbinder with the ability to read characters right out of books and into real life.

"Unfortunately, families didn't come out in larger numbers," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of distribution.

Films that received Academy Award nominations this past week had a strong showing at the box office as studios expanded their release.

"Slumdog Millionaire," the drama about a game-show contestant from the slums of Mumbai, earned $10.6 million this weekend as the movie appeared in more than 1,400 theaters. Studio executives said the film, which has now made nearly $56 million, has been boosted by its recent haul of awards, including top honors from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday.

"I think the word of mouth has been very strong since we opened in November, but with the Golden Globes and the Academy Award nominations as well as the PGA, it's the must-see movie before the Academy Awards in February," said Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution at Fox Searchlight.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" re-entered the Top 10, earning $6 million to boost its total to $111 million. The film, starring Brad Pitt as a man aging backward toward infancy, landed 13 Oscar nominations, including best actor for Pitt. "The Wrestler" and "Frost/Nixon" also drew big crowds this weekend.

"This group has gotten the biggest (Oscar) bump collectively that I've ever seen," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracker Media by Numbers. "This lays to rest the argument that Oscar nominations can't help out your box-office numbers."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $21.5 million.
2. "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," $20.7 million.
3. "Gran Torino," $16 million.
4. "Hotel for Dogs," $12.4 million.
5. "Slumdog Millionaire," $10.6 million.
6. "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," $10.1 million.
7. "Inkheart," $7.7 million.
8. "Bride Wars," $7 million.
9. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," $6 million.
10. "Notorious," $5.7 million.

Jackman Reassures Fans Over Wolverine 'Problems'

Australian actor Hugh Jackman has written a personal letter to X-Men fans assuring them his upcoming Wolverine movie is going to plan - despite growing rumours of problems with the film.

Comic book prequel, X Men Origins: Wolverine, is due for release in May but speculation about the film's slow progress has been increasing since the cast was recently recalled to the set in Vancouver, Canada to reshoot several scenes.

Many fan forums and internet gossips have voiced concerns that movie bosses ordered the reshoots after the film failed to come up to standard.

But Jackman has now come forward to defend the project - insisting the extra filming does not have any bearing on the quality of the picture.

He writes in a letter to Aintitcool.com, "It's Hugh Jackman, sending this note from freezing Vancouver. I have read a lot of your online comments regarding the footage that we are currently shooting and I share your passion for the Wolverine character and the movie - I owe it all to you guys!

"I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that Wolverine will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations."

Canadian town hopes to premiere 'Star Trek'

CALGARY - An attempt by residents of Vulcan to beam the world premiere of the new Star Trek movie into their small Alberta community remains in a holding pattern, but the captain of the mission is optimistic the quest will still be a success.

It may not be the planet of Vulcan, but the town of the same name, population 1,942, has already developed itself as a tourist attraction focusing on the birthplace of Star Trek's beloved Mr. Spock.

And after word that filming on director J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie was about to begin, Trekkies in the community southeast of Calgary began the process of attempting to go where no small Canadian town has gone before.

"I've been communicating with executives at Paramount Canada and they still haven't said no. We're optimistic but they also haven't said yes," acknowledged Dayna Dickens, Vulcan's tourism co-ordinator.

"We are developing a second proposal now which we're going to send down which outlines the logistics of what an event would look like if it were to happen here.

"My hope is when I send that on to Paramount they'll say, 'Gee, this offer's too good to pass up and let's give them the movie.' "

"Star Trek XI," which focuses on Mr. Spock and Capt. James T. Kirk's early years, is scheduled to premiere on Stardate 05-08-09, otherwise known as May 8.

Vulcan pulled out all the stops to try to gain the premiere or even a sneak peak of the movie event. It even launched a Facebook site which now boasts over 1,500 members.

"This is the voyage of a small town's quest for the 'Star Trek XI' movie premiere," begins a video on the Facebook site with the Star Trek theme playing in the background.

"Our Mission - to showcase our Star Trek spirit, to help Hollywood showcase the new Star Trek movie and to host a spectacular event that brings Spock home to Vulcan, Alta."

Supporters of the quest are equally passionate about the TV and movie franchise.

"I think we should have the event here in Vulcan, Alta. Then again, I am only one Klingon," wrote Jaymz Smith. "But one Klingon is a force to be reckoned with."

Already on the international radar for its famous name and for its homage to Star Trek, Vulcan held its first Vul-con convention in 1993. Two years later, the town unveiled its own Star Ship FX6-1995-A to welcome visitors. A plaque includes greetings written in English, Vulcan and Klingon.

Another sign welcomes visitors with the Vulcan motto "Live Long and Prosper." There's also a space-themed visitors centre and, in an odd combination of prairie tradition and outer space zeal, there's also the annual Spock Days Rodeo.

There were 16,693 people who made the trek to Vulcan in 2008, said Dickens - an increase of 19 per cent over 2007.

Dickens said the local community centre could easily be turned into a large movie theatre and parts of the town converted into a mini Star Trek convention. She realizes not many people have faith that the stars will end up in perfect alignment.

"Most people say you haven't got a chance and it's just crazy but my theory is as long as the senior vice-president of motion picture monitoring isn't saying no to me then I have to be optimistic," she said.

And with the release of what could be one of the summer's biggest blockbusters approaching at warp speed, the lack of word from the studio isn't a concern.

"When I first spoke to them a year ago they said they were considering the proposal but they did mention it might be something we wouldn't be able to find out about until four weeks out from the actual release date," Dickens said.

'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' nabs top box office spot

Reuters LOS ANGELES – Kevin James bumbles and stumbles to take down the bad guys, but his "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" had no trouble nabbing the top spot at the box office this weekend.

The PG-rated comedy, starring James as a portly shopping center security guard who tries to foil a bank heist, made $33.8 million in its first three days and is expected to reach $40 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

That far surpasses expectations, said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, which released the movie.

"We had a lot of screenings as well as tracking that was good on it. We were hopeful we could do in the range of $25 million for four days and that would have been a terrific result for us. But now it looks like we're going to do $40 million for four days, and that is just, like, a 'wow' number," Bruer said Sunday. "It totally speaks to just how much audiences love Kevin James, No. 1, and how hard he worked to promote this film."

After proving his value as a sidekick to Will Smith in "Hitch" and Adam Sandler in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," James shows here he can also be a reliable leading man, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracker Media by Numbers.

"In these tough, recession-laden times, you'd think people wouldn't want a movie that's based around a mall, but they totally do," Dergarabedian said. "Kevin James has that everyman quality. People relate to him."

Last week's No. 1 movie, "Gran Torino," dropped to second place but only by 25 percent. The Warner Bros. drama, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as a bigot who becomes a reluctant neighborhood hero, made $22.2 million this weekend for a cumulative gross of $73.2 million.

Among other new releases, the Lionsgate horror flick "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" opened at the No. 3 spot with $21.9 million.

Fourth was "Notorious," about slain rapper Notorious B.I.G., which made $21.5 million. That's the biggest opening ever for Fox Searchlight, which previously released such critical darlings and crowd-pleasers as "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

"It's a very high quality film, and it's a compelling look at a compelling cultural icon who, like many cultural icons, left way too early but left an indelible mark on society," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox.

The week's other new wide release, the Paramount family comedy "Hotel for Dogs," opened at No. 5 with $17.7 million. Over at Paramount Vantage, "Defiance," based on the true story of Jews who survived the Holocaust by forming a community in the forests of Belarus, did well in its nationwide expansion. The movie starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber made $9.8 million to reach the No. 8 spot.

The big winner at last weekend's Golden Globes, "Slumdog Millionaire," crept into the No. 10 spot with $5.9 million. The Fox Searchlight drama about a teen who rises from the slums of Mumbai to become a game show champion won awards for best picture, director (Danny Boyle), screenplay and original score.

Now playing in limited release in 582 theaters, "Slumdog" will expand to more than 1,200 theaters next weekend following Thursday's Academy Award nominations. It's made a total of $42.7 million in 10 weeks.

"You can see the impact of the Golden Globe winnings and, also, people are just discovering this film so we're able to keep growing our audience," said Richard Shamban, vice president of theatrical distribution for Fox Searchlight.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," $33.8 million.
2. "Gran Torino," $22.2 million.
3. "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," $21.9 million.
4. "Notorious," $21.5 million.
5. "Hotel for Dogs," $17.7 million.
6. "Bride Wars," $11.75 million.
7. "The Unborn," $9.8 million.
8. "Defiance," $9.2 million.
9. "Marley & Me," $6.3 million.
10. "Slumdog Millionaire," $5.9 million.

Sundance opens with hope for indie film

PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – The 25th Sundance Film Festival opened on Thursday with founder Robert Redford sounding an optimistic note for cinematic art and an artful movie challenging audiences to laugh through the pain of an imperfect world.

The Australian animated film "Mary and Max," a tale of misfits on opposite sides of the globe who find friendship by becoming pen pals, was described by festival director Geoffrey Gilmore as being about "compassion, love, friendship and ideas."

It seemed a fitting opening for 25th anniversary of the top U.S. festival for independent film; while it illustrates the broadening of "indie" movies -- it has a global perspective and uses stop-motion technology and clay figures -- "Mary and Max" reminds audiences that films made outside Hollywood's mainstream often deal with human frailty.

"It's not the sort of story you'd see from (Hollywood studios) DreamWorks or Pixar. It deals with different or marginalized characters," director Adam Elliot told Reuters. "It's something a bit odd. But at the end of the day, it's supposed to be a feel-good film."

Sundance, backed by Redford's Sundance Institute for filmmaking, has long championed non-mainstream work.

When it began in 1985, the festival's low-budget movies often centered on human dramas, and as past Sundance films like "sex, lies and videotape" and "Clerks" proved profitable, the indie market began to grow.

The range of independent films broadened to include more comedy and technology, and the movies became more global in their scope. Sundance has helped usher in those changes.

TOUGH TO BE INDIE

But in 2008, the industry fell on hard times. Mighty distributors like Paramount Vantage and Warner Independent Pictures ceased to exist or changed business plans.

The quality and range of independent movies had improved with titles such as "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Napoleon Dynamite," but with that came more independent films competing to reach theaters. Revenues per film have fallen.

Still, Redford believes independent filmmakers will find new ways to make movies and reach fans, and at Thursday's premiere of "Mary and Max" he saw the upcoming inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as a harbinger for change in the art of cinema.

"I'm actually thinking positive because when times are bad, there's always an opportunity for artists," Redford told the opening night audience.

Sundance runs through January 25 and reaches its climax at a closing ceremony where awards for the best independent films, directors, writers and cinematographers will be given in categories for dramas and documentaries. The festival recognizes films from the United States and around the world.

Over the next 10 days, stars including Chris Rock, Ben Affleck, Ashton Kutcher, Amy Poehler and newcomer Kristen Stewart, star of "Twilight," are expected to hit town.

While this year's Sundance has been overshadowed by the recession, organizers say ticket sales are up from 2008.

So, while Hollywood studios have scaled back travel to the festival -- several executives and talent agents told Reuters they were bringing five to 10 percent less staff -- and clearly there are fewer companies hawking their wares and clamoring for media attention, movie lovers remain in theaters.

They are looking for a little laughter, some new technology and maybe even human frailty -- the stuff of life.

"Art," Redford said. "will always find a way."

Clint Eastwood's `Gran Torino' tops box office

NEW YORK – Make my weekend. Clint Eastwood has had the best movie opening of his long and esteemed career. His "Gran Torino" revved up the winter box office with $29 million in ticket sales in its first weekend of wide release, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It's Eastwood's best opening ever, topping the $18 million his "Space Cowboys" made in 2000.

In what Eastwood, 78, has said may be his last starring performance, he plays a disgruntled war veteran who reluctantly comes to the aid of his neighbors.

The National Board of Review dubbed Eastwood's performance the best for an actor in 2008, and his song "Gran Torino" was nominated for a Golden Globe at Sunday's awards ceremony.

"Gran Torino," which Eastwood also directed, was previously in limited release for four weeks. It jumped from 84 theaters to 2,808 this weekend after boasting very high theater averages.

"At this stage of his career, I think it's remarkable," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., which released "Gran Torino." "There are a lot of younger people that can identify with him in a role like this that maybe haven't seen him a role like this since `Dirty Harry.'"

Eastwood stole the box-office bouquet from Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. Their wedding comedy "Bride Wars," released by 20th Century Fox, came in second with $21.5 million. The horror film "The Unborn" from Universal Pictures followed with $21.1 million in its debut.

"Marley & Me," the Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson's family dog tale that topped the box office the last two weekends, fell to fourth with $11.4 million and a cumulative total of $124 million for the 20th Century Fox film.

While awards season was heating up, most of the major contenders had solid numbers, though mostly in limited release.

Paramount Vantage's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" took in $9.4 million in its third week of release, bringing its total closer to the century mark with $94 million.

Focus Features' "Milk," Paramount Vantage's "Revolutionary Road" and Fox Searchlight's "The Wrestler" — all with awards hopes at the Globes and beyond — were among the best performers in screen average. Each hopes to continue to build momentum as the Oscars near.

"Defiance," in its second week of limited release, led with a robust $33,000 screen average. "Defiance" stars Daniel Craig in the story of Jewish brothers who form a band of freedom fighters against the Nazis in Eastern Europe.
Fox Searchlight's underdog hit "Slumdog Millionaire" added $3.7 million to its total of $34 million.

The success of "Gran Torino" could boost Eastwood's awards chances. The film was largely overlooked by the Globes, but the Oscars have long supported Eastwood's directorial efforts and awarded his "Million Dollar Baby" best picture in 2005.

"This will raise its profile in a very profound way," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media by Numbers. "Certainly `Gran Torino' is in an excellent position. It's a textbook case of releasing a film in limited, nurturing it for about a month and unleashing it upon the world in a wide release and really capitalizing on that."

That audiences remain so eager to see Eastwood on the screen suggests to Fellman that he should rethink any acting retirement.

"Clint has said this is the last time he's going to be in front of the lens. I hope he reconsiders after this," Fellman said.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Gran Torino," $29 million.
2. "Bride Wars," $21.5 million.
3. "The Unborn," $21.1 million.
4. "Marley & Me," $11.4 million.
5. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," $9.4 million.
6. "Bedtime Stories," $8.6 million.
7. "Valkyrie," $6.7 million.
8. "Yes Man," $6.2 million.
9. "Not Easily Broken," $5.6 million.
10. "Seven Pounds," $3.9 million.

Warner Puts DC Comics Film Projects "On Hold"

According to David Goyer of Batman Begins and Blade fame, Warner Brothers has pressed the pause button on "a lot" of in-development superhero projects while the studio reassess their approach to handling the potentially enormously lucrative properties.

In an interview with IESB, Goyer stated, "A lot of the DC movies at Warner Brothers are all on hold while the figure out, they're going to come up with some new plan, methodology, things like that so everything has just been pressed pause on at the moment. It was the double header of both Iron Man and The Dark Knight coming out, so more than ever I think they've realized, I think DC was responsible for 50% of Warner Brother's revunue this year, something crazy like that, so they realized that comic books, it's become a new genre, one of the most successful genres."

Among the superhero projects that Warner is speculated to have in development that are likely affected by this "time out" include:

Justice League of America - George Miller is attached to direct the superhero team-up movie. Megan Gale, Teresa Palmer and Adam Brody are rumored to be on-board to play Wonder Woman, Talia Al Ghul and The Flash, respectively.

Super Max - Goyer has penned this Green Arrow film in which the emerald-toned superhero is sent to a Maximum Security Prison. Superman and The Joker might make cameo appearances, among other popular comic characters.

The Flash - Originally set to be directed by Goyer, David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) has now taken over the reigns on this fast-man feature. Ryan Reynolds was set to play the character when Goyer was involved but that's no longer the case.

The Man of Steel - The sequel to Superman Returns will see Kal-El going head-to-head with a new villain. This one is always on-and-off as no one seems confident or willing to spend the cash or time on it. Might Warner end up going with Mark Millar's "Superman" trilogy reboot idea?

Batman 3 - The inevitable second sequel to "Batman Begins". All those rumours you've read - Eddie Murphy as The Riddler, Shia LaBeouf as Robin - can be taken with a mound of salt.

Wonder Woman - Joel Silver has been trying to get a feature film version of the curvy underwear clad crime fighter off the ground for years. They paused momentarily while Miller tried to get Justice League off the ground.

Must-see films for 2009

Here are the movies to watch out for in 2009:

Watchmen (March)

Who's in it: Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley

Who's making it: Zack Snyder, the gifted stylist behind 300.

The lowdown: Part conspiracy-thriller, part murder-mystery, it follows a group of reunited costumed crime-fighters after one of their own is murdered.

Why watch the Watchmen? The 1986 graphic novel is considered the Citizen Kane of comics. Can Snyder's film retain the source material's sex, violence and psychological depth? One more note: As of press time, the film's release was still in jeopardy because Fox is contesting Warner Bros.' rights to the property.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May)

Who's in it: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston

Who's making it: Gavin Hood, who directed the thriller Rendition.

The lowdown: Jackman reprises his X-Men role in this prequel that reveals the character's mysterious past.

A furry, fanged Schreiber turns up as sociopathic Sabretooth.

Evolve or die: X-Men: The Last Stand raked in more than $200 million in May 2006. Should it perform as well as expected, look for Fox to greenlight more X-prequels (X-Men Origins: Magneto is on the launchpad).

Star Trek (May)

Who's in it: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana and some dude named Leonard Nimoy.

Who's making it: Geek god J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost, Alias and Fringe.

The lowdown: A Romulan (Bana) travels back in time to assassinate a youthful James T. Kirk (Pine). Quinto plays young Spock while Nimoy turns up as the character's elder pointy-eared incarnation.

The new -- or final -- frontier? This $150-million Trek will have to beam up young moviegoers, and lots of them, so that this four-decade-old franchise can live long and prosper.

Terminator Salvation (May)

Who's in it: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington

Who's making it: McG, hoping to prove he has the cajones to direct more than Charlie's Angels movies.

The lowdown: Set after Judgment Day, Christian Bale's John Connor encounters a mysterious survivor named Marcus (Worthington) while battling various incarnations of Terminators.

Guess who won't be back: Arnold Schwarzenegger and creator James Cameron. Although there's a chance we might see Schwarzenegger's mug digitally grafted -- a la Benjamin Button -- onto the odd cyborg.

Public Enemies (July)

Who's in it: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale

Who's making it: Michael Mann, director of Heat.

The lowdown: Set during the crime wave of the 1930s, Depp stars as famed bank robber John Dillinger. Bale plays Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who hunted Dillinger down.

Why we care: Depp. Bale. And Mann, who's better than anybody at playing cops 'n' robbers.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July)

Who's in it: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson

Who's making it: David Yates, the Brit who directed Order of the Phoenix.

The lowdown: The teen wizard learns new secrets about his nemesis Lord Voldermort.

Big Harry deal: A Potter flick is cause for celebration -- particularly for Warner Bros., which bumped its release back six months so it could prop up a flimsy summer schedule.

Sherlock Holmes (November)

Who's in it: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Who's making it: Guy Ritchie, looking to expand his range beyond dark comedies about snarky London gangsters.

What's it about: Holmes (Downey Jr.) and Watson (Law) must save England from a new nemesis with a combination of intellect and brawn.

Elementary appeal: Downey couldn't be hotter right now, thanks to his other franchise Iron Man. Ritchie says audiences can expect a more action-oriented Sherlock than they're used to. McAdams is always welcome.

The Lovely Bones (December)

Who's in it: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan.

Who's making it: Peter Jackson, returning to Heavenly Creatures territory.

What's it about: After her brutal rape and murder, a 13-year-old girl (Ronan) observes her family -- and her killer -- from heaven. Based on the acclaimed novel by Alice Sebold.

Sounds heavenly: Jackson courts Oscar once again with a tale that demands a mastery of both emotion and visual effects.

THE BEST OF THE REST

From vampires to real American heroes to dinosaurs to musicals, here are more of the movies coming to a multiplex near you over the next 12 months:

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Jan. 23)

Kate Beckinsale has hung up her rubber catsuit for good, so the equally-gorgeous Rhona Mitra (playing a new character) anchors this medieval prequel.

Pink Panther 2 (February)

Steve Martin's Inspector Clouseau meets his match in a team of detectives as inept as he is.

Friday the 13th (February)

From the recyclers who brought us new, lesser versions of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hitcher.

Race to Witch Mountain (March)

The Rock -- sorry, Dwayne Johnson -- plays a cabbie tasked with protecting two kids with paranormal powers.

Duplicity (March)

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are corporate spies conspiring to con their bosses. From Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy.

Adventureland (March)

Twilight's Kristen Stewart stars in this teen comedy set in 1987 and directed by Superbad's Greg Mottola.

The Ugly Truth (April)

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler square off in battle of the sexes comedy from the maker of 21 and Legally Blonde.

Fast and Furious (April)

Will Vin Diesel and Paul Walker get their careers back on track by returning to the car-racing franchise that made them famous?

State of Play (April)

After Brad Pitt bailed, Russell Crowe signed on as a Washington reporter investigating a murder with links to a politician (Ben Affleck) who just happens to be his dearest friend.

The Soloist (April)

Jamie Foxx is a musical prodigy discovered living on the streets of Los Angeles by Times reporter Robert Downey Jr.

17 Again (April)

When Matthew Perry wishes he could be a teenager again, he wakes up 17 years old -- and looking just like Zac Efron.

Angels and Demons (May)

Tom Hanks, sans the mini-mullet he sported in The Da Vinci Code, tackles yet another ancient conspiracy.

Up (May)

Pixar's summer entry finds a grumpy old codger taking to the skies and seeking adventure after tying his house to hundreds of balloons.

Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (May)

Ben Stiller is joined by Amy Adams for this sequel, set in D.C.

The Proposal (June)

Hard-driving boss Sandra Bullock and beleaguered employee Ryan Reynolds pretend they're engaged so she can get a green card.

Land of the Lost (June)

Big-budget fantasy-comedy starring Will Ferrell, based on the 1970s TV show.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June)

The Autobots face an ancient threat while the Decepticons are again in hot pursuit of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.

Inglorious Bastards (TBD)

Brad Pitt leads the ensemble of this pulpy Second World War action yarn from Quentin Tarantino.

Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs (July)

The third instalment in the hugely popular Ice Age series.

2012 (July)

The director of Independence Day is laying waste to the world again. John Cusack stars.

Funny People (July)

Judd Apatow directs Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Eric Bana in this dramedy about stand-up comics.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (August)

The 1980s toy line charges to the big-screen under the direction of Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing).

The Taking of Pelham 123 (August)

Denzel Washington is the transit cop and John Travolta the subway highjacker in this Tony Scott thriller.

The Informant (September)

Matt Damon packed on extra weight to play a corporate whistleblower in Steven Soderbergh's comedy.

Shutter Island (October)

Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese reunite for this Hitchcockian psycho-drama set in a mental institution for the criminally insane.

The Princess and the Frog (November)

Disney's return to 2D traditional animation concerns a princess who kisses a frog, then winds up an amphibian herself.

Nine (December)

Daniel Day-Lewis can act, sure, but can he carry a tune? We'll find out when this musical from Chicago director Rob Marshall hits screens at the end of the year.

The Surrogates (December)

Bruce Willis hunts a killer in a futuristic world in which all human interaction happens between robotic surrogates.

'Marley & Me' remains top dog with $24M weekend

LOS ANGELES – Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and their little dog have not lost their box office bite.

The family tale "Marley & Me," starring Aniston and Wilson as owners of an adorably mischievous pooch, took in $24.1 million to finish as the No. 1 movie for a second-straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The 20th Century Fox flick raised its total to $106.5 million since opening Christmas day.

With no new wide releases, the weekend shaped up largely like the previous one, with Disney's Adam Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories" in second place with $20.3 million.

Rounding out the top five again were Paramount's Brad Pitt romantic drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with $18.4 million, MGM's Tom Cruise World War II saga "Valkyrie" with $14 million and the Warner Bros. Jim Carrey comedy "Yes Man" with $13.9 million.

In a season loaded with wartime stories, two more Nazi-themed films opened in limited release.

Paramount Vantage's "Defiance" debuted with $121,000 in two theaters for a whopping average of $60,500 a cinema. By comparison, "Marley & Me" averaged $6,862 in 3,505 theaters. "Defiance" stars Daniel Craig in the story of Jewish brothers who form a band of freedom fighters against the Nazis in Eastern Europe.

ThinkFilm's "Good" opened with $9,300 in two theaters, averaging $4,650. The film casts Viggo Mortensen as an upright German academic gradually seduced into the Nazi fold as World War II approaches.

Hollywood finished 2008 with solid returns. Domestic movie revenues totaled $9.63 billion for the year, just shy of the $9.68 billion record set in 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Factoring in 2008's higher admission prices, the number of tickets sold fell to 1.35 billion, down 4.3 percent from the year before.

That was a solid result given hard economic times, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

"The movie industry is totally holding its own in the face of the recession, increased competition from other entertainment options and emerging technologies," Dergarabedian said.

The new year was off to a good start, with the top 12 movies taking in $130.1 million, up 7.4 percent from the same weekend in 2008.

"Marley & Me" remained the pet picture for audiences looking to relax and unwind over the holidays, said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston.

"A picture doesn't stay No. 1 for two weeks without getting great word of mouth," Livingston said. "It's a feel-good movie. That's what people want to see right now."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Marley & Me," $24.1 million.
2. "Bedtime Stories," $20.3 million.
3. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," $18.4 million.
4. "Valkyrie," $14 million.
5. "Yes Man," $13.9 million.
6. "Seven Pounds," $10 million.
7. "The Tale of Despereaux," $7 million.
8. "Doubt," $5 million.
9. "The Day the Earth Stood Still," $4.9 million.
10. "Slumdog Millionaire," $4.8 million.

August date for Quentin Tarantino World War II movie

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Controversial director Quentin Tarantino's take on World War II will hit movie theaters on August 21 2009, the studios behind the highly-anticipated film called "Inglourious Basterds" said on Wednesday.

Tarantino often takes a long time between projects. His last movie was a 2007 combined feature called "Grindhouse" made with director Robert Rodriguez, but he has not single-handedly directed a film since the 2004 "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."

The director's oddly spelled World War II epic "Inglourious Basterds" stars actor Brad Pitt, and production began in Europe in October.

Pitt plays a U.S. army lieutenant leading a group of soldiers operating behind Nazi lines, terrorizing the enemy.

"Inglourious Basterds" reportedly borrows from Spaghetti Westerns, the mostly Italian-made films of the 1960s and '70s that combine brutal violence and lyrical, fairytale-like qualities in a different take on Hollywood cowboy movies.

The film was inspired by the 1978 World War II movie "Quel maledetto treno blindato," also called "The Inglorious Bastards," from Italian director Enzo Castellari.

The August 21 release date of "Inglourious Basterds" is for the U.S. and Canada, and dates remain undetermined for its international release, said The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures, which are jointly presenting the film.

Tarantino, who won an Oscar for his 1994 "Pulp Fiction" movie script, made the martial arts epics "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" (2003) and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (2004). The first film made $181 million worldwide and the sequel grossed $152 million, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

Critics say Tarantino's films trivialize and stylize violence, but the director has a devoted fan base and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival for "Pulp Fiction."

"Australia" another letdown for Nicole Kidman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Maybe Crocodile Dundee should have starred in "Australia."

Twentieth Century Fox appears to have given up on director Baz Luhrmann's latest period epic in North America, and is hoping that foreign sales will rescue the costly picture.

The movie has sold just $44.3 million worth of tickets at the U.S. and Canadian box office after five weekends, and is shaping up to be the latest in a line of disappointments for its star, Nicole Kidman.

The News Corp-owned studio says it hopes "Australia" will reach $50 million domestically. The project cost $130 million and movie theaters generally keep about half of the gross.

"We were hoping to do more in the U.S., but it's tough. There's a lot of competition," said Bert Livingston, Fox's senior vice-president of domestic distribution.

Adding insult to injury, "Australia" failed to get any nomination for the Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards. Fox had counted on the recognition to boost its Oscar hopes and to expand the movie beyond its core audience of older women.

This past Christmas holiday weekend, one of the busiest of the year, "Australia" tumbled 10 places to No. 19 with four-day sales of $1.3 million, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers. It played in 711 theaters, down from 2,212 the weekend before. The top film was Fox's canine comedy "Marley & Me," which opened to $50.7 million.

RESPECTABLE OVERSEAS SALES

"Australia" is doing respectably overseas, with ticket sales of about $46 million from 51 countries, Fox said. The top market, naturally, is Australia with $16 million after five weekends. It opened at No. 1 in Spain, France and Germany last weekend, but at No. 3 in Britain.

Foreign sales are crucial as Luhrmann's previous films, 2001's "Moulin Rouge" and 1996's "Romeo + Juliet" each earned about two-thirds of their worldwide hauls outside of North America. By contrast, recent smashes "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" tallied slightly more domestically.

Kidman plays an icy English aristocrat who falls for a cowboy played by compatriot Hugh Jackman as they drive her herd of cattle across the Australian outback during the early days of World War Two.

Reviews were mixed, although critics generally agreed that it looked great.
Despite winning an Oscar in 2003 for "The Hours," Kidman is not a big box office draw. The 41-year-old actress has never headlined a movie that grossed more than $100 million in North America. Her recent flops include "The Invasion" and "Fur." Forbes magazine reported in September that she was Hollywood's most overpaid celebrity.

Fox was hoping "Australia" would make up for a bad summer, when it dropped such bombs as the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave" and a belated "X-Files" sequel. But the studio enjoys a reputation for fiscal discipline, and a spokesman said Australian taxpayers would refund upwards of 40 percent of the film's $130 million cost through a new government subsidy.

Kidman's publicist did not return messages. Luhrmann's publicist referred inquiries to Fox. In an interview two weeks ago with the Hollywood Reporter, Luhrmann likened his movie to "old Hollywood classics" like "Gone with the Wind."

He also said "Australia" was on a similar trajectory as "Moulin Rouge," which ended up with $72 million in North America. But after five weekends in wide release, that film had banked about $60 million and was still playing in 1,271 theaters, according to inflation-adjusted data provided by Box Office Mojo.

Twilight Was Bigger than Dark Knight?!

Los Angeles (E! Online) – If only Wall Street had bet on Twilight. Or Hannah Montana. Or Kirk Cameron.

With a $167.3 million overall domestic take as Sunday, per Box Office Mojo, Twilight made more than four times its reported $37 million production budget—the best rate of return on any film in the 2008 Top 10, including The Dark Knight.

The Batman epic was a pretty good investment, too, very nearly tripling its gargantuan $185 million budget with a $530.8 million domestic take, Hollywood's second-biggest ever.

Still, The Dark Knight was nothing compared to these off-the-charts performers: High School Musical 3: Senior Year ($89.7 million), which grossed about eight times its $11 million budget; the Hannah Montana concert movie, which made about nine times its $7 million budget; and, Cameron's Fireproof, which cost $500,000 to produce, and made $33.1 million—or, more than 60 times its budget.

Other winners—and losers—of the box-office year that was, per stats from Box Office Mojo and The-Numbers.com:

Winners:

• Titanic. If The Dark Knight couldn't get within even $50 million of the big-boat movie, then maybe it really won't ever be sunk as Hollywood's all-time domestic box-office king.

• Robert Downey Jr. Rising from The Shaggy Dog, Downey was the only star to score two Top 20 live-action hits, Iron Man ($318.3 million) and Tropic Thunder ($110.5 million).

• Will Smith. With apologies to Downey, Smith was the only star to sell a Top 10 movie, Hancock ($227.9 million), solely with his name.

• Women. Tween and teen girls flocked to Twilight. Actresses fronted, or helped front, four Top 20 hits: Sex and the City ($152.6 million), Mamma Mia! ($143.8 million), Wanted ($134.3 million) and Four Christmases ($111.8 million).

• Paris Hilton. Her opus, The Hottie & the Nottie ($27,696), was so not the lowest-grossing movie of the year. In fact, it reigned over films starring Catherine Zeta-Jones (Death Defying Acts, $3,561), Heather Graham (Miss Conception, $1,503) and Nick Stahl (How to Rob a Bank, $711—yes, $711).

In-Betweeners:

• Hollywood. Despite The Dark Knight, overall revenue was down $86.8 million from last year, a drop of about 1 percent. Ticket sales fell even further—a dip of about about 4.25 percent, representing 59.1 million fewer admissions. But, given the nation's economic meltdown, things could have been worse, and, oddly, things got better after Wall Street's collapse in September. "I think the fact that the Industry held its own is remarkable," Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock said.

• Speed Racer. In May, this looked like the flop of the year. Then came the $130 million Australia ($44.3 million gross), and the realization by Disney that Prince Caspian ($141.6 million) wasn't The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($291.7 million). In the end, Speed was still a bomb—$43.9 million gross; $120 million budget—but it wasn't the bomb.

• Adam Sandler. You Don't Mess with the Zohan ($100 million) didn't bomb, but it didn't clear its $90 million budget by much. Bedtime Stories, which opened on Christmas, isn't bombing, but it isn't Night at the Museum.

• Brendan Fraser. Put him in a $145 million movie, like The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, or a $60 million movie, like Journey to the Center of the Earth, and you get the same result: a so-so $100 million or so gross.

• M. Night Shyamalan. His The Happening ($64.5 million) made more than it cost, but people disliked it about as much as Lady in the Water.

Losers:

• Wallets. The average ticket price hit $7.20, the National Association of Theatre Owners reported on its blog, a new all-time high.

• Blockbusters. Of the year's 24 members of the $100 million club, four failed to match their budgets with their domestic takes alone: Quantum of Solace ($164.3 million gross; $200 million budget); The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($141.6 million gross; $200 million budget); The Incredible Hulk ($134.3 million gross; $150 million budget); and, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($102.3 million gross; $145 million budget).

• Prince Capsian. "That one looked like a guaranteed $200 million-plus superhit, with a real chance of surpassing $300 million," Box Office Guru's Gitesh Pandya said in an email. Instead, it might have cost the Narnia trilogy its third leg.

• The X-Files. Fox revived the franchise with a can't-lose $30 million investment only to lose when I Want to to Believe couldn't crack even $21 million.

• 10,000 B.C. ($94.8 million), The Spiderwick Chronicles ($71.2 million), Hellboy II: The Golden Army ($75.8 million) and Mike Myers' The Love Guru ($32.2 million) and every other underperformer.

Here's a look of the top-grossing films of 2008 through Sunday based on numbers compiled by Box Office Mojo:

1) The Dark Knight, $530.8 million
2) Iron Man, $318.3 million
3) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $317 million
4) Hancock, $227.9 million
5) WALL-E, $223.8 million
6) Kung Fu Panda, $215.4 million
7) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $174.9 million
8) Twilight, $167.3 million
9) Quantum of Solace, $164.3 million
1) Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, $154.5 million

(Published Dec. 29th, 2008)

'Terminator' to be preserved in US film registry

WASHINGTON – One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous one-liners will be back for generations to come, now that 1984's "The Terminator" has been selected for preservation in the nation's film archive.

The low-budget film directed by James Cameron set a new standard for science-fiction and made Schwarzenegger, now California's governor, a star. The Library of Congress announced Tuesday morning that it's one of 25 films being added to the National Film Registry. The formal unveiling was scheduled for 8 a.m.

The move will guard Schwarzenegger's deadpan, "I'll be back," against deterioration, along with the sounds and images of the other culturally significant picks. Other titles being added to the registry include the groundbreaking all-black-cast film "Hallelujah" from 1929; Richard Brooks' 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood"; and the 1972 film "Deliverance," based on James Dickey's novel about four businessmen on a nightmarish canoe trip in the remote Georgia wildnerness.

"The registry helps this nation understand the diversity of America's film heritage and, just as importantly, the need for its preservation," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in announcing his 2008 selections. "The nation has lost about half of the films produced before 1950 and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920."

As time passes, older nitrate- and acetate-based films begin to deteriorate, Billington said. The Library of Congress is working to digitize and preserve endangered film and audio files at its new Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, an approximately $250 million facility built in a bunker in the hills near Culpeper, Va.

With Tuesday's additions, the total number of films in the registry will reach 500.

The registry, established by Congress in 1989, works with film archives and movie studios that own the rights to the selected films to ensure original copies are kept safe. It also acquires a copy for preservation in its own vaults among millions of other recordings.

Curators select films based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic significance, saying their picks wouldn't necessarily overlap with those of a movie critic. And some aren't feature films at all: This year's list includes a family's home movie, "Disneyland Dream," which documented a trip to the newly opened park in Anaheim, Calif., in 1956.

"The selection of a title for the registry is not meant to duplicate the Academy Awards or anything like that," said Patrick Loughney, head of the library's audio-visual center.

The library accepted public nominations for the film registry selections online and issued a specific call for lesser-known films, including amateur and home-movie footage.

Some films were selected for their historical value, such as "Hallelujah," the tale of a cotton sharecropper made by MGM as the studio was transitioning from silent to sound films. The 1910 film "White Fawn's Devotion," the oldest film selected this year, was made by James Young Deer. He was the first documented American Indian movie director, a member of the Winnebago tribe.

Other movies inspired the nation during times of trouble, such as "Sergeant York" from 1941, which told the story of a Tennessee pacifist who captured 130 German soldiers in World War I. The film, starring Gary Cooper, was released just months before the United States entered World War II.

Movie crowds adopt `Marley' with $37M weekend

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood had a happy holiday with a huge Christmas weekend as movies from Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and Adam Sandler all opened strongly.

Even Tom Cruise scored solidly in an eye patch and a German World War II uniform.

Aniston and Wilson's dog tale "Marley & Me" debuted at No. 1 with $37 million in weekend ticket sales and a total of $51.7 million since opening Christmas Day, according to estimates Sunday from distributor 20th Century Fox.

Disney's Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories" came in second for the weekend with $28.1 million and $38.6 million since it debuted on Christmas.

Paramount's "Benjamin Button," a romantic fantasy with Pitt and Blanchett, ran a close third with $27 million for the weekend. The film has grossed $39 million since premiering Christmas Day.

MGM's "Valkyrie," starring Cruise as a German officer plotting to kill Adolf Hitler, had a No. 4 debut weekend of $21.5 million and took in $30 million since opening on Christmas.

Rounding out the holiday rush of new wide releases was Lionsgate's action thriller "The Spirit," which came in at No. 9 with $6.5 million over the weekend and $10.4 million since its Christmas debut.

"Marley & Me" was based on John Grogan's best-seller about a couple going through the ups and downs of marriage with their mischievous dog in tow. The holiday timing was ideal for a story about an adorable pup, said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston.

"It's an all-audience picture, ages 8 to 80. That's who's coming," Livingston said. "This is a movie about life, love and family. It's what people want to see now."

Audiences wanted to see pretty much everything over the holiday weekend. Revenues had plunged the previous two weekends, but Hollywood ended the year on a high note as the top 12 movies took in $182.5 million, up 8 percent from the same weekend in 2007.

"It's a very strong finish to the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "Audiences are really enjoying the movies in the marketplace right now."

For the year, revenues are running a fraction behind the pace of 2007, when the box office hit a record $9.7 billion. Factoring in higher admission prices, the number of tickets sold is lagging 5 percent behind last year's total, according to Media By Numbers.

"Benjamin Button" and other Academy Awards contenders packed theaters.

Miramax's acclaimed drama "Doubt" expanded nationwide after two weekends of limited release, pulling in $5.7 million to finish at No. 10.

Paramount Vantage's "Revolutionary Road," a domestic drama reuniting "Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, had a huge $192,000 debut in just three theaters, averaging $64,000 per screen.

Warner Bros. expanded Clint Eastwood's vigilante drama "Gran Torino" to more theaters as the film continues to draw big crowds with $2.4 million in just 84 cinemas, a per-theater average of $29,048.

By comparison, "Marley & Me" had a theater average of $10,632 on 3,480 screens, "Button" had $9,036 on 2,988 screens and "Valkyrie" averaged $7,942 on 2,711 screens.

Two Fox Searchlight films, "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Wrestler," and Universal's "Frost/Nixon" also were among Oscar prospects doing strong business.

"Awards buzz doesn't hurt," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, which released "Benjamin Button," featuring Pitt as a man who ages backward. "We always felt it's an incredibly compelling movie and worthy of attention at the end of the year. So far, that has been going very well."

"Benjamin Button," "Doubt" and "Frost/Nixon" lead contenders for the Jan. 11 Golden Globes with five nominations each.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Marley & Me," $37 million.
2. "Bedtime Stories," $28.1 million.
3. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," $27 million.
4. "Valkyrie," $21.5 million.
5. "Yes Man," $16.5 million.
6. "Seven Pounds," $13.4 million.
7. "The Tale of Despereaux," $9.4 million.
8. "The Day the Earth Stood Still," $7.9 million.
9. "The Spirit," $6.5 million.
10. "Doubt," $5.7 million.

'Marley' stirs it up with record $14.75 mil Xmas

LOS ANGELES – Twentieth Century Fox says "Marley & Me" has set a Christmas Day record with $14.75 million at the box office.

That breaks the previous mark of $10.2 million, set by "Ali" in 2001, according to Media By Numbers LLC.

And "Marley & Me" may not be alone: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Bedtime Stories" were also expected to move past the previous Christmas Day mark, according to some studio estimates.

Even "Valkyrie" had a strong Yuletide opening with more than $8 million, those numbers show.

Carrey's 'Yes Man' earns aye vote with $18M debut

LOS ANGELES – Movie audiences greeted Jim Carrey and Will Smith with a lukewarm "yes' as snowstorms undermined weekend debuts from both stars.

Carrey's comedy "Yes Man" opened at No. 1 with $18.2 million in ticket sales, while Smith's drama "Seven Pounds" came in second with $16 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting at No. 3 with $10.5 million was Matthew Broderick's animated family flick "The Tale of Despereaux."

The new movies arrived in theaters Friday just as storms pounded the Northeast.

"Those markets back east just got hammered," said Chris Aronson, distribution executive for 20th Century Fox, whose sci-fi saga "The Day the Earth Stood Still" slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 with $10.2 million. The movie starring Keanu Reeves raised its 10-day total to $48.6 million.

"Yes Man," released by Warner Bros., stars Carrey as a loser who turns his life around by subscribing to a philosophy of saying "yes" to everything. Sony's "Seven Pounds" casts Smith as a mysterious IRS agent doing good deeds for strangers, and Universal's "Tale of Despereaux" features Broderick as the mouthpiece for a tiny mouse on a heroic mission.

In limited release, Mickey Rourke's acclaimed drama "The Wrestler" had a heavyweight debut, taking in $209,474 in just four theaters for a whopping average of $52,369.

By comparison, "Yes Man" played in 3,434 theaters and averaged $5,288 per theater, while "Seven Pounds" opened in 2,758 and averaged $5,801 per theater. The No. 3 film "The Tale of Despereaux" played in 3,104 theaters and grabbed $3,385 per venue.

The film released by Fox Searchlight stars Rourke as a former wrestling champion struggling for one last taste of past glory. The comeback theme of "The Wrestler" parallels Rourke's real life, with the actor in the running for an Academy Award nomination after his bad boy behavior virtually ruined his career in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

While winter came in with a bang, Hollywood's solid year was going out with a whimper. The overall box office plunged for the second straight weekend as this season's pre-holiday offerings continued to lag far behind the strong finish provided by such 2007 hits as Smith's "I Am Legend" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks."

The top 12 movies took in $82.8 million, down 44 percent from the same weekend last year, when "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" led with $44.8 million.

The last two ho-hum weekends have hindered Hollywood's shot at breaking the domestic revenue record of $9.7 billion set last year. Revenues through Sunday were at $9.24 billion, virtually even with 2007 through the same date, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Given the sour economy, studio executives generally are satisfied with this year's results. Hollywood tends to ride out recessions with solid business, since movies are relatively inexpensive compared to entertainment options such as concerts or sports events.

"The movie business may be recession-proof, but this weekend, it's not weather-proof," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Yes Man," $18.2 million.
2. "Seven Pounds," $16 million.
3. "The Tale of Despereaux," $10.5 million.
4. "The Day the Earth Stood Still," $10.2 million.
5. "Four Christmases," $7.7 million.
6. "Twilight," $5.2 million.
7. "Bolt," $4.3 million.
8. "Slumdog Millionaire," $3.2 million.
9. "Australia," $2.3 million.
10. "Quantum of Solace," $2.2 million.

Mamma Mia! beats UK cinema record

Musical film Mamma Mia! has become the highest grossing movie cinema release in the UK, beating 1997 film Titanic.

Mamma Mia! has now taken just over £69m at the box office, narrowly passing Titantic's record.

The record was broken just a few days after the film picked up two Golden Globe nominations including best actress for star Meryl Streep.

Now in its 23rd week of release, the movie has become the number one film in 15 countries.

'Delighted audiences'

David Kosse, president of Universal Pictures International, said breaking the record set nearly 10 years ago was "truly phenomenal".

He added: "This film has exceeded our expectations and delighted audiences around the world since it opened in July."

Titanic, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, had taken£69,025,646 by the time it had finished its cinema run in 1998.

Mamma Mia! has slightly exceeded that with takings of £69,066,035, while Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is in third place with £66,096,060.

Last week it was announced Mamma Mia! was up for two Golden Globes.

The movie was nominated for best film (musical or comedy) and best actress (musical or comedy).

Streep leads the all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the musical based on Abba's hits, which also features Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Dominic Cooper.

'Day the Earth Stood Still' launches to $31M debut

LOS ANGELES – Audiences sat still for Keanu Reeves' sci-fi remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still," making it the weekend's top movie with a $31 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The 20th Century Fox release also added $39 million in 90 overseas markets for a worldwide total of $70 million.

The movie updates the 1951 tale of an alien and his giant robot enforcer who come to Earth with a warning about the consequences of humanity's destructive nature.

"Audiences are moving to see `The Day the Earth Stood Still.' It's a visually stunning movie with timely issues everybody on this planet can relate to," said Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson. "Basically, how we treat each other and how we treat this planet that we call home."

The Warner Bros. holiday romp "Four Christmases" slipped to second place with $13.3 million. The Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn comedy raised its three-week total to $88 million.

Another seasonal tale, Overture Films' "Nothing Like the Holidays," opened a weak No. 7 with $3.5 million. The movie features John Leguizamo, Debra Messing and Alfred Molina in the story of a Chicago family's holiday reunion.

The overall box office plummeted compared with the same weekend last year, when "I Am Legend" opened with $77.2 million and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" debuted with $44.3 million. This weekend's top 12 movies took in $83.3 million, down 45 percent from a year ago.

"This was predestined to be a down weekend given the incredible one-two punch of 'I Am Legend' and 'Alvin,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "There was no way this weekend could measure up."

A rush of films opened with big numbers in limited release to qualify for the Academy Awards.

Miramax's "Doubt" pulled in $525,030 in 15 theaters, averaging $35,002 a cinema, compared with $8,708 in 3,560 locations for "The Day the Earth Stood Still." The film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in a war-of-wills drama between an old-school nun and a progressive priest.

Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" played in six locations and took in $284,000 to average $47,333. The Warner Bros. film stars Eastwood as a bigot who becomes an unlikely protector for his immigrant neighbors against street thugs.

The Weinstein Co. drama "The Reader" rang up $170,000 in eight theaters for a $21,250 average. The Holocaust-themed story stars Kate Winslet as a former concentration camp guard standing trial years later.

Steven Soderbergh's two-part, four-hour-plus film biography "Che" took in $60,100 in two cinemas to average $30,050. The IFC Films release stars Benicio Del Toro as Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Day the Earth Stood Still," $31 million.
2. "Four Christmases," $13.3 million.
3. "Twilight," $8 million.
4. "Bolt," $7.5 million.
5. "Australia," $4.3 million.
6. "Quantum of Solace," $3.8 million.
7. "Nothing Like the Holidays," $3.5 million.
8. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $3.3 million.
9. "Milk," $2.6 million.
10. "Transporter 3," $2.3 million.

'Christmases' repeats at No. 1 with $18.2 million

LOS ANGELES – Movie crowds kept up their holiday spirit as Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's comedy "Four Christmases" rang up $18.2 million to lead the box office for a second-straight weekend.

The Warner Bros. flick raised its 12-day total to $70.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"'Four Christmases' was set up perfectly. It's an evergreen subject for the holiday period," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "This is a movie that can play and is playing from Thanksgiving through the end of the year."

Despite the economic downturn, Hollywood continued to outperform last year's holiday season, with revenues up for the fifth weekend in a row.

The top 12 movies took in $77.5 million, a 6 percent increase from the same weekend in 2007, when "The Golden Compass" opened at No. 1 with $25.8 million.

Revenues for the year are at $8.7 billion, slightly ahead of the pace last year, when Hollywood ended up with record receipts of $9.7 billion. However, that reflects higher ticket prices, because actual attendance is down 4 percent, according to Media By Numbers.

Only one new movie opened in full wide release, Lionsgate's action tale "Punisher: War Zone," which delivered a weak No. 8 debut with $4 million. Based on Marvel Comics' "The Punisher," the movie stars Ray Stevenson in the title role as a vigilante hero going up against a crime boss.

In narrower release, Sony's music saga "Cadillac Records" opened solidly with $3.5 million to come in at No. 9. The film features Adrien Brody, Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def in the story of legendary blues label Chess Records.

Ron Howard's drama "Frost/Nixon" had a huge debut in limited release, taking in $180,147 in just three theaters, averaging a whopping $60,049 a cinema. That compares to a $5,451 average in 3,335 theaters for "Four Christmases."

A likely contender for a best-picture nomination at the Academy Awards, the Universal Pictures film stars Frank Langella as former President Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as TV personality David Frost in the story of their momentous 1977 interviews.

"Frost/Nixon" expands to more theaters over the next two weeks.

Sony's James Bond sequel "Quantum of Solace" took in $6.6 million to raise its domestic total to $151.5 million. The film topped the $500 million mark worldwide.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Four Christmases," $18.2 million.
2. "Twilight," $13.2 million.
3. "Bolt," $9.7 million.
4. "Australia," $7 million.
5. "Quantum of Solace," $6.6 million.
6. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $5.1 million.
7. "Transporter 3," $4.5 million.
8. "Punisher: War Zone," $4 million.
9. "Cadillac Records," $3.5 million.
10. "Role Models," $2.6 million.

Batman Back In Theaters January 23

With virtually all the major Oscar contenders coming out in December or late November this year, there's just one that's been relying on our fond memories and occasional For Your Consideration ads-- until now. The Dark Knight, the biggest movie of 2008, will start working its magic in 2009 as well, getting a January 23rd re-release nationwide.

As Variety points out, this will guarantee that The Dark Knight crosses the $1 billion mark worldwide, a number it's just $4 million short of reaching. Another question is whether it can muster up the $50 million it needs to pass Titanic's domestic record. The release comes six weeks after the movie's DVD release, after all-- will even the most rabid fanboys be willing to turn off the Blu-Ray and head back to the theater?

Let's put it this way. Inflation rates make Titanic's $600 million milestone easier and easier to beat, and something will beat it in upcoming years. Do you think that movie will be better than Dark Knight? If you don't, then get out there January 23, put down your $10 and re-experience the movie you know you're dying to see it again!

Australia's a Dud—So Is Nicole Kidman Over?

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Australia is kind of a bust after debuting at No. 5, right? What happens to a big-name star like Nicole Kidman after something like this? Does she lose status?

Power producers and agents have been rumbling for years that Nicole Kidman has passed her prime, that her once-endless list of fascinating attributes has dwindled to include only her hypnotically featureless forehead.

Off the record, these sources have said that she's delivered too few bona fide hits, that she has continuously lost power since The Others in 2001.

Yet—like a very leggy monster from the world of H.P. Lovecraft—she manages, every few years, to rise up from her burrow and feed. The reason is a sort of open secret in the movie business...

...and it's a list. It's called the Ulmer Scale, and every decent producer in town uses it when casting big-budget—or even microbudget—films.

"It's a scale of bankability," casting director and author Bonnie Gillespie explains. "It calculates everything—overseas sales, DVD sales—and Nicole Kidman is still near the top of the list for women."

In other words, Kidman may feel done, especially when you stack her up against, say, Robert Pattinson (everybody screeeaaaam!), but there really aren't that many other well-established stars out there who can deliver guaranteed millions in revenue.

One other thing: Australia may have debuted at No. 5, but $14 million this weekend is still a heck of a lot of money. (And it's more than the last Baz Luhrmann-Kidman tango Moulin Rouge! opened with back in '01.)

"That's really not bomby enough to ruin either of their careers," Gillespie says. ""It would need to be a huge bomb, an Ishtar-type bomb, to affect either of them. At that level, they're pretty much untouchable."

At worst, maybe Kidman will take a pay cut. Of a measly $2 million.

'Four Christmases' finds $31.7M in holiday cheer

LOS ANGELES – Thanksgiving weekend movie crowds gobbled up the Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn holiday comedy "Four Christmases," which debuted at No. 1 with $31.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Warner Bros. release, featuring Witherspoon and Vaughn as a couple suffering through four separate family holiday gatherings, raised its total to $46.7 million since opening Wednesday to get a head start on the long weekend.

In terms of revenue, it was Hollywood's second-biggest Thanksgiving period ever. The top 12 movies took in $223.7 million from Wednesday to Sunday, trailing only the $232.2 million haul over Thanksgiving in 2000.

Summit Entertainment's vampire romance "Twilight," which had a huge No. 1 opening the previous weekend, took a steep 62 percent decline from its $69.6 million debut and was neck-and-neck for second place with Disney's animated family flick "Bolt."

Based on Sunday's estimates, "Bolt" had a slight lead with $26.6 million for the weekend, compared to $26.4 million for "Twilight." Their rankings could change once final numbers are released Monday.

"Twilight' is still a phenomenon, but you can't really maintain that level of intensity week after week," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"Twilight" raised its 10-day total to $119.7 million, while "Bolt" lifted its sum to $66.9 million.

Hollywood typically releases a handful of holiday-themed movies starting in November, but "Four Christmases" has the market virtually to itself this season.

"It was the perfect time. It's the only movie out there that deals with Christmas," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

The only potential competition comes Dec. 12 with the John Leguizamo tale "Nothing Like the Holidays."

The weekend's other new wide release, the Nicole Kidman-Hugh Jackman epic "Australia," opened at No. 5 with $14.8 million for the weekend and $20 million since debuting Wednesday.

The 20th Century Fox film reunites Kidman with "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann for a World War II-era romance between an aristocratic British woman and an Australian ranch hand.

Sean Penn's drama "Milk" got off to a great start in limited release, coming in at No. 10 with $1.4 million in just 36 theaters. The film had a strong average of $38,375 a cinema, compared with $9,571 in 3,310 theaters for "Four Christmases."

"Milk," an Academy Awards contender released by Focus Features, stars Penn as gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, the San Francisco city supervisor slain by a colleague who also killed the mayor. The film expands to more theaters Friday.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Four Christmases," $31.7 million.
2. "Bolt," $26.6 million.
3. "Twilight," $26.4 million.
4. "Quantum of Solace," $19.5 million.
5. "Australia," $14.8 million.
6. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $14.5 million.
7. "Transporter 3," $12.3 million.
8. "Role Models," $5.3 million.
9. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," $1.7 million.
10. "Milk," $1.4 million.

Is this Nicole Kidman's last movie?

NEW YORK–Nicole Kidman isn't sure whether she will ever make another movie. But if she doesn't, it's fitting that her final screen role should be in Australia, the epic $130 million romantic adventure that reunites her with her Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann and filmed in their homeland with an all-Australian cast and crew.

"I wanted to make a film for my country since I was a little girl," she said. "I grew up on Australian cinema, and the films created my aspirations and my dreams. This film represents that for me. Baz wanted to do a Gone With The Wind-type film for Australia, mixing high comedy and intense drama with references to many different films and somehow put them together in an homage to old movies, and I think it's wonderful."

Kidman, 41, portrays an English aristocrat who travels to Australia where she meets a rough, tough drover (Hugh Jackman) and they reluctantly join forces to save the land she inherited. Luhrmann's sweeping story includes villainous cattlemen, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the plight of part-Aboriginal children who were taken from their families and placed in state institutions.

Luhrmann wrote 19 drafts of the script and then filmed for nine months, mostly in Australia's Outback, shooting four different endings before he was satisfied.

"I saw far more of the country while making this film than I ever did before," said Kidman. "Even though it was really tough and difficult at times, I'm so glad we travelled around and filmed in so many different locations. To feel the air and see the wonderful sunsets and be ravished by the elements was exquisite."

She learned how to ride a horse like a ranch hand while herding cattle, and it made such an impression on her that she and her husband of two years, country star Keith Urban, have bought a rural cattle ranch in Australia.

"I love the film and I loved the cows, so when we're in Australia we're going to spend a lot of time on the property," she said.

After Moulin Rouge! in 2001, Kidman and Luhrmann had often talked about working together again and were set to team up on Alexander; but when Oliver Stone beat them to it with his own version in 2004, Luhrmann began thinking about Australia.

He went to see Kidman in Nashville, where she lives with Urban. "He never gives you a script; he just tells you his ideas," she said.

"He's very, very different to anyone I have ever worked with.

"Baz is such an unusual filmmaker and obviously the process to get the film made is unusual, as well. He's completely original ... he whispers things to me.

``He has ways in which he accesses my emotional life."

Kidman and Luhrmann, 46, were talking in a New York hotel room not far from an apartment where Kidman is temporarily staying with her baby, Sunday Rose, who was born five months ago.

She and Luhrmann had just flown in from the Australia premiere in Sydney and she looked glamorous in a grey, low-cut tweed suit and diamond-drop earrings.

She and the director are clearly close friends.

"She wasn't just an actor in this; she was my partner," said Luhrmann. "At times the shoot was very hard and difficult, and when some people thought they couldn't go on Nicole was the one who led the charge. When things are at their very worst, that is when she is at her very best."

But he doesn't think they could ever work together again.

"So many life-transforming things happen when we work together," he said reflectively. "On Moulin Rouge! she was breaking up with Tom Cruise and my father died. Then six weeks before we finished filming Australia, she told me she was pregnant and we both burst into tears because I knew that was what she had wanted more than anything else. We both said we can't make another movie together because there are only so many life-transforming events we can go through."

Luhrmann has no projects lined up for the future, although he says: "One day I'll take that James Bond film. That'll be fun."

Kidman, too, has nothing planned now that she has finished a two-week stint filming a small role in the musical Nine, due out next year. And she is not seeking any more work.

"I have to say I'm not that interested in making films any more," she said.

"I know I'm not meant to say that, but that's where it is for me now. I'm 41 years old and very happy being in Tennessee with my baby and with my husband. I just don't have that burning desire any more."

The Road To Oz

Hugh Jackman: Sexiest Man Alive. Wolverine. Third wheel?

The newly-titled actor recalls a twinge of concern when he signed on to play a lowbrow cowboy in the ambitious Baz Luhrmann epic "Australia." Mostly because he was starring opposite Baz's BFF, Nicole Kidman.

"I've heard Nicole describe Baz as her creative soulmate," says Jackman, looking not-at-all lowbrow (but still superlatively sexy) while snacking on raspberries and melon in a posh Midtown lounge. He wondered whether he'd be intruding on the Kidman-Luhrmann partnership, which began with the Australian director's lush 2001 musical "Moulin Rouge."

"The moment we started shooting, though, I felt like it was the three of us," Jackman says. "It was always inclusive, and that expanded to the entire cast."

No one puts Hugh in a corner! Least of all Luhrmann, who says Jackman was the very embodiment of that "rough-hewn" type missing in today's movies, Daniel Craig notwithstanding. (Though, truth be told, not even Jackman seems to know what rough-hewnness entails, exactly, or how it might surpass the brawniness of his "X-Men" character. "I've got a beard in this one," he offers.)

"I think audiences will be surprised by Hugh Jackman in this film," says Luhrmann. "He really easily assumes that classic movie style of Clint Eastwood or John Wayne."

Indeed, he squints like a champ, rides horses and looks good in a silhouetted clinch against a blood-orange sunset background. It's all part of Luhrmann's master plan to resurrect the old-school epic.

"The music must be sweeping!" the director says grandly. "The drama must be intense! You have high comedy, and then you have romance and action. These days, it's either or. But this film has all of them. It's a banquet."

It's also a big, expensive gamble. With budget estimates ranging from $130 million (the official version) to $200 million (the detractors'), "Australia" is crossing its fingers that audiences will clamor for an unapologetically heartfelt saga that owes more than a small debt to oldies like "Out of Africa," "Gone with the Wind" and "The African Queen." Especially "Out of Africa." (See sidebar.)

Out Friday, the film's set during World War II and is based around a relatively little known historical event: the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese.

Nicole Kidman's Lady Sarah Ashley, just arrived from London, has found her husband dead and herself the proprietor of an enormous middle-of-nowhere cattle farm called Faraway Downs. Jackman's character, known only as The Drover, is the archetypal hot, reluctant hero - a mercenary who finds himself unwittingly drawn to the initially bitchy heroine he's agreed to help out of an impossible situation.

So, does Luhrmann's movie fit the requirements of a true epic? Let us count the ways.

The story of "Australia," Luhrmann's first film since 2001's "Moulin Rouge," is itself epic. He'd already been thinking gargantuan for years, planning a spectacle about Alexander the Great starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kidman. Then he found out Oliver Stone was working on one, too.

Luhrmann changed tack and began researching the history of his native country. Which involved spending quality time in the Aussie countryside he refers to fondly as "the faraway of the faraway."

Once written, the project went through several casting changes. Kidman was attached from the beginning, but Russell Crowe was initially slated to play the Drover. When his demands about script approval became problematic, he was out and Jackman was in (with a reported brief period of consideration for Heath Ledger).

The story contains many chapters, most of them on a grand scale involving explosions, animal herds or extreme weather. Its running time is appropriately lengthy at two hours and 40 minutes. And - this is absolutely key - it was shot on location in the middle of a forbidding landscape that would inevitably be problematic for the cast and crew.

Despite the fact that the director and his stars were all in their home country, none had ever spent any time in the sort of remote terrain in which they'd be shooting.

"I've seen far more of this country during the making of this film than I had in the 30 years that I lived here," Kidman says. "Even though it was extremely difficult at times, I'm so glad we traveled and filmed in those locations. To feel the air and be ravished by the elements was exquisite and necessary."

Luhrmann concurs. "When you're making a sweeping epic, you expect all sorts of challenges," he says. "Equine flu? Raining for the first time in 100 years? That's just normal stuff."

He's not exaggerating about the rain. "We were in the middle of the dry season, and they had so much rain - the last recorded rainfall that was anything like it was 100 years ago, and that was half what we got!" says Jackman.

And then there was the horse flu. "The moment equine flu hit, everyone freaked out," Jackman says. "The government immediately put out a quarantine. And we're in the middle of shooting a movie about horses. So we had 300 horses that were not allowed to move 5 yards."

There are so very many pitfalls involved in shooting an epic, one almost begins to suspect people of making them just for the anecdotes. (After all, a wild tale of a near-escape from wildlife in the outback sure beats recounting your latest foray into Studio City.)

"At night, we'd shine a light into the river and you could see all the crocodiles. It was infested with crocodiles," Jackman recounts, a little nostalgically. "We were up on a hill, and they told me crocs rarely go up the hill. But Baz was camping down by the bottom of the river."

"We kid each other about who had the most threatening crocodile story," says Luhrmann, who'd insisted on camping the entire time the film was shooting.

Luhrman's movie has been one long cavalcade of challenges - and in that respect, it can count itself in the ranks of all the epics which Luhrmann freely cites as influences.

When David Lean made "Lawrence of Arabia," his star was nearly trampled to death by a camel. "Gone with the Wind" went through three different directors. Meryl Streep, on the set of "Out of Africa," had to contend with territorial hippopotami, lions on the loose and a beetle as big as her hand.

And nearly everyone on the set of "The African Queen" got sick, except for Humphrey Bogart, who claimed it was because he subsisted on Scotch.

Luhrmann's shoot was plagued with sickness of a different sort: the morning kind. An astonishing six crew members, plus Kidman herself, found out they were pregnant during the seven-month shoot. Local aboriginal waters were cited as the reason for the fertility - though, one might note, there also wasn't much else out there in the way of nightlife.

The rockiest territory of all may have been the film's Aboriginal-oppression theme. "I think you can't really tell a story about Australia without handling the first inhabitants of our country," says Jackman. "They've been there for 40,000 years. We've been there for 200."

The film's youngest star is Brandon Walters, who plays a "half-caste" boy - half-Aboriginal, half-white - in danger of being rounded up and shipped off for cultural "retraining" by whites. This dark chapter in the country's history is known as the Stolen Generations.

"This was a big scar on the history of our country," says Luhrmann, who says he isn't taking any overt political stance. "The film doesn't purport to say it's right or wrong. It just says it happened."

In early reviews, the director's handling of the Aboriginal issue has been largely praised, with Walters even garnering some Oscar buzz.

But a larger question remains: Do American audiences really care? Some are speculating the movie will be a bomb. (Although, famously, Gary Cooper said the same thing about "Gone with the Wind," predicting it would be "the biggest flop in Hollywood history.")

"There's a reason people don't make movies like this anymore," says Jackman. "They're hard to do. God knows, they may never make them again - not like this, anyway."

The naysayers are nothing new for Luhrmann, of course. When he made "Strictly Ballroom," they said nobody wanted to see a high-concept dancing movie. When he released "Moulin Rouge," they said the movie musical would never make a comeback.

And when he pitched the idea for "Australia," they said nobody makes movies this way anymore. Luhrmann had a one-word response for his detractors: Tara.

"I'll go back to Tara. I'll go home," he says, paraphrasing the final lines of "Gone With the Wind." "It means, ultimately what matters is that you're with people who you'll love and who love you. It means that life continues on. That's the big message of my film. And I think people are absolutely famished for it. I wouldn't have said that until I saw how intensely the audience reacted."

The audience he's referring to is the crowd at "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which was recently treated to an advance viewing of a rough cut of the film (when The Post spoke to the director last week, he still wasn't done editing).

But rumors began shortly after that screening that Luhrmann had been pressured by the studio - and negative test-audience reactions - into re-cutting the film's end into a happier conclusion. Which Luhrmann has denied repeatedly, if vaguely.

"I wrote about four endings, and I shot two," he says, "and I'll tell you something - the ending was actually a surprise, even to me, because it was really a response to what I was feeling as I edited it."

Jackman, who at the time of the interview had not seen the film, thinks people ought to give Luhrmann the benefit of the doubt.

"I think it's redundant, and a little unfair, to talk about what could have been until people have seen it," he says. "Because it's a work of fiction. So there's always options. People should just see it straight out. They shouldn't see it thinking, 'Oh, I heard there was going to be this other ending.'

"Whatever he chooses," he says, "I'm sure it will be the right thing."

First Twilight Sequel Announced

All it took was one big Box Office day for Summit Entertainment to officially commit to more Twilight. They’re so excited, they came into work on a Saturday to email the media and let us know that they are officially moving forward on the sequel, based on the second book in Stephanie Meyer’s vampire series. It’s called New Moon and there’s no way to keep it from rising.

This isn’t exactly a surprise. A few weeks ago the company locked up the movie’s screenwriter, Melissa Rosenberg to start working on scripts for New Moon and the other inevitable sequels to follow. Now, even though she probably hasn’t finished the script, the whole thing has a big, screaming, green light. Twilight made $35 million just on its opening day domestically. It only cost $37 million to make so even if no one shows up to see it on Saturday and Sunday they’ve already pretty much turned a profit. For a relatively new, smallish studio like Summit, this is a really big deal.

From what we’ve heard, it’s likely the same old cast will return. Twilight may make them a hot commodity, but before it it’s not like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were in big demand. They owe them.

Everyone who hasn't been brainwashed by the books seems to agree that this is a very poorly done movie, which makes this sequel news particularly depressing for lovers of good film, while at the same time presumably the best thing ever to all of the women who came squealing out of midnight screenings on Tuesday. The silver lining here is that since the first movie has made so much money, the second one will almost certainly have a bigger budget. Maybe that won't help the script any, but some halfway decent special effects couldn't hurt.

Below I’ve posted the full, official press release from Summit announcing New Moon. You fangless Twilight fans may want to frame it or something. Non-fans should probably print it out and burn the thing in effigy. You’ve just been sentenced to spend the rest of this decade Meyered in emo vampire emotion porn.

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES TWILIGHT SEQUEL – NEW MOON

Los Angeles, CA November 22, 2008 – Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment of its filmed franchise TWILIGHT, the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series titled, New Moon. The first movie in the TWILIGHT franchise, the self-titled TWILIGHT, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings.

Stephenie Meyer stated, "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I'm thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on NEW MOON."

Starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, TWILIGHT tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together…even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. Their unorthodox romance puts her in physical danger when Edward’s nemesis comes to town and sets his sights on Bella.

About Summit Entertainment, LLC

Summit Entertainment, LLC is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio. The studio handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures. Summit Entertainment, LLC also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product. Summit Entertainment, LLC plans to release 10 to 12 films annually.

'Twilight' takes $70.6M bite out of box office

LOS ANGELES – The vampire romance "Twilight" drained the box office in its opening weekend, taking in $70.6 million. Catherine Hardwicke's film also enjoyed the biggest opening ever for a female director, blowing away the previous standard of $41.1 million set by Mimi Leder's "Deep Impact" in 1998.

Drawing from its huge fan base of teenage girls, who fell for Stephenie Meyer's novel of forbidden love between brooding vampire Edward Cullen and bookish high schooler Bella Swan, "Twilight" made a whopping $20,636 per theater, according to Sunday morning estimates.

And the fangirls will get another taste soon enough: Summit Entertainment, which released "Twilight," announced during the weekend that it's going ahead with production of "New Moon," based on the second book in Meyer's internationally best-selling series. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will return as its star-crossed lovers, but whether Hardwicke will be at the helm again is still being determined.

The laid-back Hardwicke, who went bodyboarding at sunset Saturday to take her mind off this high-pressure weekend, said Sunday morning that she was heading to a meeting later in the day to discuss her possible involvement in "New Moon."

"I want to be sure that it's going to be done right. I don't want to rush into it," she said. "It's not like `Friday the 13th' or `Halloween,' you can't just do it super fast and knock another one out. I want to understand their plans and all that."
Hardwicke, whose previous films include "Thirteen" and "Lords of Dogtown," also said she was thrilled about the prospect that the success of "Twilight" will inspire other women and young girls to pursue a career in filmmaking.

"I hope not just women but all minorities get enthused and encouraged by it. I look at the (Directors Guild of America) calendar, at the pictures of everyone that had different movies each month, and it's usually 22-29 different directors, and almost every month there's one female and maybe one minority," she said. "We've been having a lot of events, talking to a lot of fans, and so many kids of course are madly in love with Robert but tons of kids of every kind (and) girls are coming up to me and saying `I want to direct now, I'm writing a screenplay now, you're my inspiration.' I think it's great that people are getting excited."

The big opening for "Twilight" also helps put Summit Entertainment on the map, said Richie Say, the company's president of domestic distribution. Summit has only been around since April 2007 and "Twilight," its sixth release, cost just $37 million to make.

"It certainly says what we've been saying all along, that we can do more with less," he said. When Warner Bros. pushed "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from this weekend to a July 2009 debut, and Summit jumped to move "Twilight" from Dec. 12 into that spot on the schedule, "that decision was made in a day. I don't know that the major studios have that ability."

The tremendous take for "Twilight" far exceeded expectations, which had been set around $50 million.

"Teen girls rule the earth," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "If you look back at the `Hannah Montana' movie, how well that did, and now this movie, the teen girl audience will never be ignored again or underestimated. It was always teen boys who were the coveted ones, but someone finally caught on to the idea that girls love movies, too, and if you create something that they're into, that they're passionate about, they will come out in big numbers and drive the box office."

The other major debut of the weekend, Walt Disney's 3-D animated "Bolt," made $27 million to take third place. Featuring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, "Bolt" follows the cross-country journey of a dog who plays a superhero on television, but sadly realizes he has no magical powers once he gets separated from his "person."

Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution, said "Twilight" took a bite out of everyone's box office this weekend. If the vampire saga hadn't been around, Viane said, Disney would have expected an opening of at least $30 million.

"Obviously we believe in the Thanksgiving holiday in a big, big way," he said. "We've always viewed this as one of those 10-day marathons between opening day and the end of the Thanksgiving weekend."

Last weekend's No. 1 movie, "Quantum of Solace," came in second with $27.4 million. The latest James Bond extravaganza has now grossed $109.5 million, and it crossed the $100 million mark faster than any other film in the franchise, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. It's also made $309 million internationally.

"We're in great shape. We're way ahead of where we were with `Casino Royale,'" said Bruer, referring to the last Bond picture, which also starred Daniel Craig as a more visceral incarnation of 007.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Twilight," $70.5 million.
2. "Quantum of Solace," $27.4 million.
3. "Bolt," $27 million.
4. "Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa," $16 million.
5. "Role Models." $7.2 million.
6. "Changeling," $2.6 million.
7. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," $2 million.
8. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," $1.7 million.
9. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," $1.67 million.
10. "The Secret Life of Bees," $1.28 million.

"Jumanji" director Johnston does `Captain America'

LOS ANGELES – Captain America has a new boss.

Joe Johnston, whose credits include "Jurassic Park III" and "Jumanji," has been signed to direct the comic-book adaptation "The First Avenger: Captain America," Marvel Studios announced Monday.

The movie is scheduled for release May 6, 2011, the same weekend that Marvel scored a blockbuster this year with "Iron Man," starring Robert Downey Jr. "Iron Man 2" comes out May 7, 2010.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures, "Captain America" is based on the Marvel Comics character Steve Rogers, who volunteers for a research program that transforms him into a patriotic super-soldier. The lead role has not yet been cast.

Marvel also is teaming Captain America with Downey's Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor and other superheroes from the comic-book giant's vaults for "The Avengers," due in theaters July 15, 2011.

Johnston is directing "The Wolf Man," an update of the horror classic starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins that comes out in 2009. His other credits include "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "The Rocketeer" and "October Sky."

Chris Rock to redo 'Funeral' service

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Sony's Screen Gems are partnering with Chris Rock for an urban reworking of the 2007 British comedy "Death at a Funeral."

Rock will produce, star and co-write the script with Aeysha Carr.

The project is inspired by SKE's 2007 feature, which was written by Dean Craig and directed by Frank Oz. That film made for about $9 million and released by MGM in the U.S., grossed $8.5 million stateside and $46.5 million worldwide.

Sidney Kimmel, Share Stallings and Laurence Malkin are returning to produce the new version.

William Horberg, who served as executive producer for the 2007 version, also is on board to produce under the terms of the first-look arrangement he struck with SKE when he left the company as its production chief.

The ensemble comedy will take place in an urban American setting and centers on a funeral ceremony that devolves into a debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure and family secrets. The cast will be primarily black, supplanting the earlier, England-set version's British cast.

"We've been trying to work with Chris Rock and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment for some time now," Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper said. "It's exciting to us that this film provides the opportunity to work with both."

The producers are looking for a director for the project, which is planned to start production in the spring.

"Chris, who was an unabashed fan of the film, came to us with a hysterical, completely new reimagining of the original concept," said SKE's Jim Tauber, who is serving as an executive producer along with scribe Craig. "Clint and his team loved it and jumped on board right away, and they're bringing their considerable marketing and distribution savvy to the project."

"Funeral" marks the first SKE production since the company announced its plans in the summer to refocus its efforts on films with a more commercial appeal, rather than specialty films it had produced such as "Synecdoche, New York" and "Lars and the Real Girl."

Screen Gems' Scott Strauss is overseeing the project for the studio.

YouTube to post full-length MGM films

NEW YORK (Reuters) – YouTube, the largest video-sharing website, will show full-length television shows and films from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's archives in its latest step to boost advertising revenue by adding professional programing, the company told Reuters on Sunday.

The site, owned by Google Inc, plans to make the announcement about the new partnership on Monday.

MGM Studios will kick off the partnership by posting episodes of its decade-old "American Gladiators" program to YouTube on one channel.

On another channel, MGM will post full-length action films like "Bulletproof Monk" and "The Magnificent Seven" and clips from popular movies like "Legally Blonde." These will be free to watch, with ads running alongside the video.

YouTube in October forged a similar partnership with CBS Corp to run full-length archived shows, including "Star Trek," "Young and the Restless" and "Beverly Hills 90210."

Many TV networks already run short clips on YouTube, which also offers millions of home videos uploaded by users.

But until now, YouTube videos were predominantly short clips of ten minutes or less. The company has been experimenting with full-length shows for some months with Time Warner Inc's HBO and CBS's Showtime cable networks.

The new partnerships put YouTube in more direct competition with Hulu, the online video site owned by News Corp and General Electric's NBC Universal.

Hulu features up-to-date full-length shows from News Corp's Fox networks, NBC and CBS. It also has a YouTube channel which features short-clip versions of its shows.

"Madagascar" roars with $63.5 million weekend

LOS ANGELES – Families herded into movie theaters for another trek with stranded zoo animals as the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" led the weekend with a $63.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The haul for the DreamWorks Animation comedy far surpassed the $47.2 million debut for "Madagascar" over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. Its three-day total also beat the $61 million gross the first movie took in over that full four-day holiday weekend.

"It just shows people seem happy to escape to the movies and have a good laugh," said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.
While parents with children were the bulk of the audience, "Madagascar" also drew teens and adults on their own, who made up half the audience on Friday and one-third on Saturday, Globe said.

Premiering in second place with $19.3 million was the Universal Pictures comedy "Role Models," starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd as immature adults sentenced to community service as mentors for two misfit youths.

The weekend's other new wide release, the Weinstein Co. music comedy "Soul Men," opened weakly with $5.6 million, despite the lure of Samuel L. Jackson and his late co-stars, Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, who died last summer. Jackson and Mac play an estranged singing team on a reunion road trip to a memorial concert.

Mac also was among the voice cast for the "Madagascar" sequel, providing vocals as Zuba, the father of Ben Stiller's Alex the lion.

"Certainly, he just brought a wonderful heart to the role of Zuba. We were just fortunate to have him for that character," Globe said.

The movie also reunites voice stars Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen as the animal gang crash lands in an African nature preserve.

Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, slipped to third place with $9.3 million, raising its total to $75.7 million.

"Madagascar" and "Role Models" kicked off a big start to Hollywood's holiday season. The top 12 movies took in $128.8 million, up 32 percent from the same weekend last year.

"It's all boding well," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "We have lots of really good films coming, lots of commercial films. I love the fact that everybody's going to the movies. I love the fact that everybody likes what they're seeing."

The season continues with Sony's James Bond adventure "Quantum of Solace" on Friday, then Summit Entertainment's vampire romance "Twilight" and Disney's animated canine comedy "Bolt" on Nov. 21.

"Quantum of Solace" continued to pull in big audiences overseas with $106.5 million in 60 countries, raising its total to $160.3 million since it began opening internationally Oct. 31.

Hollywood's domestic revenue for the year stands at $7.96 billion, a fraction ahead of the pace in 2007, when the industry took in a record $9.7 billion, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Factoring in inflation, the number of tickets sold this year trails last year's admissions by 4 percent. But Hollywood has a stronger lineup this time heading into Thanksgiving, so studios could finish the year with a bang.

"Given where we are and the films in the pipeline, we have a huge shot at more than making up for any kind of attendance deficit," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "You wouldn't know there was a recession if you were just looking at the movie industry."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $63.5 million.
2. "Role Models," $19.3 million.
3. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," $9.3 million.
4. "Changeling," $7.3 million.
5. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," $6.5 million.
6. "Soul Men," $5.6 million.
7. "Saw V," $4.2 million.
8. "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," $3.5 million.
9. "The Secret Life of Bees," $3.1 million.
10. "Eagle Eye," $2.6 million.

"Madagascar" top destination for moviegoers

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Hollywood should jump back into the win column this weekend with three diverse wide openers, led by "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

A built-in fan base and strong early reviews could help the DreamWorks Animation sequel outpace the 2005 franchise original's opening Friday-Sunday haul of $47.2 million. "Madagascar" bowed during a Memorial Day frame and thus posted a four-day opening of $61 million, en route to grossing $193.6 million overall domestically.

The Paramount-distributed sequel certainly should ring up at least $45 million-$50 million, but a big weekend of moviegoing could push the comedy even a bit higher.

"I think the movie has a real shot at opening over $50 million," Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said. "The only real wild card is the weather. If it rains, that's great news for any film that plays to a family audience. But if it snows, it kills you."

Like its predecessor, the new "Madagascar" was co-directed by Eric Darnell -- who helmed 1998's "Antz" -- and Tom McGrath, who directed two episodes of "The Ren & Stimpy Show" before getting his big-screen break. Its voice cast again features Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Elsewhere among the weekend debuts, Universal unspools the raunchy comedy "Role Models," while MGM sends out the urban-skewing "Soul Men," starring the late Bernie Mac. Sales for the new films will be padded by grosses for holdovers including Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which has held the top spot for the past two weekends.

That should make for a combo powerful enough to outpace the comparable year-ago weekend, a $114 million frame whose top opener was Warner Bros.' seasonal comedy "Fred Claus" with a disappointing $18.5 million. Total sales marked a year-over-year decline last weekend for the first time in six sessions.

"Role Models" has been drawing quite a favorable response from critics, and prerelease tracking indicates solid interest among young male moviegoers for the Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd starrer, suggesting a bow in the low single-digit millions. Anything higher would seem unlikely with "Madagascar" hitting the marketplace and the Weinstein Co.'s R-rated comedy "Zack and Miri Make A Porno" in just its second weekend.

"Soul Men" will be helped by core appeal among fans of both Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, and an inaugural weekend of as much as $10 million appears possible. (In an odd twist of fate, Mac actually has two films opening this weekend; he provides a voice in "Madagascar" as the father of Stiller's lead character Alex the Lion.)

Mac's death this year prompted helmer Malcolm D. Lee ("Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins") to add some poignant bio clips prior to the film's final credits. "Soul Man" also features the late Isaac Hayes in a smaller role.

Limited openers include this doozy: Lionsgate's campy rock musical "Repo! The Genetic Opera," which unspools in eight locations in six markets.

Rated R for gore and violence, "Repo" is based on a stage musical with songs composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich and a futuristic sci-fi theme. The cast includes pop songstress Sarah Brightman and Paris Hilton, with Darren Lynn Bousman ("Saw II," "III," "IV") directing.

Lionsgate plans a slow expansion over coming frames, hoping to spin a cult fan base built on word-of-mouth.

"If we're lucky, we'll turn it into a 'Rocky Horror' kind of film," Lionsgate distribution president Steve Rothenberg said.

Holiday highlights: Bond, Nixon, `Madagascar' gang

LOS ANGELES – Nixon's back. So are Kate and Leo, Nicole and Baz, a herd of stranded zoo animals and a very vengeful James Bond.

Despite the harsh economy, Hollywood has been on a box-office roll the last month, and studios head into the year's homestretch with a solid lineup of returns, reunions and promising newcomers that could uphold the old saw about movies as a recession-proof business.

Lighthearted fare such as "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" provided a brisk prelude to the holiday season, of which the first big offering is the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

The movie reunites a voice cast led by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer as the foursome of zoo buddies, now stuck on a wildlife preserve in Africa after their ramshackle plane crashes.

Stiller enjoyed making the sequel more, partly because he wasn't so lonely in the recording booth doing the vocals. Actors generally work alone on animated flicks, but one pivotal scene between Stiller's Alex the lion and Rock's Marty the zebra was recorded with both actors in the room.

"I really wanted to have that experience to see what came out of it. It was a lot of fun improvising back and forth, doing a scene with somebody else like a regular movie," Stiller said. "Just getting Chris in the room and riffing with it was inspiring."

Among other big films: Daniel Craig returns as Bond in "Quantum of Solace"; "Titanic" stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are together again in the domestic drama "Revolutionary Road"; Nicole Kidman reteams with "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann for the World War II-era epic "Australia"; Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise, stars in his own World War II tale "Valkyrie"; Frank Langella reprises his stage role as Richard Nixon in Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon"; "Babel" co-stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett reunite for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Keanu Reeves stars in an update of the sci-fi classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still"; and a best-seller comes to the screen with "Twilight," about a teen's romance with a studly vampire.

Adapted from the first book in Stephenie Meyer's series, "Twilight" stars Kristen Stewart as the new girl at school who falls for the eternally young bloodsucker (Robert Pattinson) from a family of vamps trying to do the right thing by refusing to feed off humans.

Teen girls have been the core audience for the books. But director Catherine Hardwicke figures it's a story everyone can relate to, even her mom's 70-something friends.

"You can relate to falling in love with the wrong person, not your socio-economic class, not your gender, not your race, or the bad boy in school — someone your family and his family and society doesn't think you should be with," Hardwicke said. "In this case, it's extreme, because he's not the same species."

"Quantum of Solace" picks up where 2006's "Casino Royale" left off, with 007 out to avenge the death of his great love. Bond bounds around the world, going rogue as his quest tosses him up against a phony environmentalist cornering a South American water supply and lands him in the company of a woman (Olga Kurylenko) with her own mission of vengeance.

Unlike the always slick Bond of old, Craig again presents an operative with rough edges, who reveals his emotional scars in the downtime between the action.

"You've got this mix, this man that works incredibly intensely for short periods of time on incredibly terrifying missions, then has to go back to normal life, and doesn't cope with it very well," Craig said. "I love that idea that he's at his best when he's in trouble."

Other upcoming Hollywood highlights:

HOLIDAY TALES:

"Four Christmases" features Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as a couple suffering through the ultimate holiday horror — four separate family gatherings with parents, stepparents, siblings and other kin. The cast includes Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen and Vaughn buddy Jon Favreau.

In "Nothing Like the Holidays," a family copes with upheaval, new additions and old resentments as siblings head home for Christmas at their parents' place. The cast includes John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Freddy Rodriguez, Alfred Molina and Elizabeth Pena.

HEAVYWEIGHT DRAMA:

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio played lovers whose romance wound up on the rocks after the ship hit the iceberg in "Titanic." With "Revolutionary Road," they play a couple on another sort of collision course as they try to break free of their stifling suburban lives.

"We knew if we were going to a relationship, a love story again, it would have to be dramatically different," DiCaprio said. "This very much is about the disintegration of a relationship."

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in "Gran Torino," about a bigoted Korean War veteran who develops unexpected rapport with his immigrant neighbors.

"Doubt" features Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in a moral showdown between a traditional nun and a progressive priest accused of abusing a student at a Catholic school in 1964.

DOGGIE TALES:

Following in the paw prints of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," Miley Cyrus and John Travolta provide the lead voices in the animated "Bolt," a family flick about a dog that plays a superhero on TV but must scrape by on his ordinary canine abilities on a cross-country trek home.

"Marley & Me" stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson in an adaptation of John Grogan's book about a crazy mutt whose mischievous ways keep him perpetually in the doghouse with his exasperated owners.

Michelle Williams puts in a heart-wrenching performance in "Wendy and Lucy," a drama about a woman who encounters hostility, indifference and the occasional act of kindness after she and her dog become stranded on their way to a new life in Alaska.

ON THE WAR FRONT:

"Australia" takes Nicole Kidman, co-star Hugh Jackman and director Baz Luhrmann back to their homeland as World War II breaks out.

"It was important to all of us, Baz, Hugh and myself, that we be able to go back where we started, at a time when we could go anywhere in the world, and actually choose to go there and tell our story," Kidman said.

Kidman plays a Brit searching for her unfaithful husband in Australia, where she hooks up with a rough local (Jackman) on a cattle drive across the barren landscape, the two ending up at ground zero during a Japanese bombing.

Tom Cruise, Kidman's ex, and Daniel Craig each headline thrillers about fighters opposing the Nazis in Europe.

Craig stars in "Defiance," a tale of Jewish brothers who organize a resistance movement in Eastern Europe, while Cruise plays German Col. Claus von Stauffenberg in "Valkyrie," a thriller about conspirators who plotted to kill Adolf Hitler.

Viggo Mortensen also puts on a German uniform in "Good," playing an academic gradually seduced into collaborating with the Nazis during the Holocaust.

"The Reader" features Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes in the story of a young man's obsession with an older woman, whom he encounters again years later when she is on trial as a Nazi war criminal.

ACTION:

Jason Statham returns for "Transporter 3," as the world's most-lethal delivery man finds a little romance while escorting a Ukrainian official's daughter.

"Punisher: War Zone" has Ray Stevenson as the new incarnation of the Marvel Comics vigilante, who takes on the minions of a vengeful crime boss.

Graphic novelist Frank Miller ("300") directs "The Spirit," the story of a resurrected crimefighter (Gabriel Macht) battling a villain (Samuel L. Jackson) with a destructive scheme to achieve immortality. Scarlett Johansson co-stars.

SCI-FI/FANTASY:

Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly star in "The Day the Earth Stood Still," an update of the 1950s classic about an alien and his robot partner who come to our world with an ultimatum for humanity.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" features Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story that traces the strange life of a man born in his 80s who ages backward toward infancy.

TRAGIC LEADERS:

Sean Penn stars in the title role of "Milk," based on the life of gay political pioneer Harvey Milk, who was slain along with Mayor George Moscone by a fellow San Francisco politician.

Steven Soderbergh's two-part epic "Che" stars Benicio Del Toro as revolutionary Che Guevara as he rises to power alongside Fidel Castro in Cuba but fails in a similar guerrilla campaign in Bolivia.

"Frost/Nixon" presents the behind-the-scenes and on-camera drama between Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and British TV personality David Frost (Michael Sheen) amid their historic series of interviews in 1977.

With the actors reprising their roles from Peter Morgan's play, the film is anchored by a brooding, melancholy performance from Langella, who captures the intonation and bearing of Nixon without relying on mimicry or impersonation.

"He made it a point to steer clear of all of that," said "Frost/Nixon" director Ron Howard. "Frank, starting with the play and on through the movie, his approach to Nixon just became more and more laserlike and refined. He's not trying to do an impression, but he is trying to evoke an honest sense of the man."

FOR LAUGHS:

In "Bedtime Stories," Adam Sandler stars as a hotel handyman who inexplicably finds the outrageous tales he spins for his niece and nephew coming true.

Jim Carrey accentuates the positive in "Yes Man," playing a loser whose life takes a positive turn after he adopts a self-help program requiring him to say yes to everything.

"Role Models" casts Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd as immature grown-ups who wind up sentenced to community service as youth mentors.

MUSIC:

"Soul Men" pairs Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac as former singing partners trying to put decades of bad blood behind them as they travel cross-country for a tribute concert. The late Isaac Hayes co-stars.

A cast that includes Paris Hilton, Alexa Vega of "Spy Kids" and opera singer Sarah Brightman is featured in "Repo! The Genetic Opera," a musical horror story in a future world where repo men take back transplanted organs if recipients can't keep up the payments.

SECOND CHANCES:

Will Smith follows his summer smash "Hancock" with the sober drama "Seven Pounds," playing a man trying to make amends for his past by helping seven strangers. The cast includes Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson and Barry Pepper.

"Slumdog Millionaire," the latest from director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting"), spins the story of a young man (Dev Patel) whose appearance on India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is the backdrop to reconnect with the lost love of his horrific childhood.

Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Mark Ruffalo star in "The Brothers Bloom," about a pair of con-man siblings, one with a shot to chuck his trade and find the life of romance and adventure he's always wanted.

"Last Chance Harvey" features Dustin Hoffman as a failed jingle writer and Emma Thompson as a statistics bureaucrat whose chance encounter at an airport bar could change both their lives.

Mickey Rourke may emerge as Hollywood's latest reclamation project with "The Wrestler," Oscar buzz swirling for his performance as a former star trying to recapture past glory in the ring.

The story parallels the real-life saga of Rourke, who squandered his early acting promise with years of bad behavior that made him an outcast in Hollywood. Rourke wants "The Wrestler" to prove he's willing and able to go the distance again.

"What I hope more than anything else is that when I meet directors that I want to work with, they don't have to say, `Oh, no, no, we can't use him!'" Rourke said. "I want people to be not remembering the old Mickey but who I am now."

"HSM3" maintains its box-office grades with $15M

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood made audiences repeat senior year.

Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" hauled in $15 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in a big-screen sequel to the Disney Channel TV movies, "High School Musical 3" raised its 10-day total to $61.8 million.

Debuting at No. 2 with $10.7 million was the Weinstein Co. comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as pals who do a skin flick to dig themselves out of debt.

Lionsgate's horror sequel "Saw V," the latest tale about psychokiller Jigsaw, slipped from second place to third with $10.1 million, lifting its 10-day total to $45.8 million.

Expanding nationwide after a weekend in limited release was Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," which took in $9.4 million to finish at No. 4. The Universal Pictures drama stars Angelina Jolie as a single mother victimized by police who botched the investigation into her missing son.

Freestyle Releasing's "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" debuted with $6 million to come in at No. 5. The movie stars Haley Bennett as a traumatized teen who finds fresh terror at her new school.

"RocknRolla" — the latest from Madonna's soon-to-be-ex-husband, Guy Ritchie — was a dud as it expanded from limited to nationwide release. The crime romp featuring Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton took in just $1.8 million, finishing well outside the top 10. Madonna and Ritchie announced their separation last month.

After a big surge the previous weekend, Hollywood revenues plunged. The top 12 movies took in $75.2 million, off 38 percent from the same weekend last year, when "American Gangster" opened with $43.6 million and "Bee Movie" debuted with $38 million.

Non-scary movies were hurt with Halloween falling on Friday. "High School Musical 3" did just $1.7 million on Friday, but it rebounded with $8.2 million Saturday.

"The target audience was out collecting candy or trick-or-treating Friday, but Saturday came back like a monster," said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group.

Likewise, "Zack and Miri" opened with only $2.2 million Friday but pulled in $4.8 million Saturday. The movie also faced some audience resistance over the racy subject matter and the word "Porno" in the title.

"I would anecdotally speculate that that hurt us," said Steve Bunnell, head of distribution for Weinstein, which had trouble placing ads because of the movie's title and themes. "We were surprised that we ended up with the controversy. We thought everybody in America would understand that it was a joke."

The film has nudity but is tame compared to hard-core adult films. Yet the ratings board of the Motion Picture Association of America initially slapped it with an NC-17 rating, the kiss of death at the box office.

Writer-director Kevin Smith talked it down to an R rating on appeal.

James Bond got off to a big start overseas in advance of the U.S. debut of the super-spy's latest adventure, with Sony's "Quantum of Solace" taking in $38.6 million in Great Britain, France and Sweden.

"Quantum of Solace" opens in 57 more countries this week and arrives in North American theaters Nov. 14. The film picks up where 2006's "Casino Royale" left off, with Bond (Daniel Craig) out for payback over his lover's death.

Hollywood blockbusters rarely open weeks in advance of their U.S. premiere, but the Bond franchise does a huge ratio of its business overseas. "Casino Royale" took in 72 percent of its $600 million worldwide total outside the United States, said Mark Zucker, Sony's president of international distribution.

"Bond is like a national hero in the UK," Zucker said.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," $15 million.
2. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," $10.7 million.
3. "Saw V," $10.1 million.
4. "Changeling," $9.4 million.
5. "The Haunting of Molly Harvey," $6 million.
6. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $4.7 million.
7. "The Secret Life of Bees," $4 million.
8. "Max Payne," $3.7 million.
9. "Eagle Eye," $3.4 million.
10. "Pride and Glory," $3.3 million.

Robert Downey Jr. Going the Distance With Iron Man

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Here's some Stark reality for you.

The rejuvenated Robert Downey Jr. has inked an extensive deal with Marvel Studios that will have him not only suiting up for two more Iron Man films but also reprising the role of Tony Stark and his heavy-metal alter ego in the upcoming superhero all-stars film The Avengers, reports Variety.

While planning for Iron Man 2 has been in full swing for some time, with the most recent announcement being that Don Cheadle will be playing Col. James Rhodes instead of Terrence Howard, Marvel had not confirmed that Downey and director Jon Favreau would be back.

Well, not only will Favreau be behind the camera again, but he will also serve as a producer on The Avengers, featuring the Marvel characters Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor (and not to be confused with the laughable 1998 film of the same name starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman).

But really, why wouldn't he and Downey want to give it another go?

In addition to mainly positive reviews, Iron Man grossed nearly $580 million worldwide, and sequel talk began before the movie had earned even half as much.

Iron Man 2 is currently slated for a May 7, 2010, release, while The Avengers is tentatively set to unspool July 15, 2011.

Downey, who after Iron Man made a splash this summer in the raunchy Tropic Thunder, is currently in London shooting his role as the titular sleuth in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, costarring Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.

`High School Musical' graduates to No. 1 with $42M

LOS ANGELES – Crazed killer Jigsaw has been done in by a bunch of singing and dancing teens.

Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" hoofed its way to the top of the weekend box office class with $42 million, while Lionsgate's horror sequel "Saw V" had to settle for second place with $30.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

A big-screen sequel to the Disney Channel TV movies, "High School Musical 3" had a record opening for a song-and-dance flick, easily beating the previous best of $27.8 million, set last summer by "Mamma Mia!"

"High School Musical 3" and "Saw V" combined to send Hollywood revenues soaring. The top 12 movies took in $120.5 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Saw IV" led the weekend with a $31.8 million debut.

"It was good vs. evil at the box office, and both won," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "That combination of a G-rated and an R-rated movie, both chasing completely different audiences, proved to be a huge success."

"Saw V" pulled in about the same amount of cash over opening weekend as the last three flicks in the franchise about the diabolical Jigsaw, but it was the first that failed to finish at No. 1 since the original "Saw" debuted in third place in 2004.

The horror crowd was simply outnumbered by young fans and their parents turning up to see how senior year played out for the "High School Musical" cast — led by Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu.

Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group, said the continuing story of lovebirds Troy and Gabriella played largely to the TV audience of young girls, though the big-screen version also broadened the "High School Musical" fan base.

"There's no question there's a female skew to it and a family skew to it," Zoradi said. "The movie is working not only to that core preteen audience, but also aging up a little bit and also bringing in some boys."

"High School Musical 3" also pulled in $40 million in 19 other countries where it has opened, among them Great Britain, Germany and Spain.

The weekend's other new wide release, the Warner Bros. police saga "Pride and Glory," opened weakly with $6.3 million to come in at No. 5. "Pride and Glory" stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell in a tale of corruption among a family of New York City cops.

The previous weekend's No. 1 flick, 20th Century Fox's action tale "Max Payne," fell to third place with $7.6 million, raising its 10-day total to $29.7 million.

Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie as a single mom tormented by police handling the investigation of her missing son, got off to a healthy start with $502,000 in limited release. It played in 15 theaters to averaged a strong $33,441 a cinema, compared to $11,593 in 3,623 theaters for "High School Musical 3." Distributor Universal expands "Changeling" into nationwide release Friday.

Also in limited release, Sony Pictures Classics' "Synecdoche, New York" had a solid opening of $172,926 in nine theaters, averaging $19,214. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a writer staging a mammoth theater production that fills warehouses, and the directing debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich").

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "High School Musical 3," $42 million.
2. "Saw V," $30.5 million.
3. "Max Payne," $7.6 million.
4. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $6.9 million.
5. "Pride and Glory," $6.3 million.
6. "The Secret Life of Bees," $5.9 million.
7. "W.", $5.3 million.
8. "Eagle Eye," $5.1 million.
9. "Body of Lies," $4.1 million.
10. "Quarantine," $2.6 million.

'Sky's the limit' for 'High School Musical' movie

Disney's popular High School Musical TV franchise matriculates to the big screen this weekend — most likely with financial honors.

Friday's theatrical release of High School Musical 3: Senior Year "is an event movie for tweens and teens, and that translates to big box office," says Gitesh Pandya of industry tracker boxofficeguru .com. "The sky's the limit."

Unlike other small-screen series that transitioned to film, the High School Musical franchise is rooted in just two made-for-TV films. But the August 2007 sequel drew 17.2 million viewers on the Disney Channel — the most-watched non-sports basic cable program ever.

And the global popularity of the 2006 original and sequel have spawned top-selling DVDs, soundtracks, sold-out concert tours and a merchandising empire.

With a huge fan base, savvy marketing campaign and the star power of leads Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu, HSM 3 could challenge the October weekend box office records of 2003's Scary Movie 3 ($48.3 million) and 2004's Shark Tale ($47.6 million). "Based on the strength of the franchise, it has an excellent chance of one of the biggest openings of October," says boxofficemojo .com's Brandon Gray.

Disney production chief Oren Aviv is steering away from predictions, but says he'd be happy if it grossed comparable opening-weekend numbers to musicals Hairspray ($27.5 million) and Mamma Mia! ($27.7 million).

"We've got our fingers crossed," says Aviv. "The goal was to have a movie worthy of the big screen — that meant everything needed to be notched up higher. It was important to deliver on the script, the choreography and the songs. The filmmakers did their job really well."

Tisdale says fans of the first two will enjoy HSM 3's 10 musical numbers and the plotline surrounding the graduating Wildcats, which she calls "bittersweet."

Advance ticket sales at Fandango.com are "easily outpacing pre-sales of Mamma Mia! and Hairspray," says chief operating officer Rick Butler. "People are looking for good old-fashioned entertainment, and movie musicals are one of the purest forms of escapism," he says.

With the exception of Saw V, the latest in the horror franchise, there's little competition for young viewers this weekend, says Gray. Moreover, HSM 3 could have staying power: "Musicals lend themselves to repeat business."

"The musical numbers are huge, the choreography is intense and the characters have evolved," says Bleu, en route to Rome to promote the $30 million film. "This is High School Musical on steroids."

Critic Ebert Criticized By Critics

After initially defending his decision to write a scathing review of the indie movie Tru Loved after walking out after the first eight minutes, Roger Ebert has had a change of heart. In a message posted on his website, he concedes, "In reviewing the first eight minutes, I was guilty of too much affection for my prose."

Later, he vows: "I will never, ever, again review a film I have not seen in its entirety. Never. Ever." (He has since seen the entire film and posted a detailed review of it.)

Some of Ebert's fans and fellow critics are not willing to let him off the hook so fast, however. In the Los Angeles Times, media columnist Patrick Goldstein writes today (Thursday): "If there were ever an act that indelibly painted critics as elitist snobs, it would be America's best-known critic reviewing a movie after only bothering to watch for eight minutes."

Orlando Sentinel critic Roger Moore says that writing a review of a movie based on its first eight minutes is "not cricket." He then concludes, "If we're going to start writing reviews of movies we haven't suffered all the way, or at least most of the way through, the way most people who shell out $10-12 do after they've spent the cash, we're all doomed."

And Gary Susman, a sometime critic who writes the PopWatch blog for Entertainment Weekly's website, comments: "No other movie critic in America could have pulled off such a stunt without getting fired. I fear that, even though he corrected his mistake, he's still set a bad example. At a time when film critics all over America are losing their jobs, it can't be good for readers, editors, or filmmakers to think that when he did passes for professional, acceptable behavior among film critics and the outlets that publish their work, even for a moment."

Gross's passion no Porky's

Actor-director Paul Gross's First World War epic Passchendaele failed to notch a breakout hit for Canadian film at the box office this weekend. The movie was the second highest-grossing film in Canada on the weekend, earning an estimated $940,000 from its debut on 202 Canadian screens, according to its distributor Alliance Films. The movie had a budget of approximately $20-million as well as at least a $2-million marketing budget.

Howard Lichtman, the veteran Toronto-based box-office analyst, said Passchendaele's performance wasn't "an unmitigated success ... but in perspective it did just fine," since it's aimed at an older audience and is being released in the fall, traditionally a time for either "art films" or "adult-oriented fare."

"Is it a commercial blockbuster like a Quantum ofSolace [the new James Bond film opening Nov. 14]? It's not - but I don't think it was intended to be," Lichtman noted. "If you take the just-under million dollars it generated and divide that by the average ticket price, there's still an awful lot of people that went to see a Canadian piece of history. Which isn't too bad."

"We're thrilled with the box-office," said Carrie Wolfe, Alliance vice-president of marketing, publicity and promotion, yesterday in Toronto. "Canadians across the country have embraced the film," which opened this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Passchendaele was bested for top spot by Max Payne, a new Mark Wahlberg action vehicle shot mostly in Toronto earlier this year. No specific Canadian weekend gross was available yesterday for Payne but Box Office Mojo estimated its North American receipts were $18-million (U.S.) from a total of 3,376 screens. Using what Lichtman calls "the 10-times factor" - that is, movies in the U.S. tend to have, on average, 10 times the box-office of Canadian releases - then it's likely Max Payne opened on 250-300 screens in Canada and earned $1.5-$1.8-million here.

It appears Passchendaele isn't en route to surpass Porky's (1982) or 2006's Bon Cop, Bad Cop as a Canadian box-office champion. (Porky's earned more than $11-million in theatrical receipts, while Bon Cop's take was more than $11.5-million.)

Nor is it likely to best Men with Brooms which Gross also directed, co-wrote and starred in. That comedy, budgeted at $7.5-million, played on 207 screens on its opening weekend in the winter of 2002 and earned $1.125-million. Its eventual total take from its theatrical release was $3.9-million.

Lichtman, however, said a film's performance needs to be evaluated in terms of its release date and its competition. He suggested the more apt comparison for Passchendaele should be with W., Oliver Stone's biopic of the current U.S. president. W grossed $10.6-million on slightly more than 2,000 screens. "It's right in the range [of the 10-times factor]," said Lichtman, meaning W.'s weekend box-office in Canada probably totalled about $1-million from approximately 210 screens - very close to that of Passchendaele.

Terrence Howard: 'Iron Man' replacement a surprise

LOS ANGELES – Terrence Howard says was surprised to learn that Don Cheadle would replace him in "Iron Man 2."

"It was the surprise of a lifetime," the actor and musician told National Public Radio on Tuesday. "There was no explanation, (the contract) just up and vanished."

Howard said he read news reports that money was the issue, saying the contracts he signs apparently "aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes."

Cheadle assumes the role of James Rhodes, a character that becomes Iron Man's sidekick War Machine in the comics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as weapons mogul Tony Stark.

Howard, who also starred in "Hustle & Flow," is promoting his new album "Shine Through It."

"Saw" horror franchise faces test with 5th movie

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Everybody loves a spooky mystery. Here's a good one: How the hell has "Saw," a horror flick made for $1.2 million and nearly dumped straight to video, spawned a franchise that has scared up more than $1 billion?

Given the films' enduring appeal amid a flood of horror product, it's a question whose answer provides insight into how to manage a low-budget franchise. And with "Saw V" opening on Friday, Lionsgate's strategy of releasing a new film each Halloween faces a crucial test. Last October's installment dipped from "Saw III's" $163 million in worldwide box office to $137 million, raising the question of how long the property can keep up its hugely profitable pace.

The "Saw" story is as simple as its premise. Australian duo James Wan and Leigh Whannell wrote a script about a pair of confined strangers manipulated by Jigsaw, a diabolical mastermind who forces them to make ghastly choices. They filmed a seven-minute short featuring Whannell with his head in a macabre bear trap, which the late producer Gregg Hoffman found and brought to partners Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Pictures in early 2003. They decided to turn it into a feature on the cheap.

The producers showed the short to Lionsgate, which picked up the rights and planned to release it direct to video. Burg and Koules retained ownership of the property, and co-writer/director Wan wisely sacrificed his upfront fee for a cut of the gross.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

"It was perfect timing because Lionsgate as a company was just starting to grow," Koules says. "And it was a perfect film that the marketing department could get behind."

The film packed three midnight screenings at Sundance in 2004, and tests in suburban Los Angeles and Las Vegas scored so highly that Lionsgate decided to release the film in theaters, on October 29 as a Halloween treat. It opened at a startling $18.3 million and grossed more than $100 million worldwide.

"Saw II," helmed by music video and commercials director Darren Lynn Bousman, was greenlighted the weekend the first film opened. Then came the kicker: Fans bought more than $70 million worth of videos and DVDs of the first installment.

The "Saw" team shrewdly stood its blood-soaked ground on the weekend before Halloween for three consecutive years. While Lionsgate is far from the first studio to target that holiday with a horror release, its marketing team made this explicit by utilizing the tagline: "If it's Halloween, it must be 'Saw.'"

And it slaughtered the marketplace, tallying $153 million, $162 million and $137 million worldwide for the second, third and fourth installments.

"What they have done with 'Saw' is a very unusual approach," says Roy Lee, producer of recent horror films "The Strangers" and "Quarantine." "Making the release of a new installment of 'Saw' an annual event is something no other studio has been able to accomplish. It seems similar to the model of a television series. Look at '24.' Does anyone argue that they are beating the concept to death?"

FRANCHISES FRIED

Such old-school slasher properties as "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" generated enduring horror villains Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger. "Nightmare" even put New Line on the map in 1984 much the way "Saw" has boosted Lionsgate.

But the stewards of those popular franchises essentially took the money and ran, milking six, seven or 10 sequels without developing the story line or the main characters. As a result, the properties quickly thinned their returns and devolved into camp, with Freddy becoming a Borscht Belt one-liner machine.

Such second-tier brands as "Child's Play," which was campy from the get-go, and "The Stepfather," which was airing on TV by its third installment, were never really that popular. Such recent successes as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" were self-referential, ironic and relatively expensive to make.

"The Ring" and "The Grudge," both derived from Asian horror source material, have stalled after two films, as has the torture-porn movement typified by "Hostel."

"Saw," in contrast, is deadly serious. Its moralistic ethos of righteous living, designed and perpetrated by a methodical, intellectual madman, evolves while remaining consistent in the ways that count. The intricacy of Jigsaw's vision -- executed even beyond his death -- lends itself to repeat viewings.

"Any one of these movies could have been completely phoned in," says Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, co-founder and editor in chief of horror fan site DreadCentral.com. "But the people who make them are basically the same core group who have been working on every one of them. They keep twisting it. They keep giving you reasons to wonder, What is going to happen next?"

MONEY MACHINE

Using unknown talent and rewarding them with a continued role in the franchise also has paid off. "Saw's" cinematographer and editor have built their careers on the series, and David Hackl, the director of "Saw V," was a production and trap designer for the previous three films. Wan and Whannell have stayed involved throughout.

"Quite frankly, the reason we all bust our ass is it's really, really profitable to everybody involved," producer Burg says.

No kidding. In terms of return on investment, it might be one of the most profitable franchises ever. No single film's budget has exceeded $10.8 million (the first four together cost $26 million total), which also includes DVD-only cuts. Even with $20 million of prints and marketing outlays, episodes two, three and four were all profitable by the end of their opening weekends. The quartet has grossed $553 million in theaters and sold more than 24 million DVDs.

Merchandising is getting big, though it took Lionsgate five years to convince retailers like Target that "Saw" merchandise was mainstream enough to populate their shelves. "Saw"-themed haunted houses are multiplying, and the U.K.'s Thorpe Park will launch its "Saw -- The Ride" roller coaster in the spring.

But what happens if "Saw V" tanks? The worldwide gross of "Saw IV" was 84% that of "Saw III," and the law of diminishing returns makes each new sequel a riskier gambit.

And like zombies rising from the dead, other genre distributors are reanimating old classics to compete with the brand awareness of movies like "Saw." "The Birds," "The Last House on the Left," "Friday the 13th," "Nightmare" and "The Crazies" are just a few of those headed back to life in theaters. Rogue is working on a sequel to Lee's $59 million-grossing "The Strangers."

"Saw" producers, citing recent tracking and European sales, are undeterred. "If this movie doesn't open giant, I think we'll all be disappointed," Burg says. "When that happens, we'll stop."

"There will be that day," says Koules, who denies that a straight-to-DVD release would ever be a likely option. "I'm not being cocky, but I don't think we're there yet."

Unsurprisingly, Koules and Burg have spent the past month with writers working on a sixth installment that will be greenlit if the script passes muster and the fifth performs as expected.

'Max Payne,' 'Chihuahua,' 'Bees' out-poll 'W'

LOS ANGELES – Movie-goers elected a "W," but it was Mark Wahlberg, not George W. Bush. Wahlberg's action flick "Max Payne" debuted with $18 million to outdo Oliver Stone's film biography of George W. Bush, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Stone's "W." actually ran fourth, opening with $10.6 million to finish behind the family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (No. 2 with $11.2 million) and the chick flick "The Secret Life of Bees" (No. 3 with $11.1 million).

"For me, an Oliver Stone film about George Bush doesn't necessarily scream big box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "A film like this is very tough to gauge, but this is exactly what I thought it would do."

Lionsgate's "W.," starring Josh Brolin as Bush, came in well behind the $18.7 million debut of Stone's last movie, 2006's Sept. 11 saga "World Trade Center." That movie opened in nearly 3,000 theaters, about 900 more than "W.," however.

Playing in 2,030 cinemas, "W." averaged a solid but unremarkable $5,197 a theater, compared with a $6,334 average for "World Trade Center." "W." was shot on a modest budget of $25 million.

The film had been on political junkies' radar since Stone put "W." on the fast track less than a year ago so he could have it out before the November election. Stone started shooting in May, his five-month turnaround time remarkably short by Hollywood standards, where major movies can take a year or more.

If he needed more time, Stone contractually had the option of releasing the film around the time Bush leaves office in January.

But with two weeks until the election, this is prime time for a Bush biography, said Steve Rothenberg, Lionsgate head of distribution.

"We felt it was very important to release the film after the presidential debates but before the election," Rothenberg said. "We felt interest in the election would be at its height, and interest in George W. Bush would be much greater now than after January. We feel we have a good corridor over the next two weeks."

The movie received mixed reviews, with critics surprised at how relatively tame it turned out coming from liberal firebrand Stone, who made the paranoia-laden presidential tales "JFK" and "Nixon."

Brolin's Bush has some buffoonish moments, but Stone showed empathy for the president, casting him as a man with serious daddy issues but an unshakable relationship with wife Laura to fall back on.

Among the weekend's other new movies, 20th Century Fox's "Max Payne" averaged $5,332 in 3,376 theaters and Fox Searchlight's "The Secret Life of Bees" did $6,945 in 1,591 cinemas.

Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," which had been the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, raised its total to $69.1 million.

Adapted from the video game, "Max Payne" stars Wahlberg as a New York City cop hunting the killers of his wife and child.

"The Secret Life of Bees" stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo in a drama about a troubled teen learning life lessons through the beekeeping operations of three Southern sisters.

"Max Payne" had a predominantly male audience, "The Secret Life of Bees" played to women, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" continued to grab family crowds and "W." was the choice for politically minded adults.

"You've got all kinds of pictures out there," said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "When this business is great is when there are a lot of different pictures out that people want to go see."

Hollywood's overall revenues rose for the fourth-straight weekend. The top-12 movies took in $86.4 million, up 10 percent from the same weekend last year.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Max Payne," $18 million.
2. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $11.2 million.
3. "The Secret Life of Bees," $11.1 million.
4. "W.," $10.6 million.
5. "Eagle Eye," $7.3 million.
6. "Body of Lies," $6.9 million.
7. "Quarantine," $6.3 million.
8. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $3.9 million.
9. "Sex Drive," $3.6 million.
10. "Nights in Rodanthe," $2.7 million.

'Passchendaele' a labour of love

Paul Gross does not quit – and no, this isn’t a reference to how he parlayed small screen stardom on the ‘90s sleeper, “Due South,” into leading man status in the 2002 romantic comedy “Men With Brooms” through sheer grit.

It’s a testimonial to how he ambitiously wove the graphic First World War stories his maternal grandfather, veteran Michael Dunne, told him about life in the trenches at Passchendaele, Belgium, into an epic, feature-length film.

“It’s not Rambo or John Wayne, but it’s our heroism,” Gross, 49, said in an interview days after the $20-million “Passchendaele” opened the Toronto International Film Festival. “And I worry about us forgetting that history of the First World War, because the very definition of what it means to be Canadian was fought for in the slaughter yards of the Western front.”

A stark contrast to the country’s current role in Afghanistan, the Battle of Passchendaele saw Canadian troops waging a bloody 12-day campaign against German troops in a Belgian village. Tens of thousands were killed and the success of the victory was limited – the Germans eventually regained control of the territory. But the victory forged the idea that Canadian soldiers were something to fear.

“We are very definitely peacekeepers; we more or less invented it,” said the writer, director and star. “But we’re also warriors and we need to know we’re both these things. To suggest that we simply just run around keeping the peace is not accurate historically.”

But to give the battle the big screen treatment, Gross quickly found that the country’s meager film subsidies needed to be topped up by some deep-pocketed millionaires.

“We did begin to set it up as a UK-Canada co-production, but that proved to be too complicated. To do it that way, they wanted the main character, the one that I play (Michael Dunne, named after his grandfather), to be British.”

Admittedly intrigued by the idea of fast-tracking the film into development, Gross ultimately nixed telling his story this way. “I wanted to make a film that was about us; not some hybrid story.”

So he abandoned the co-production route and was then faced with a problem: How do you raise $20 million domestically?

“You pretty much have to kill somebody,” he laughed.

After seven years, Gross cobbled together money from both public and private sources, with the Alberta government coughing up over $5 million from a centennial legacy fund.

“Thank God for Ralph Klein,” Gross said. “The first big stake came from Ralph Klein and the Alberta government. Without that, it would have been very hard to convince the private sector to fund this.

“I’m not saying we need to make $50 million movies every day, but some stories,” he said, pausing, “cost a little bit more to tell.”

Money in hand, Gross began shooting the film on an aboriginal reserve outside Calgary last year. Of course seduced by big-budgeted American war movies, he may have been influenced by Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” but it was the conversations with his grandfather that dictated how he would shoot it.

“I remember asking him, ‘What did you know of the war? What was your war?’ And my grandfather replied, ‘My war was 25 yards on either side of me.’ So, the protocol for filming was; we’d only shoot those things that a soldier in a battlefield could arguably see.

“The immediacy of the combat scenes,” he continued, referring to a sequence when his character jabs a knife into a German soldier’s head, “had to be effective.”

Recounting Canada’s heroism in the fall of 1917 also forced Gross to take a hard look at our current military involvement in Afghanistan.

“I started writing this when the Russians were still in Afghanistan,” he said. “So, I didn’t think of it in terms of contemporary relevance. It became that way when we were shooting because many of the extras in our film were actual soldiers who are in Afghanistan now.

“It’s very hard on a film set to not get sucked into the Peter Pan-y, make-believe world of it. But having soldiers with us, who were about to go into battle, made us realize the importance of the story we were telling.

“I’m not sure this will change the debate, but it’s been interesting to me to follow the robust public discourse about our role in Afghanistan. And I think ultimately, no matter what your view, you can support our soldiers and honour what it is they’re doing whether you agree with the nature of the mission they are on or not.”

“Passchendaele” opens across Canada today.

Red carpet opening for war film shot near Calgary

Calgary is rolling out the red carpet for Passchendaele, a First World War drama with significant Alberta pedigree.

The province invested more than $5 million in the $21-million production, and much of it was shot last year in and around Calgary — the birthplace of the movie's writer, director, co-producer and star, Paul Gross.

Gross is best known for his role as the upright Mountie in the television program Due South.

An invitation-only screening at the Jack Singer Concert Hall kicked off Wednesday evening with a marching military band and a "red carpet photo opportunity."

In an interview with CBC News Wednesday afternoon, Gross recalled the initial funding meeting with then-premier Ralph Klein, who was expected to be in the audience for the Calgary premiere.

"It was one of the oddest meetings I've had in my life .… I think he was kind of eager to get the meeting over with, because he was already wearing golf cleats," Gross said. "[Without] the confidence this province had in the project, we really would not have made it."

Passchendaele kicked off Toronto's film festival in September to great fanfare, but the absence at Calgary's film festival a week later had some of the city's film workers miffed.

"The Toronto Film Festival is international," explained Gross on Wednesday. "Of course it makes a lot of people aware of it and we thought it was a good way to kick-off the overall promotional part of it."

Inspired by his grandfather

Gross has spent the last decade trying to get the project made. He was inspired by his grandfather, one of thousands of Albertans who fought in the small Belgian village of Passchendaele in 1917. The main character of the film bears his grandfather's name, Sgt. Michael Dunne.

"He was there all the way through it. A very guiding spirit," recalled Gross.

The battle, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, resulted in half a million Allied casualties for a gain of only a few miles.

Beginning on Oct. 26, 1917, Canadian troops drove back the German army to take Passchendaele in a 12-day offensive across marshland pitted with craters and made almost impassable by heavy rains.

Some 16,000 Canadians were killed or wounded, and the strategic gains were small — eight kilometres of territory, which would be taken back by the Germans later in the war. But the victory helped establish the Canadian soldier’s international reputation for awe-inspiring tenacity.

"Porno" proves a five-letter word for movie's ads

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Smith made a movie with such a bothersome title he cannot even place ads for it in some places.

Some newspaper, TV and outdoor ads for Smith's comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" have been rejected because of their content or the five-letter word that ends the title, said Gary Faber, head of marketing for the Weinstein Co., which is releasing the film.

Among those refusing to carry ads are about 15 newspapers and several TV stations and cable channels, Faber said. Commercials for the film during Los Angeles Dodgers games on Fox Sports were dropped at the team's request after some viewers complained, said Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch.

One complaint came from a man watching a game in September with his young son, who did not understand a suicide-squeeze bunt the Dodgers tried, Rawitch said.

"He was explaining to his son what a squeeze bunt was. Commercial break, the ad comes on, and the kid asks, `Dad, what does porno mean?'" Rawitch said. "Dodgers baseball has always been about family, and we've always been sensitive to the type of advertising that runs on our games."

The city of Philadelphia refused "Zack and Miri" posters at bus stops. Similar posters at Boston bus stops have drawn complaints from a child-development expert who said they are inappropriate for children.

Smith found it ironic that the posters have been a problem. Some playfully risque ads with images of "Zack and Miri" stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks were forbidden by the Motion Picture Association of America, which called the ads "highly sexually suggestive and not suitable for general audiences."

So Weinstein came up with posters using stick figures to represent the actors.

"The whole idea was, our hands were so tied on all previous entries we'd given them that this ad was meant to be the innocuous one that would get approved everywhere," Smith said.

Rina Cutler, Philadelphia deputy mayor for transportation, said the stick-figure posters were cute and clever but unacceptable for bus shelters where schoolchildren would see the word "porno."

"If they want to call the movie `Zack and Miri,' that's fine, but Zack and Miri cannot make a porno on my bus shelters," Cutler said.

Opening Oct. 31, "Zack and Miri" features Rogen and Banks as platonic best buddies and roommates who decide to make their own skin flick to dig themselves out of debt.

Diane Levin, an education professor specializing in child development at Boston's Wheelock College, said the posters at city bus stops send a message to children that working in the porn industry is an acceptable occupation.

"It's drawing attention to a movie which is mainstreaming and normalizing pornography, saying if you need money, this is what you do," said Levin, co-author of "So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids."

The stick-figure images are especially appealing to youngsters, since "stick figures are something for children," she said.

Weinstein marketing boss Faber countered: "It's a comedy. It's a joke. We're not advertising a porno. It's not a porno. The word `porno,' it's not supposed to turn you on. It's supposed to make you laugh."

The ratings board of the MPAA initially slapped "Zack and Miri" with an NC-17 rating, a box-office kiss of death because audiences view such films as explicit adult-only flicks. Smith appealed and talked the film down to an R rating.

Faber said the company has been able to place its ads in most of the outlets it has approached. For newspapers that rejected them because of the word "porno," Weinstein might play around with variations that exclude the title, he said.

The company developed a version of the stick-figure poster without the film's name, bearing the slogan, "Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks made a movie so outrageous that we can't even tell you the title."

Cheadle replaces Howard in "Iron Man" sequel

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In a surprise move, Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard as Robert Downey Jr's best friend in "Iron Man 2," the sequel to the superhero saga.

In the Marvel Studios summer smash, Howard played Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man's future armor-clad hero War Machine. One scene featured Howard looking at a silver suit of armor and saying "Next time," a line that caused great delight for fans.

But there will be no next time for Howard.

Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons. Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor, who is shooting Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest" with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.

The Rhodes character is expected to play a larger part in the sequel, which is rumored to go beyond high-tech villains. Justin Theroux is writing the screenplay.

Jon Favreau is returning as director, and Downey is expected back as billionaire industrialist Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow also is expected to be back as Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts. "Iron Man 2" is scheduled for release on May 7, 2010;

Cheadle most recently starred in "Traitor," a thriller on which he was also a producer. He will next be seen in DreamWorks' "Hotel for Dogs."

"Chihuahua" fetches $17.5M to win another weekend

LOS ANGELES - An adorable talking dog remained just the sort of escapist movie hero audiences wanted after a week of awful economic news.

Disney's family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," with Drew Barrymore providing the voice of the pooch, was the No. 1 flick for the second-straight weekend with $17.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $52.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is the only light comedy in a market heavy on drama. Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution, said movie-goers may be turning to the perky pooch to help forget the market free-fall on Wall Street.

"This is only word-of-mouth coming back to us from theaters. I don't have any statistical proof. But they're telling us we're getting more unaccompanied-by-children adults coming on their own. They're looking for a little entertainment," Viane said. "The axiom we've always lived by is funny is money. People come out for comedy. They love to sit back and let someone give them a couple of hours of escapism."

The weekend's No. 2 flick — the fright film "Quarantine," which debuted with $14.2 million — filled the escapism needs for the horror crowd. The Sony Screen Gems release centers on a contagion that turns an apartment building's tenants into flesh-hungry monsters.

"It's probably the perfect kind of movie for today's climate," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution. "Let's just get away from the news, from all that's going on, and go someplace else, and this is something that'll take you someplace else."

The marquee trio of Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott had to settle for third-place with their terrorism thriller "Body of Lies," which had a $13.1 million debut. The Warner Bros. film centers on a CIA operative hunting the terrorist responsible for bombings around the world.

"Body of Lies" may have dealt with too sober a topic after all the disastrous financial news, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

"I think we ran into really difficult timing. The nation suffered such an economic loss this week that the mood of our audience was such that they were probably looking for a little more escapism than to see a movie on terrorism," Fellman said.

The weekend's other new wide releases, Universal's football drama "The Express" and 20th Century Fox's family fantasy "City of Ember," opened weakly.

"The Express" — starring Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid in the story of Ernie Davis, the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy — came in at No. 6 with $4.7 million.

"City of Ember," with Tim Robbins and Bill Murray in a post-apocalyptic adventure set in an underground realm, took in $3.2 million to finish at No. 10.

Keira Knightley's historical saga "The Duchess" climbed into the top 10 as it expanded nationwide after three weekends in limited release. The Paramount Vantage drama, which stars Knightley as an 18th century aristocrat stuck in a loveless marriage, pulled in $3.32 million to place No. 9.

Two British movies started well in limited release. Guy Ritchie's London crime romp "RocknRolla" opened with $141,000 in seven theaters. The Warner Bros. release features Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton and Tom Wilkinson heading an ensemble cast.

Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky," a Miramax release starring Sally Hawkins as a woman whose eternal optimism is continually challenged, premiered with $80,000 in four theaters.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $17.5 million.
2. "Quarantine," $14.2 million.
3. "Body of Lies," $13.1 million.
4. "Eagle Eye," $11 million.
5. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $6.5 million.
6. "The Express," $4.7 million.
7. "Nights in Rodanthe," $4.6 million.
8. "Appaloosa," $3.34 million.
9. "The Duchess," $3.32 million.
10. "City of Ember," $3.2 million.

Completely Unnecessary Bull Durham Sequel Coming

When Kevin Costner says he thinks a movie doesn't need to be made, you have to listen to the guy. I mean, he thought Waterworld and The Postman were necessary works of art--- can't we trust him when even he's willing to show restraint? But apparently Costner's contention that Bull Durham doesn't need a sequel is no match for some producers, who are hard at work getting Bull Durham 2 ready to shoot next summer.

Moviehole picked up on a story in the The Durham Herald-Sun, the hometown paper of a city clearly glad to have movie crews returning. Because the script is still in the works, apparently none of the original cast have been contacted, including Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

I don't think I need to tell you my exact feelings on a sequel to a 20-year-old movie that seems to have done OK standing on its own over the decades. Good for the people of Durham for getting some film industry money, but do the rest of us really have to be faced with yet another unnecessary sequel?

After divorce, Bill Murray looks for renewal

NEW YORK - The deadpan and depressed characters Bill Murray has specialized in portraying as an actor in recent years have always stood in contrast to the life-of-the-party guy he is in real life — whether on a golf course or shuttling people around downtown Stockholm in a golf cart, as he did last year.

But Murray said he identified anew with those characters — like the dour Herman Blume in "Rushmore" — when his wife of nearly 11 years filed for divorce in May. In the papers filed by Jennifer Butler Murray, she alleged that Murray abused her and was addicted to alcohol and marijuana.

"That was devastating," Murray said. "That was the worst thing that ever happened to me in my entire life."

Though the freshness of such a wound would keep many Hollywood stars far away from the press, Murray, 58, came to New York from his home upstate to help publicize "City of Ember," a film opening Friday in which he co-stars along with Saoirse Ronan, the young star of "Atonement," and Tim Robbins.

About a city forged underground because of environmental destruction on the earth's surface, it's a kind of somber, underworld "Jetsons" — and a clear metaphor to contemporary concerns. Murray plays the city's mayor, a lackadaisically corrupt but popular figure.

Though not as substantial as some of Murray's best roles — Bob Harris in "Lost in Translation," Don Johnston in "Broken Flowers," Phil Connors in "Groundhog Day" — it's still a typically lively, self-aware performance; you expect him to wink to the camera at any moment.

The film was shot in Belfast, Ireland, before the divorce, which was made final in June. The months after have been ones of depression for the comedian. The court decided that the couple's four children will live with their mother, while Murray has visitation rights and will pay child support.

In a forthright and emotional conversation, Murray rarely struck a tone of bitterness about the break-up, but rather spoke with watery eyes of a tremendously painful summer trying to reconcile himself to the divorce.

"I was just dead, just broken," he said.

"When you're really in love with someone and this happens — I never had anything like this happen," he said. "It's like your faith in people is destroyed because the person you trusted the most you can no longer trust at all. ... The person you know isn't there anymore."

Murray said his lowest point came a few weeks ago. When friends asked if he wanted to participate in an air show to support the Illinois United Service Organizations (Murray grew up outside Chicago), he accepted the skydiving invitation.

"They asked me on a day I didn't care," said Murray. "I didn't even care if there was a parachute. Of course, by the time I got there I had had a few good days and I thought, `What am I doing?'"

But Murray said he's begun building himself back up, and one of the first steps was coming out to discuss "City of Ember" — and even attend the premiere, "which is a nuisance," he said with characteristic deadpan.

"I've had a great deal of success in life — not just money or fame or anything like that — I just feel like I've done well in many areas of life," said Murray. "I've learned how to live and I think I've learned things about living. It's almost like: `OK, you learned that much, now let's try this. Let's see how you can do if this happens to you.'"

Murray is famously difficult to get in touch with for a film. He doesn't have an agent or a publicist and in the past, filmmakers have had to leave a message on a voice mail, which Murray checked infrequently. He has joked that entire careers have been launched on the parts he's turned down.

"City of Ember" director Gil Kenan ("Monster House") said getting the script to Murray "was not an easy prospect."

"There are so many stories out there, most of them horror stories, about getting (Murray) to work on films or of his on-set demeanor, but I have to say ... he had a real gung-ho attitude," said Kenan.

What drew Murray to the script when he received it was its writer, Caroline Thompson, who adapted Jeane Duprau's book. Murray met Thompson ("Edward Scissorhands") years ago and says "she works on a higher level than the rest."

"From my perspective, he's in a place where he's more open to things than he may have been in the past," said Kenan. "There's a lot in him. We've seen aspects of that on the screen now that he's had a career, but I actually feel like there's a lot more there that hasn't been seen."

Two years ago, Murray said he had taken to Jay-Z's idea of "retirement," meaning people might generally consider him out of the game but he could nevertheless continue to work here and there.

After the divorce, though, he's rallying to dedicate himself more fully.

"I've just come out of a sort of doldrums and I feel like I want to go," he said. "I want to work. I want to get going. I want to do a few things at once. I really want to connect with other people that are going that way and `Let's go'... I want to bounce off like a pinball. Like a pinball, I want to bounce off bumpers that are positive. I want to bounce off people that are positive and hope that'll make me more positive and give me momentum."

Earlier this year, Murray shot his third film with Jim Jarmusch, a thriller filmed in Spain titled "The Limits of Control." He also worked again with Wes Anderson ("Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums") doing a voice for the animated "The Fantastic Mr. Fox."

His "City of Ember" co-star Robbins, who directed Murray in his 1999 film "Cradle Will Rock," recently asked him to be in his latest directorial effort. Said Murray: "I'll throw in."

The writers of "The Office" have been hired to pen a "Ghostbusters III," which Murray thinks could offer a fresh take on the films, the second of which he (and many others) found disappointing.

"If I could get through this in a powerful way, I feel that I have even more potential to do something," said Murray. "I think I'd be working on a higher level. It'd be great to achieve, to do the art that I thought I was always capable of — something that really, really affects people and grabs them and makes them feel and become alive."

"I've tried to lighten it for people. I know how hard it is," said Murray. "There's a lot of goodwill out there for what I've done. And I didn't really appreciate it so much before. I really appreciate it now."

David Cronenberg circling Ludlum thriller

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - David Cronenberg is making his first foray into the big-budget action arena.

The Canadian filmmaker is negotiating to direct "The Matarese Circle," a political thriller that has Denzel Washington attached.

The MGM project is derived from a Robert Ludlum conspiracy novel. In the 1979 book, two rival intelligence agents, one American, one Soviet, find themselves working together to ferret out and vanquish members of a mysterious group of criminals called the Matarese that has infiltrated the highest levels of American government. Ludlum published a sequel to "Circle," "The Matarese Countdown," in 1997, but the studio did not acquire the rights to it.

MGM hopes "The Matarese Circle" will beget a franchise, in much the same way as the "Bourne" trilogy, also derived from Ludlum novels, grossed $945 million theatrically worldwide. A fourth Bourne film is in development at Universal with returning director Paul Greengrass.

Several other Ludlum properties are in development at Paramount ("The Chancellor Manuscript") and Universal ("The Sigma Protocol"). And Summit Entertainment is developing a remake of Ludlum's early work, "The Osterman Weekend," which Sam Peckinpah turned into a film in 1983.

Famed for such edgy releases as "The Fly" and "Crash," Cronenberg most recently directed the Oscar-nominated films "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises." The opera he adapted from his remake of "The Fly" opened in September at the Los Angeles Opera.

Shyamalan Mulls Unbreakable Sequel

M. Night Shyamalan said he is considering working on a sequel to his hit Unbreakable, a superhero tale about a man (Bruce Willis) who finds that he is impervious to harm and is called to become a savior.

"I'm a strange creature," the writer/director said in a conference call with reporters last week. "When Unbreakable came out, I was like, 'God, man I'm so excited.' I thought [it] was like comic books. No one has really done comic books like this: reality-based comic books. I really think this is a metaphor for things that people can go crazy over."

Though the film was eventually a hit, the initial reaction was mixed. "When the reaction was mixed, kind of a disappointment, I was pettily hurt, and I was like, 'God, I took so many incredible risks and things like that,'" Shyamalan said.

Because of that, Shyamalan's excitement about a sequel to the movie was muted. "I felt really hurt, and I couldn't bring myself to write," he said. "It's literally like a relationship I have with the audience. ... And then, over the years, as it just grew and grew and grew, and people were like, 'You know, I really like that. That's actually my favorite movie, and I watch that all the time,' and on and on. I'll be on the street, and some kid will run across traffic with it in his backpack--he just is carrying it in his backpack--and he'll be running [saying], 'I can't believe it's you!' Will you sign my Unbreakable DVD?' And quoting the thing and all that stuff."

As a result, Shyamalan said that the sequel idea now haunts him. "How bizarre," he said. "I want to write it right now, but I want to write it for the right reasons. I want a story to pop into my head that is organic and expressive of who I am. You know, these are all kind of journals of where I am emotionally, so it's kind of hard. I'm kind of trying to go back to the journal that existed in 1999 for me. But I know me: As soon as I give up on it is when the idea will come to me. It's just I need to go into therapy; I guess that's the end of that answer to this."

NEWMAN’S OWN

It's difficult to pick out just 10, but here are some of the greatest roles and scenes in Paul Newman's long career:

1 CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958) Newman received his first Oscar nomination playing Brick Pollitt, an alcoholic ex-football player who resists the advances of his beautiful and frustrated wife Maggie while staying at the Mississippi plantation of his dying father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives).

Best scene: Newman's performance manages to suggest Brick's feelings for a deceased former roommate in this heated exchange. Maggie: "You know what I feel like? I feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof." Brick: "Then jump off the roof, Maggie. Jump off it. Cats jump off roofs and land uninjured. Do it. Jump."

2 THE HUSTLER (1961) Newman entered the first rank of American actors with his portrayal of pool shark Eddie Felson, who challenges Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Newman was nominated for Best Actor twice for this role, winning his only acting Oscar for reprising it 26 years later in "The Color of Money."

Best scene: After defeat at the hands of Fats in the Big Apple, Eddie moves to Kentucky, where he hooks up with a sleazy gambler whom he allows to maul his crippled girlfriend (Piper Laurie). One of the most powerful moments comes when Eddie discovers her lifeless body; she's slashed her wrists. Realizing what he's lost, a chastened Eddie returns to New York for a climactic match with Fats.

3 HUD (1963) Newman's charm and appeal to audiences allowed him to go to darker places than earlier Hollywood leading men. He received his third Oscar nomination as the unregenerate heel Hud Bannon, who pursues the flirtatious housekeeper ( Patricia Neal) at the family's ranch.

Best scene: "The only question I ever ask any woman is, 'What time is your husband coming home?' " brags Hud. The scene where he breaks down her door still has the power to shock.

4 HARPER (1966) Newman re-invented the detective movie as an LA private eye. He reprised the role in "The Drowning Pool" 10 years later.

Best scene: Without a line of dialogue, Newman and screenwriter William Goldman establish the character before the opening credits are over. Harper wakes up in his office, where he has fallen asleep with the TV on. Trying to make coffee, he discovers he's out - and fishes used grounds out of the wastebasket. The look on his face as he digests his first cup is priceless.

5 COOL HAND LUKE (1967) In arguably his signature role, Newman copped his fourth Best Actor nod as Luke, a rebellious chain-gang prisoner. His nemesis, The Captain (Strother Martin) is inspired by Luke to utter one of the most famous lines in movie history: "What we've got here is .. . a failure to communicate."

Best scenes: Besides a bare-knuckle fight with another prisoner named Dragline (George Kennedy) and a much-imitated sequence of prisoners watching a woman washing a car, one of the best remembered has Luke eating 50 hard-boiled eggs while the other inmates bet on whether he can.

6 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) Newman appeared in a number of Westerns. His most beloved cast him as the 19th-century outlaw Butch Cassidy opposite Robert Redford's Sundance Kid.

Best scene: While the courtship scene with Katharine Ross (scored to "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head") is famous, George Roy Hill's movie is renowned for the scene where after a lengthy chase our heroes are trapped by armed pursuers on a cliff high over a river. When Butch tells the Kid to jump, he protests he can't swim: "Are you crazy?" Butch replies. "The fall will probably kill you."

7 THE STING (1973) Newman's only Best Picture winner was a reunion with Robert Redford. Newman plays master grifter Henry Gondorff in 1936 Chicago, who agrees to help Redford's Johnny Hooker avenge the murder of his mentor by henchmen of racketeer Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).

Best scene: To get even, they create a bogus horse-racing parlor where Lonnegan puts down a million-dollar bet on a phony race. During a police raid, Gondoff shoots Hooker, who supposedly set him up, and an FBI agent shoots Gondoff. After Lonnegan flees, it's all revealed as a sting to separate him from his money.

8 SLAP SHOT (1977) The most popular of Newman's sports-themed flicks casts him as Reggie Dunlop, the coach of a bush-league hockey team that doesn't taste success until they start getting violent.

Best scene: Most of Newman's dialogue was much stronger than anything being delivered by major movie stars during this era. Among his most printable remarks in heckling players, which got big laughs at the time: "Hey Hanrahan! Hanrahan! Hanrahan! Suzanne sucks p - - - y! Hey Hanrahan she's a dyke! I know, I know! She's a lesbian, a lesbian, a lesbian!"

9 THE VERDICT (1982) Newman aged more gracefully than practically any other star of his generation. He was pushing 60 when he received his first Best Actor nomination in 15 years for playing Frank Galvin, an alcoholic lawyer who grasps at redemption in a malpractice suit against a Catholic hospital.

Best scene: His finest moment comes in the jury summation, written by David Mamet: "In my religion, they say, 'Act as if ye had faith . . . and faith will be given to you.' If we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And act with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts."

10 NOBODY'S FOOL (1994) Newman scored his last Best Actor nod (he was nominated again, in support, as a mob boss in "The Road to Perdition," his final on-screen appearance in a feature) as another drinker, a small town ne'er-do-well Sully, who has a reunion with his now-grown son and grandson.

Best scene: This is one of Newman's all time-best performances in a career full of great ones. He's especially charming in scenes with his landlady, played by Jessica Tandy. But the best may be a quiet sequence where he puts his grandson on his lap and takes him for a ride in his old red pickup truck.

Audiences adopt 'Chihuahua' with $29M weekend

LOS ANGELES - "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a $29 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Featuring a talking Chihuahua with Drew Barrymore's voice, the family flick about a pampered pooch lost in Mexico led a surge of new movies that boosted Hollywood business, which generally has slumped the last two months.

The top-12 movies hauled in $95.4 million, up 42 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when "The Game Plan" was No. 1 with $16.6 million.

"We had a huge weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "That's really due to the little Chihuahua. The little dog made a big difference."

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the DreamWorks-Paramount thriller "Eagle Eye," slipped to second-place with $17.7 million, raising its total to $54.6 million.

The PG-rated "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" took advantage of a long drought for movies aimed at families, who found the idea of a chatty Chihuahua irresistible.

"They're so cute, and they seem to have great facial expressions, so that adds to all the fun of the whole thing," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.

Hollywood's other new wide releases had fair to poor premieres.

Sony's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as teens who fall for each other on a wild New York City night, had a sturdy No. 3 debut of $12 million.

The Warner Bros. Western "Appaloosa," which had played two weeks in a handful of theaters, expanded solidly to come in at No. 5 with $5 million. "Appaloosa" was directed by Ed Harris, who stars with Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger.

Vivendi Entertainment's "An American Carol," a satire of Hollywood's liberal politics from director David Zucker ("Airplane!"), debuted at No. 9 with $3.8 million. The movie stars Kevin Farley as a Michael Moore-type filmmaker aiming to abolish the Fourth of July holiday.

Universal's "Flash of Genius," starring Greg Kinnear as the engineer who invented intermittent windshield wipers then spent decades suing automakers over the innovation, opened weakly with $2.3 million, finishing at No. 11.

Two other movies, the comedy "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" and the apocalyptic "Blindness," both bombed.

Miramax's "Blindness," featuring Julianne Moore, Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo in a nightmare tale about a plague of sightlessness, took in just $2 million, averaging an anemic $1,185 in 1,690 theaters.

"How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," released by MGM and starring Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg in a celebrity satire set at a slick magazine, did $1.4 million in 1,750 theaters for a feeble $801 average.

By comparison, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" averaged $9,020 in 3,215 theaters; "Nick and Norah" pulled in $4,957 in 2,421 locations; "Appaloosa" did $4,799 in 1,045 cinemas; "An American Carol" took in $2,325 in 1,639 sites; and "Flash of Genius" did $2,120 in 1,098 theaters.

In narrower release, Bill Maher's documentary "Religulous" opened well, placing No. 10 with $3.5 million in 502 theaters, averaging $6,972. The Lionsgate release follows Maher as he travels the world to mock one of his favorite topics, organized religion.

Anne Hathaway's "Rachel Getting Married" had a strong start in limited release, taking in $302,934 in nine theaters for a whopping $33,659 average. The Sony Pictures Classics drama stars Hathaway as an addict who leaves rehab to come home for her sister's wedding and forces her family to relive the anguish of past tragedy.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $29 million.
2. "Eagle Eye," $17.7 million.
3. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $12 million.
4. "Nights in Rodanthe," $7.4 million.
5. "Appaloosa," $5 million.
6. "Lakeview Terrace," $4.5 million.
7. "Burn After Reading," $4.08 million.
8. "Fireproof," $4.07 million.
9. "An American Carol," $3.8 million.
10. Religulous, $3.5 million.

"Chihuahua" has paws on the box-office prize

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's looking like a dog of a weekend at the box office. Disney's dog, to be exact, as the Burbank studio unspools its PG comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" amid expectations that the live-action with talking dogs feature could fetch up to $30 million during its opening weekend.

The film's canines are voiced by Drew Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, Andy Garcia and George Lopez.

Family patrons form the target audience, but Disney executives hope the young-at-heart crowd also will come along for the four-legged romp.

"In all the screenings we've done, we have gotten nothing but wonderful marks from all the audiences who were on hand," Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said. "So there's no question that this is a commercial, family film, but I believe we can expand on that audience."

With "Chihuahua" sure to bow at No. 1, last weekend's top dog -- DreamWorks/Paramount's "Eagle Eye" -- could grab second place, if the Shia LaBeouf/Michelle Monaghan thriller rings up half its $29.2 million opening gross during its sophomore session.

But Sony's young-skewing PG-13 comedy "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" also will compete for the silver-medal position. The musically driven romantic comedy starring Michael Cera ("Superbad") and Kat Dennings ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin") appears safe to open in the teen millions, and a particularly robust weekend could help it soar a bit higher than "Eagle."

Whatever the precise pecking order of the top films, their combined grosses should power the industry to a second consecutive year-over-year weekend uptick after a sluggish start to the fall box-office season. Less than $85 million was registered during the comparable year-ago frame, whose biggest opener was the disappointing $14 million bow by a remake of "The Heartbreak Kid."

This weekend's four other wide openers look likely to max out in the upper single-digit millions.

Miramax's "Blindness" -- starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal and directed by Fernando Meirelles -- is getting a wide bow, but the atmospheric thriller likely will need positive word-of-mouth from its first frame to fuel a leggy run toward commercial success. MGM and After Dark's R-rated comedy "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People," starring Simon Pegg ("Hot Fuzz"), should skew a bit older than "Playlist" and gross much lower.

Vivendi's political spoof "An American Carol" skewers liberal sensitivities and is likely to play best with even older audiences. "Carol" represents the first film release for Vivendi, whose next scheduled film is the Mariah Carey-starring "Tennessee" in December.

Spyglass Entertainment's Universal-distributed drama "Flash of Genius" stars Greg Kinnear but has barely registered in prerelease tracking surveys. Based on the true story of Robert Kearns, inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper, "Genius"might find its true road to decent returns in the DVD market.

Universal this weekend also will offer 750 sneak previews of its October 10 pigskin film "The Express," starring Dennis Quaid and Rob Brown.

Yogi, Boo-Boo ready for their close-ups

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. is taking a trip to Jellystone Park.

The studio is developing a feature version of "Yogi Bear," the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. "Surf's Up" co-helmer/co-writer Ash Brannon will direct the film.

Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia, who executive produced "That '70s Show" and are writing the feature "Tooth Fairy" for Fox, are penning the screenplay.

The project, culled from Warners' vast library, is planned as a live-action/animated hybrid along the lines of Fox's 2007 hit "Alvin & the Chipmunks." Much of the movie will be live action, but Yogi Bear and sidekick Boo Boo will be done in CG animation.

Yogi Bear first appeared as a supporting character in 1958 in another classic cartoon, "The Huckleberry Hound Show." In 1961, he got his own show, which has aired in reruns frequently over the past half-century.

Yogi's exploits take place in Jellystone Park, where he and Boo Boo get into good-natured mischief and must elude their nemesis, Ranger Smith.

Brannon has worked on such Pixar hits as "Toy Story 2" and "A Bug's Life."

Paul Gross war epic to screen for Canadian troops in Kandahar

Canadian troops in Afghanistan are getting a special advance screening of Paul Gross's epic First World War film, Passchendaele.

Gross — who wrote, starred in, and directed the tale of love and valour — said Monday that soldiers stationed in Kandahar will be among the first Canadians to see his film on Friday.

"It has taken an uncommonly long time to bring this movie to the big screen, but we are finally able to present it to the Canadian public and in some small way pay homage to the sacrifice of our forefathers in the Great War of 1914-1918," Gross said in a statement.

"It seems fitting that the troops who today so valiantly serve our country are among the first to see it," Gross added on Monday night, as he and co-stars Caroline Dhavernas, Joe Dinicol and Meredith Bailey hosted a special screening in Ottawa for dignitaries including Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, army commander Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie and various military brass.

He noted that several soldiers from the Canadian Forces added a dose of realism to the film — largely shot at an aboriginal reserve not far from Calgary — by helping out as background actors and choreographing battle scenes.

And instead of staying in hotels provided by the production during filming, soldiers camped out on set at a site they dubbed Camp Hornberg in honour of Cpl. Nathan Hornberg. The 24-year-old mechanic from the King's Own Calgary Regiment was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

Gross is in the midst of an eight-city national tour to promote Passchendaele, a $21-million project that he began envisioning about a dozen years ago after being inspired by war stories told by his grandfather. The movie opened the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

The film starts with a harrowing battle that leaves Sgt. Michael Dunne, played by Gross, wounded. The Canadian soldier later falls in love with a nurse, Sarah (portrayed by Dhavernas), at a Calgary hospital. When Sarah's asthmatic brother David (Dinicol) decides to join the fight, Dunne feels compelled to protect him from the horrors of war and they both find themselves at the epic battle of Passchendaele.

Gross takes his special screenings to:

Winnipeg on Thursday.

Halifax on Oct. 6.

Montreal on Oct. 7.

Quebec City on Oct. 8.

Edmonton on Oct. 9.

Calgary on Oct. 15.

Vancouver on Oct. 16.

Passchendaele will be released across Canada on Oct. 17.

'Eagle Eye' soars to No. 1 at box office with $29M

LOS ANGELES - Shia LaBeouf's conspiracy thriller "Eagle Eye" debuted at the top of the weekend box office with $29.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Paramount-DreamWorks release was the second No. 1 premiere for LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso, who also teamed on 2007's hit "Disturbia."

Opening in second place with $13.6 million was another reunion, the Warner Bros. romantic drama "Nights in Rodanthe" featuring "The Cotton Club" and "Unfaithful" co-stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

The previous weekend's top flick, Sony's thriller "Lakeview Terrace," slipped to No. 3 with $7 million, raising its 10-day total to $25.7 million.

The Samuel Goldwyn release "Fireproof," a Christian drama starring Kirk Cameron as a firefighter who turns to God to help save his marriage, premiered in fourth-place with $6.5 million.

"Eagle Eye" helped pull Hollywood out of the box-office doldrums that have lingered the last two months. The top 12 movies took in $87.8 million, up 15 percent from the same weekend last year.

"You put a summer-style movie in the heart of the fall, and you can take advantage of the marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Spike Lee's World War II drama "Miracle at St. Anna" opened weakly with $3.5 million, coming in at No. 9. The Disney release features Derek Luke in a saga of four soldiers from an all-black unit stuck behind enemy lines in Italy.

Two other movies — Fox Searchlight's "Choke" and Lionsgate's "The Lucky Ones" — opened in narrower release of about 400 theaters each, compared to 3,510 cinemas for "Eagle Eye."

"Choke," starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston in a quirky tale of a sex addict who feigns choking in restaurants to get money for his mom's psychiatric care, opened outside the top 10 with $1.3 million.

"The Lucky Ones," a road trip tale among three Iraq War veterans (Tim Robbins, Michael Pena and Rachel McAdams), bombed with just $208,000.

"Eagle Eye" stars LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan as strangers hurled together in an escalating series of politically motivated adventures, their lives controlled by a mysterious female voice directing their actions through technology.

"The conceit of the film is intriguing to all," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan. "Between GPS, employee codes, bank PIN numbers, this could conceivably be within the realm of possibility within a few years."

The movie secures LaBeouf's position as a steady box-office draw. His other credits include "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Transformers," along with the latter's upcoming sequel.

"Nights in Rodanthe" features Gere and Lane as strangers who fall for each other over a weekend at a secluded inn as a hurricane approaches.

The romance made for good counterprogramming to the action-oriented "Eagle Eye," said Warner Bros. general sales manager Jeff Goldstein. Female movie-goers made up three-fourths of the audience for "Nights in Rodanthe," he said.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Eagle Eye," $29.2 million.
2. "Nights in Rodanthe," $13.6 million.
3. "Lakeview Terrace," $7 million.
4. "Fireproof," $6.5 million.
5. "Burn After Reading," $6.2 million.
6. "Igor," $5.5 million.
7. "Righteous Kill," $3.803 million.
8. "My Best Friend's Girl," $3.8 million.
9. "Miracle at St. Anna," $3.5 million.
10. "Tyler Perry's the Family That Preys," $3.2 million.

Canadian actress McAdams to play Sherlock Holmes's love interest

St. Thomas, Ont., actress Rachel McAdams, who starred in The Notebook, will be directed by Guy Ritchie in the film Sherlock Holmes.

Robert Downey Jr. is her co-star in the reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth.

The movie features a less stuffy Holmes, who has a more adventurous approach to sleuthing, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Ritchie is Madonna's husband and the British director behind films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Jude Law plays Dr. Watson and Mark Strong, who starred in Ritchie's RocknRolla, is the villain, Blackwood.

McAdams, who studied drama at York University in Toronto before going on to a career in Hollywood, is Holmes's love interest Irene Adler.

Conan Doyle created her character, an opera singer reputed to have had an affair with the King of Bohemia, in the 1891 story A Scandal in Bohemia.

McAdams's upcoming roles also include State of Play with Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe, which is due in theatres in April, and The Time Traveler's Wife, based on the best-selling book, which will be released in fall 2009.

The Lucky Ones, a story about returning Iraqi War vets, in which McAdams stars with Tim Robbins, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

'Ghost Town' vanishes at box office

HOLLYWOOD -- It looked like a can't-miss proposition.

There was that proven Topper-meets-Heaven Can Wait premise, an enviable 86% favourable rate on the Rotten Tomatoes review site, and Ricky Gervais, in his first lead feature role, was being hailed as a bona fide big screen comedy star.

But when it hit the megaplex over the weekend, Ghost Town was all but dead on arrival, scaring up an eighth place-ranking $5 million take.

So why the vanishing act?

Good question.

Paramount, the studio distributing the DreamWorks picture, began smelling trouble a few weeks ago when audience tracking figures revealed there was little anticipation for the film and scaled back the number of theatres lined-up to show it.

Could it have been that the movie's "He sees dead people ...and they annoy him" tag-line sounded more like a Sixth Sense spoof than a romantic comedy?

And if it was supposed to be a romantic comedy, shouldn't they have shown co-star Tea Leoni in the ads, instead of just Gervais and a see-through Greg Kinnear sitting on a park bench?

Or maybe, despite the accolades, the general public considers Gervais more of a television commodity and chose, accordingly, to wait for Ghost Town's DVD arrival?

All of the above could have played a role in the movie's box office no-show, but a more likely reason had to do with a crowded marketplace that was targeting the same, adult, female-skewing audiences.

You had the Coen Bros.' Burn After Reading with Pitt and Clooney, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, and even the critically savaged The Women all drawing bigger crowds than Ghost Town.

Of course, good word of mouth could still provide some life support for the next few weeks, but the initially disappointing results just go to show that in the ever-shifting world of movie release scheduling, timing is everything.

Michael Moore political movie released free on Web

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filmmaker Michael Moore released his latest documentary for free on the Internet on Tuesday, marking a first for the maverick director who aims to encourage young people to vote -- preferably for Democrats -- in November's U.S. presidential election.

"Slacker Uprising," a feature-length film documenting Moore's tour of swing states during the 2004 presidential election year, was made available for a free download instead of being released in movie theaters.

The maker of the award-winning anti-Iraq war blockbuster "Fahrenheit 9/11," said in a statement the gesture was "entirely as a gift to my fans."

"The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters at the polls in November," Moore said.

Moore has long been known as a firebrand filmmaker. He took on large corporations in 1989's "Roger & Me" and the U.S. gun industry in 2002's "Bowling for Columbine," which earned him an Oscar. "Slacker Uprising," made for about $2 million, comes on the heels of Moore's blistering expose of the U.S. health care system, "SiCKO," in 2007.

Although "Slacker Uprising" chronicles the director's efforts to get young people on either side of the political spectrum to vote, he said the documentary was also a "tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule."

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are in a neck-and-neck race for the White House in the November 4 election, according to opinion polls.

Moore encouraged fans to download, e-mail or share the movie with everyone and anyone, or to show it in schools, colleges, church halls and community centers, adding, "I don't want to see a dime from this."

He said several websites, including iTunes and Amazon.com, were providing streaming or downloading services for free.

Moore marked the release with a one-hour online chat with fans. Hundreds of Obama supporters responded on the www.slackeruprising.com message boards, thanking Moore.

"Wow .. I really enjoyed the film ... sent it to all my friends on yahoo, myspace, facebook ... we cannot have another republican in the White House ... Vote Obama 08," wrote a contributor called Don.

The documentary is also available as a low-cost DVD for those not in the download community.

Crime pays for Samuel L. Jackson at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Samuel L. Jackson ruled the North American box office for the second time this year, while moviegoers largely ignored three other new releases as overall weekend sales resumed their downward spiral.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, Jackson's cop thriller "Lakeview Terrace" sold a modest $15.6 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release. It barely surpassed the $14 million opening for Jackson's 2006 bomb "Snakes on a Plane."

But Screen Gems, the distributor of the $20 million film, said the three-day tally was at the upper end of its expectations. Screen Gems is a low-budget division of Sony Corp.

Jackson plays a vindictive cop who makes life hell for his new neighbors. Reviews were mixed, even though it was directed by Neil LaBute, the filmmaker behind such edgy dramas as "In the Company Of Men."

The 59-year-old actor was last at No. 1 with the sci-fi action movie "Jumper," which opened with $27 million in February and finished with $80 million.

As for the other three rookies, the Lionsgate romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Girl," starring Kate Hudson and Dane Cook, opened at No. 3 with $8.3 million; the MGM cartoon "Igor" was No. 4 with $8 million; and Paramount/DreamWorks' Ricky Gervais comedy "Ghost Town" was No. 8 with $5.2 million.

Last weekend's champ, the Coen brothers' comedy "Burn After Reading" slipped to No. 2 with $11.3 million. The Focus Features release, which stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, has earned $36.4 million after 10 days, and should end up in the $50 million range, the studio said.

SALES FALLING

Overall sales fell 4 percent from the year-ago period to $93 million, said tracking firm Media By Numbers, and have now dropped for eight of the last nine weekends. Year-to-date sales are flat, and the number of tickets sold is down by about five percent, the company said.

A week ago, Lionsgate had predicted that "My Best Friend's Girl" would be No. 1, and the $8.3 million opening was at the lower end of expectations, the studio said. Observers speculated the film might have been too raunchy for Hudson's core female fan base.

Hudson went to No. 1 in February with "Fool's Gold," which opened to $21.6 million. Cook was No. 2 last September with a $13.7 million opening for "Good Luck Chuck."

"Igor" revolves around a hunchbacked servant who dreams of scientific stardom. John Cusack leads the voice cast. The $25 million film was produced by independent animator Exodus Film Group, which said it was pleased with the $8 million opening. In addition to the usual family audience, the film also drew teens and young adults, Exodus founder/CEO John Eraklis said.

"Ghost Town" marks the feature headlining debut of Gervais, the wry co-creator of the BBC comedy "The Office." He plays a misanthropic dentist who sees dead people. The film played mostly to women and old people, not exactly Hollywood's preferred audience. A DreamWorks spokesman predicted the $20 million film would do better internationally. It opens on October 24 in the United Kingdom.

Canadiens movie stars NHL legends

MONTREAL - The celebrations surrounding the Montreal Canadiens' centennial anniversary will include a movie slated for release on the storied hockey club's 100th birthday next year.

"Pour toujours, les Canadiens" (The Canadiens Forever) has begun filming in earnest and will include members of the Canadiens past and present.

The fictional movie features a 17-year-old college player and a 10-year-old boy who is waiting for a kidney transplant at a children's hospital where his mother works.

The history of the Canadiens will be evoked in a number of different ways, including through the teenager's father, a filmmaker who is preparing a documentary on the Canadiens' 100th anniversary to the detriment of his neglected family.

"I've never been so afraid to tackle a project," director Sylvain Archambault told a news conference at the Bell Centre on Tuesday.

The film has a $6-million budget and will continue shooting until mid-December.

"Between fear of failure and the pleasure I've felt making this movie and meeting all these people ... it is the chance of a lifetime."

Archambault and Jacques Savoie, who will write the screenplay, are well established in Quebec's entertainment scene.

The pair walked away Sunday with a rash of awards at the Gemeaux, handed out for French television achievement, for "Les Lavigueur," a miniseries based on the true story of a working-class family from Montreal that won a $7.5-million lottery jackpot in 1986.

The film, slated for release on Dec. 4, 2009, will include a number of well-known Quebec actors, including Dhanae Audet-Beaulieu as the teenager and Antoine L'Ecuyer as the hospitalized boy.

The movie will also include various current Canadiens such as team captain Saku Koivu and star sophomore goaltender Carey Price as well as Habs legend Jean Beliveau.

The players, both active and retired, will play themselves.

"I had five players yesterday (Monday) at Sainte-Justine Hospital," Archambault said. "I had Carey Price, (Christopher) Higgins, (Mike) Komisarek, Francis Bouillon and Saku Koivu ... everyone played themselves, but if there was one who will be more featured than the others, it's Saku Koivu."

Koivu battled back from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2001.

"In a context where he interacts with a sick child, and we know Saku's story, who overcame enormous odds ... it's easy for him to connect with other people. I was amazed by the quality of Saku Koivu."

As for Beliveau, Archambault says he isn't sure what sort of role the 77-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer will play.

"I know at the end of November, I have three days of filming at Colisee Jean Beliveau in Longueuil," Beliveau said.

Beliveau, known as "Le Gros Bill," won 10 Stanley Cups as a player with the Canadiens and said he's honoured to be part of the project.

"It warms my heart ... to play a role in a film that has such a big importance for the organization, for the City of Montreal and fans," Beliveau said.

'Burn After Reading' is No.1 at the box office

LOS ANGELES - Joel and Ethan Coen scored their biggest opener to date by raking in $19.4 million in ticket sales for "Burn After Reading" and helping end a seven-week attendance slide at theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The madcap comedy starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and John Malkovich raked in $7 million more than the writing-directing duo's last box-office hit, the 2004 comedy "The Ladykillers," according to box office tracker Media by Numbers.

"Burn After Reading's" success comes just a year after the brothers gained widespread acclaim for the drama "No Country for Old Men," which won four Academy Awards and grossed $73.3 million.

Their Oscar credentials and the star-studded cast combined to make "Burn After Reading" a hit, said Jack Foley, president of distribution for Focus Features.

"The Coens have broken into more commercial territory with this film," Foley said. "They've become more of a household name."

The weekend's three other new releases also turned in solid performances.

Writer-director Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys," starring Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard in a drama about two families from different social classes, debuted at No. 2 with $18 million. Five out of six of Perry's films have opened at No. 1 or No. 2 on their opening weekends, said Steve Rothenberg, president of domestic distribution for Lionsgate.

Rothenberg said he expected "The Family that Preys" to continue to play well over upcoming weekends as Perry's movies typically do.

"It should have good legs," he said.

Overture Film's "Righteous Kill" opened at No. 3 with $16.5 million, proving that A-list stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino still draw fans. The movie played to a wide range of ages and both genders, said Kyle Davies, Overture's executive vice president of theatrical distribution.

"The primary appeal is to see these two legends together," he said.

Picturehouse's "The Women" — starring Meg Ryan and Annette Bening in a remake of George Cukor's 1939 comedy-drama — was No. 4 with $10.1 million.

The weekend's total box-office draw should surpass $100 million, breaking a seven-week slide in ticket revenue, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers. Last weekend was the slowest moviegoing weekend in five years, with just $67.6 million.

He attributed the uptick to the variety in genres that studios offered this weekend.

"Audiences want a lot of choice," he said. "Each of these movies had a particular demographic. This was the cinematic equivalent of a magazine rack."

The next seven films in the top dozen were holdovers, grossing $4.3 million or less.

The Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" continued to rack up its gross with another $4 million, for total box office revenue of $517.7 million to date.

Last weekend's top-ranked "Bangkok Dangerous" starring Nicolas Cage dropped to eighth place with $2.4 million.

These are the Top 12 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, as estimated by Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Burn After Reading," $19.4 million.
2. "Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys," $18.0 million.
3. "Righteous Kill," $16.5 million.
4. "The Women," $10.1 million.
5. "The House Bunny," $4.3 million.
6. "Tropic Thunder," $4.2 million.
7. "The Dark Knight," $4.0 million.
8. "Bangkok Dangerous," $2.4 million.
9. "Traitor," $2.1 million.
10. "Death Race," $2.0 million.
11. "Babylon A.D.," $1.7 million.
12. "Mamma Mia!," $1.7 million.

CANADA POINTS TO OSCARS

TORONTO - If the films unveiled here are any indication, this year's fight for the Best Actress Oscar will pit American Anne Hathaway against Britain's Keira Knightley.

Hathaway, who was passed over at nomination time for both "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Devil Wears Prada," should have more luck with her tour de force as a troubled woman who takes leave from a lengthy stint in rehab to attend her sister's nuptials in "Rachel Getting Married."

Jonathan Demme's darkly funny movie, his best in years, has a knowing script by Jenny Lumet, daughter of director Sidney Lumet and granddaughter of Lena Horne. It's out next month.

Knightley, previously nominated for "Pride and Prejudice" - which also had its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival - seems a lock for "The Duchess," set for release on Sept. 26.

She shines as the 17th century bride of a powerful British duke (Ralph Fiennes) who became an international style icon - and had other unhappy parallels with her distant relative Lady Diana, including his and her lovers.

There is also Best Actress buzz around two other Brit actresses: Sally Hawkins as the optimistic heroine of Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and veteran Kristin Scott-Thomas in the French movie "I've Loved You So Long," as a woman who returns from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her son.

Four contenders also emerged for Best Actor honors. The hottest at the moment is the most unlikely - '80s star Mickey Rourke, who makes a spectacular comeback as a washed-up New Jersey grappler who is forced to re-examine his life after a near-fatal heart attack in Darren Aronofsky's crowd-pleasing "The Wrestler."

Another strong contender is Puerto Rican actor Benecio Del Toro, who previously won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic." His charismatic performance as the Argentine doctor-turned-guerilla who became Fidel Castro's right-hand man is the main virtue of Soderbergh's 41/2-hour epic "Che," which turned up in Toronto in a version that was 17 minutes shorter than the one unveiled in May in Cannes.

"Syndedoche, New York," the directing debut of writer Charlie Kaufman ("Adaptation"), is brilliant but challenging. A nomination is quite possible for Philip Seymour Hoffman as the main character, an obsessed playwright who spends two decades writing and rehearsing a play on a scale-model version of New York City he has constructed in a vast warehouse. Hoffman is extremely popular with his fellow actors and he won the Best Actor award for "Capote" over Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain."

More of a long-shot possibility is Greg Kinnear, previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "As Good As It Gets" a decade ago. He's warmly excellent as an electrical engineer who invented the intermittent windshield wiper - and spent decades suing Ford and other auto companies who stole his idea - in the fact-based "A Flash of Genius."

Unlike some previous years, there weren't many Best Picture candidates unveiled in Toronto, where "Brokeback Mountain" and "Atonement" both took on front-runner status only to stumble on Oscar night.

The only Best Picture candidate here this year was the hugely popular "Slumdog Millionaire," Danny Boyle's exuberant, fact-based tale of a Mumbai street urchin who won 2 million rupees as a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" - and then was tortured by authorities who suspected he cheated.

Ricky Gervais eyes the Riddler

Until now, Ricky Gervais has made a career out of playing socially awkward misfits.

First, there was David Brent, the foot-in-mouth paper company chief on the British “Office.” Then he played Andy Millman, a hopelessly misguided thespian who dreams of stardom on “Extras.”

Bit parts in “For Your Consideration,” “Night at the Museum” and “Stardust” followed.

So with his television characters reaching cult-like status, Gervais was methodical when it came time to selecting his first leading role.

“I’ve been in this business for seven years and I still pinch myself,” he told a roomful of journalists at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this week.

But when he read the script for “Ghost Town,” he fell in love.

“It has a nice underlying message,” director and co-writer David Koepp said, “which is: ‘Don’t be a dick.’”

In the film, which opens September 19, Gervais plays misanthropic dentist Bertram Pincus who, after a minor mishap on the operating table, can see dead people.

The problem is, they annoy him.

When they see him on the street, ghosts with unfinished human business beg him to help them tie up loose ends.

One particularly pushy spirit, Frank (played by Greg Kinnear), agrees to keep them away from Pincus if he’ll help break up the impending nuptials between his former wife (played by Tea Leoni) and her straight-arrow fiancée.

Pincus takes him up on his offer, but gets more than he bargained for when he starts to feel the pangs of love.

“What are you saying?” Gervais said to a reporter who questioned the funnyman’s authenticity as a romantic lead. “I’ve got the bone structure,” he added with a slight tug of his jowls. “It’s just well hidden.”

Before taking the role, Gervais had some rules.

“I don’t kiss anybody; I won’t talk to myself alone and I will probably ruin at least 30 percent of the scene takes I do,” he said.

Why no kissing?

"No one wants to see that,” he shot back. “And no one would believe it.”

Even though the film deals with death, Gervais, an avowed atheist, said the story didn’t shake his view of the afterlife.

"I don't believe in ghosts or fairies or ESP or any of those things." Gervais knows his big-screen body of work is just getting started. Still, he’s looking forward to playing the villain.

"I'd like to play a bad guy, like the worst person ever," he deadpanned. "Hannibal Lecter, but with less moral conscience.”

The Riddler?

“Is that one open?” he replied. “What are the hours?”

"Ghost Town" opens in theaters on September 19th.

De Niro and Pacino eye killing at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A week after the box office sank to its lowest level in five years, sales should rebound significantly this weekend with five wide openers, including a thriller starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

"Righteous Kill," a rare pairing of the longtime A-listers, is a consensus favorite -- though no sure shot -- to top the weekend with an opening in the mid- to high-teen millions. The cop thriller, directed by Jon Avnet, comes from Overture Films, the indie studio behind the arthouse hit "The Visitor."

"We targeted the older male audience, and it looks like they're going to come," Overture marketing chief Peter Adee said. "From the tracking, it looks like the younger males are going to come as well."

Women could be another matter, given the presence of more female-friendly openers among the competition. Overture executives hope the usual appeal of Pacino and De Niro with older women will prompt a late surge in date-night support for "Kill."

The most obvious first choice for women -- Picturehouse's remake of the comedy "The Women" -- looks unlikely to vie for an upper rung in the weekend rankings. "Women" is a swan-song release for Picturehouse, which Warner Bros. is shuttering as the studio largely abandons the specialty-film business.

The likeliest competitor "Kill" will have to fend off for the session's crown appears to be the Coen brothers' comedy "Burn After Reading" from Focus Features and Working Title. Prerelease tracking indicates an opening in the mid-teen millions or higher, which would give Focus its biggest opening.

The first-weekend tally for "Burn" will depend on critical praise more than any of the other new releases. Early reviews have been mostly positive but hardly raves for the filmmakers' first release since their best picture Oscar winner "No Country for Old Men."

Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys" from Lionsgate is a notable wild card in this weekend's mix of wide openers. Tracking indicates that a robust moviegoing weekend could see "Family" opening near the $21.4 million bow by Perry's "Why Did I Get Married?" in October.

Yet on the low end of prerelease projections, "Family" would ring up just $15 million or so. So far the casting of Kathy Bates -- the first major-role white actor in a Perry pic -- doesn't seem to be broadening interest in the release beyond the filmmaker's usual base of support with urban demos.

Elsewhere this weekend, Slowhand Releasing unspools the patriotic documentary "Proud American" in a barely wide bow of about 750 playdates.

Just added to the release calendar two weeks ago, prospects appear limited to the low-single-digit millions for the maiden theatrical voyage of writer-director Fred Ashman.

Nicolas Cage movie "Bangkok" bombs at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Less than a year after starring in the biggest movie of his volatile career, Nicolas Cage returned to the top of the North American box office on Sunday with one of his weakest.

"Bangkok Dangerous," a thriller in which the 44-year-old actor plays a jaded assassin, led the lackluster field with weekend earnings of just $7.8 million, distributor Lionsgate said. Industry observers had expected an opening of more than $10 million.

Cage has actually done a lot worse: his terrorism thriller "Next" opened to $7.1 million in April 2007 and the family drama "The Weather Man" to $4.2 million in 2005. But he was last in theaters with the adventure sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," which opened to $45 million last December on its way to $220 million.

The last No. 1 movie to open lower at the North American box office was the David Spade comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," which kicked off with $6.7 million in 2003, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

Overall ticket sales usually tumble in September now that the summer blockbuster season is out of the way and school is back in session. The studios spend the early fall quietly dumping their underperforming movies on the market. "Bangkok Dangerous" was the only new wide release this weekend.

After three weeks at No. 1, DreamWorks/Paramount's Hollywood satire "Tropic Thunder" slipped to No. 2 with $7.5 million, while Columbia Pictures' comedy "The House Bunny" rose one to No. 3 with $5.9 million in its third week. Their respective tallies stand at $97 million and $37 million.

Spider-Man 4: Tobey Not a Lock???Yet?

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Call it the battle of the contractual web weavers. Tobey Maguire's very interested in doing the next Spider-Man sequel, sure, and now there's word today that the deal is done. Not true at all, blab several top sources on the project, who say the news about Spidey 4—and maybe 5—is jumping the gun.

These film insiders insist that the Tobey sealed-up talk is "premature," though it does look like Maguire is headed toward putting on that sexy suit again. Tobe-doll made roughly $17 mil on the last flick alone, minimum, right? What idiot wouldn't for that kind of loot?

Here's how it's going down:

Maguire's very much into the gig and has done three flicks so far in the franchise that's made, what, 2 or 3 billion bucks worldwide? Yep. But as happened before, negotiations for Maguire's participation in the Sam Raimi series have been, uh, challenging. "He is not the pleasant person to deal with," insisted a knowledgeable contractual-type most familiar with Maguire's past Spidey goings-down.

Word, whether accurate or not, is being put out that Sony just might not be interested in retaining Mr. M's involvement, should he take too long in deciding if his poker-playing butt wants to stay with the Spidey family or not.

Then, wham! This silken-spun spittle today that Maguire's all scared and a "lock" on the pic. Not so, gab my blabbers. Also, sources at Sony confirmed Maguire is by no means a lock yet. Additionally, a rep for Sony screamed bloody spidey bites that the studio has never looked at another actor besides Maguire for the lead.

Too bad. Always wanted to see how Tobey bud Jake Gyllenhaal's ass would look in that getup, but then, that's another item, isn't it?

Michael Moore to offer free film download aimed at 'slacker' voters

U.S. documentary maker Michael Moore plans to make his next film available online for free later this month.

Slacker Uprising, a 97-minute documentary about the 2004 U.S. elections, is an unabashed attempt to rally young voters for the coming presidential vote.

Moore said he plans to offer it as a free download for three weeks beginning Sept. 23.

He also is considering a theatrical release, positioning Slacker Uprising as an election year movie, just as his Fahrenheit 9/11 was an anti-Bush force during the 2004 campaign.

"I've been thinking about what I want to do to help with the election this year," Moore said on Thursday.

Slacker Uprising follows Moore on a 62-city tour to rally young voters during the 2004 campaign, and like most of Moore's work, it is pro-Democrat.

"This film really isn't for anybody other than the choir," Moore said. "But that's because I believe the choir needs a song to sing every now and then."

The 2004 rallying of the youth vote resulted in more than 20 million 18-to-29-year-olds casting ballots, an 11 per cent increase from 2000.

Moore wants these "slackers," whose voter turnout is traditionally disproportionately low, back in the ballot booth in 2008. He released a paperback book, Mike's Election Guide 2008, last week and is aiming squarely at the internet generation with his free download.

Moore said he took notice when the band Radiohead last year released an album, In Rainbows, online with pay-what-you-like pricing. He also took note of Neil Young's experiment with streaming his anti-war album Living with War online before its standard release.

Moore promises a high-resolution download through Blip.tv. His 2007 film Sicko was leaked online through YouTube in a low-quality version before its release.

People can sign up for the download at SlackerUprising.com.

Moore is also encouraging neighbourhood screenings of the film on what his website calls "a night of a thousand house parties," planned for Oct. 4.

Aaron Eckhart Spills Dark Secret of Two-Face's Fate

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Aaron Eckhart has had a good summer. He can take credit for some of The Dark Knight's awesomeness, with his Harvey Dent/Two-Face baddie getting almost as freaky as Heath Ledger's Joker. But $500 million later, we have to ask him: Two-Face could survive that deadly fall at the construction site, right?

"No," Eckhart told E! News at the junket for Towelhead yesterday. "He is dead as a doornail. He ain't comin' back, baby. No."

The fans want him back, and the actor wants to come back, but ultimately director Christopher Nolan is the bad parent.

"I asked Chris that question. He goes, 'You're dead.' Before I could even get the question out of my mouth, 'Hey Chris, am I...' 'You're dead.' "

But death has never been a problem for comic book characters! "I'm not coming back," he said. "Unfortunately, Heath was supposed to go along."

Eckhart knows, too, that there are plenty of Batvillains waiting for spots in the sequels. He's even jealous about one rumor. "I heard Angelina Jolie was going to be Catwoman," he said. "I thought that was a great idea. I'd like to be in that one."

Oh, but sorry. Didn't you hear? You're dead.

Columbia Scaring Up Ghostbusters Revival

Los Angeles (E! Online) - No need to believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis.

Just believe that the allure of nostalgia and a monster paycheck is strong enough to get Bill Murray to strap on that positron collider again.

Variety reports that Columbia Pictures is gearing up to bring another Ghostbusters film to the big screen, ideally featuring all four main characters from the 1984 blockbuster and its 1989 sequel—Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.

Both '80s-era films were cowritten by Aykroyd and Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman.

Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, both executive producers on The Office, have been tapped to pen the new installment—after which, Columbia will approach its would-be leading men.

Eisenberg and Stupnitsky recently collaborated on the Ramis-directed comedy Year One. Despite a handful of small parts over the years in comedies such as Knocked Up and As Good as It Gets, Ramis—who also helmed three episodes of The Office last year—has had more of a career behind the camera since his Egon Spengler days.

While the project remains officially unconfirmed, the general consensus is that getting Murray to suit up after all these years will be the hard part—although the Oscar-nominated thesp deigned to contribute his Dr. Peter Venkman voice for the new Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

After helping to keep the dream alive for the past two decades, Aykroyd told a radio station last year that the idea of another Ghostbusters sequel was still alive and kicking. But...

"It will not happen as a live-action [movie], 'cause Billy [Murray] will not come on, in the live-action stage anymore for it," the veteran character actor said. "But he will voice his part, and we are looking to do it as a CGI animated project."

But who knows what will happen if the script stacks up?

Ghostbusters II didn't exactly recapture the magic of the original, which grossed $229.2 million (at '80s prices) at the box office, but it still brought in $112.5 million and millions more from home video sales.

Besides, even the lamest sequels are usually good for lines like, "Only a Carpathian would come back to life now and choose New York!"

Big Knight, Downsized Summer

Los Angeles (E! Online) - The second-biggest movie in Hollywood history. Sky-high ticket prices. Put them together, and what do you get? Surprisingly, not a record.

From the first weekend in May through Labor Day, the Dark Knight-led summer movie season raked in $4.13 billion, Exhibitor Relations said today, down a tick from last year's all-time figure of $4.16 billion.

The problem, if that's the word, since 2008 goes down as the second-biggest summer on record, was twofold: dwindling attendance; and, lack of a late-summer blockbuster.

Per Exhibitor Relations, Hollywood movies combined to sell about 580 million tickets, the least since 2000, and 25 million fewer admissions than last summer, when gas was cheaper, and, oh, yes, so were tickets, which, on nationwide average, topped $7 for the first time ever.

Despite economic realities, the summer might have been able to pull off another record take if only it had another Jason Bourne.

"After The Dark Knight, it was pretty limp," said Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock.

Where 2007 had a bona-fide August blockbuster in The Bourne Ultimatum, which grossed $228 million, this summer's August could do no better than the solid, but unspectacular The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which has wrapped up about $99 million so far.

The Batman evidently casts a long shadow.

Here are more box-office highlights—and lowlights—of the summer, per Box Office Mojo stats:

• Twelve summer-launched films made at least $100 million. Another five have a good shot at passing the milestone.

• Six films made at least $200 million. The group included: Kung Fu Panda ($214 million); WALL-E ($218 million); and, Hancock ($227 million).

• Three films made more than $300 million. That group included: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($316 million); and, Iron Man ($318 million).

• One film—The Dark Knight—made more than $500 million, and took second place behind Titanic among the all-time domestic box-office champs.

• As it turned out, what Hollywood needed more than one $500 million hit was one more $300 million hit. Last summer's top four movies (Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) actually outgrossed this summer's top four movies, despite no 2007 summer movie making more than $336 million.

• As it turned out, woman-fronted movies can make money. Both Sex and the City ($153 million) and Angelina Jolie's Wanted ($134 million) made the summer Top 10. Another movie, the Meryl Streep-led Mamma Mia! ($133 million), just missed the cut, and should pass Wanted shortly.

• When does a Top 10 finish mean diddley? When you're The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($142 million), and you made half as much worldwide as your predecessor, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

• The Incredible Hulk won the battle of the Hulk movies…or did it? The new movie made $135 million from a reputed $150 million budget. The 2003 movie made $132 million from a reputed $137 million budget. Also, old Hulk grossed slightly more worldwide ($245 million) than new Hulk ($244 million).

• Last summer as this summer, Steve Carell starred in a $100 million-plus-grossing comedy. The difference is last summer's vehicle was the upside-down Evan Almighty ($101 million gross; $175 budget); this summer's was Get Smart ($128 million gross; $80 million budget).

• Assuming You Don't Mess with the Zohan ($99.9 million) can eke out another $110,000 or so, Adam Sandler will be spared his first sub-$100 million-performing mainstream comedy since Little Nicky.

• In the department of small victories and possible turning points, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening ($64 million) wasn't Lady in the Water.

• Mike Myers dropped a digit, going from $323 million for last summer's Shrek the Third to $32 million for The Love Guru.

• Nominees for the bust of the summer include: Speed Racer ($44 million gross; $120 million budget); and, well…

• No film ran a bigger deficit—$76 million, reported budget versus domestic gross—than Speed Racer. Prince Caspian—$58 million in the hole on the domestic ledger—rates an honorable mention.

• Rainn Wilson's The Rocker was something of the Speed Racer of low-budget comedies. No film opening very wide on more than 2,700 screens made less money in its opening weekend ($2.6 million).

• In the age of the record ticket price, how do you not make money (at least not yet) on a movie that only cost $35 million to produce? You gross $21 million, a la The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

• Based on the performance of Fly Me to the Moon ($7 million gross; $25 million budget), the future of Belgian-produced CGI movies about insects doesn't look bright.

• Tween girls giveth, and tween girls taketh away, which is one way to explain why The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 ($42 million) clicked, and Kit Kittredge: An All American Girl ($17 million) didn't.

• If you didn't release a movie this summer, then the dumped Clive Barker horror film, Midnight Meat Train, only made $83,361 more than you.

Here's a rundown of the summer's Top 10 movies, per grosses through Labour Day Monday:

• The Dark Knight, $505 million
• Iron Man, $318 million
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $316 million
• Hancock, $227 million
• WALL-E, $218 million
• Kung Fu Panda, $214 million
• Sex and the City, $153 million
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $142 million
• The Incredible Hulk, $135 million
• Wanted, $134 million

Toronto film festival set to kick off Oscar season

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto film festival will provide the unofficial kick start to Oscar season this week, with distributors keen to give an early look at possible awards contenders and perhaps uncover this year's sleeper hit.

The 33rd version of the festival opens on Thursday with the gala presentation of "Passchendaele," Canadian director Paul Gross's take on the catastrophic World War I battle.

While many of the 249 features to be screened were also shown earlier this year at festivals such as Cannes and Venice, Toronto is seen as the key launching point for North American premieres and for films vying for Oscars.

"This is the one film festival that's a grab-bag of movies that the studios consider award-season contenders," said film critic Pete Hammond.

"The mind-set of the industry is that if it plays well in Toronto, that can launch it pretty favorably into the awards season."

This year, the festival will screen 312 features and short films from 64 countries over 10 days, a slightly smaller schedule than last year, but with a more international flavor, particularly from South America.

Often called the "people's festival" because of the relative ease for the public to get tickets, Toronto has no formal competition but awards the "People's Choice" prize, voted on by the film-going public.

Among the 116 world premieres will be Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna" about a group of African-American U.S. soldiers in Italy in World War II, and "The Lucky Ones," about returning Iraq War veterans on a road trip home starring Tim Robbins.

But distributors will also be looking to sign deals with unknown movies that have the potential to be sleeper hits, such as last year's "Juno," a TIFF film that came out of nowhere to win an Oscar for best original screenplay and gain three other nominations.

FEWER OSCAR CONTENDERS?

While it's too early to get a strong sense of the overall quality of this year's slate, Hammond said there are some notable potential Oscar contenders due for late-season release that won't be at this year's festival.

"Overall, I don't think Toronto, in terms of this year's awards season, is going to be as big a player when we look at what finally winds up with nominations," he said.

"I think this is the early part of the (Oscar) season, and I think it's a little weaker than normal and a little smaller than normal."

Other notable premieres include the documentary "Religulous," a tongue-in-cheek look at organized religion by humorist Ball Maher and "Seinfeld" producer Larry Charles, and "The Secret Life of Bees," which stars Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah in an adaptation of the Sue Monk Kidd best seller.

Eagerly-anticipated films that have already been screened at other festivals include Steven Soderbergh's "Che," a 4-1/2 hour biopic on revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the Coen brothers' "Burn after Reading," a spy satire starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Pitt headlines the list of hundreds of film stars and celebrities descending on Canada's largest city before the festival wraps up on September 13.

Hollywood endures summertime blues

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The lucrative summer moviegoing season in North America ended on a lackluster note on Monday as ticket sales limped to a new record while attendance slumped to a three-year low.

The Labour Day holiday weekend, which marks the traditional end of summer, was led for a third round by "Tropic Thunder." Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire earned an estimated $14.3 million during the four-day period. It marks the lowest tally for a Labor Day holiday chart-topper since 2004, when the martial-arts film "Hero" opened to $11.5 million.

The DreamWorks/Paramount comedy, which Stiller directed and stars in alongside Robert Downey, Jr., has earned about $86.6 million to date. Four new entries were largely ignored, with 20th Century Fox's Vin Diesel sci-fi picture "Babylon A.D." coming in at No. 2 with just $12 million.

The overall picture for summer was not particularly shiny, with a 4 percent rise in the average U.S. ticket price to $7.16 saving the day for the movie industry.

Estimated sales inched up 0.43 percent from last year's record to $4.2 billion, while the number of tickets sold slid 3.5 percent to 586.9 million, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers. The previous low for attendance was in 2005, when 563 million tickets were sold.

BATMAN TO THE RESCUE

All this despite the massive success of "The Dark Knight," which has grossed almost $505 million to date across the United States and Canada. Warner Bros. Pictures' Batman sequel ranks as the second-biggest movie in history behind "Titanic" (before adjusting for inflation).

The 18-week summer span generally accounts for about 40 percent of annual ticket sales, and studios take advantage of school holidays to churn out big-budget sequels and superhero sagas aimed at Hollywood's sweet spot of male youngsters.

While the summer got off to a good start with the Paramount Pictures-distributed pair of "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which both earned more than $300 million, overall sales have now fallen for six weekends in a row.

The Olympics and recessionary fears, not to mention such distractions as Hurricane Gustav and the political conventions, have hurt business, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

"People are becoming a bit more selective," he said. No one would dare miss the big-buzz movies, but they may be inclined to wait for lesser releases to come out on DVD, he added.

Year-to-date data present a bleaker picture. Ticket sales are off almost 1 percent to $6.6 billion, and attendance is down 4.7 percent, said Media By Numbers.

Among the summer duds were Warner Bros.' $120 million family adventure "Speed Racer" and virtually everything released by Fox, including "Space Chimps," "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" and the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave."

An official at the News Corp unit said its summer was "very disappointing," but added that all studios go through rough patches.

The Labor Day holiday also presages a relatively quiet few months during which the studios dump unpromising product so that they can then shift their focus to prestige pictures they hope will generate awards-season buzz.

They got an early start on the first part of the strategy with "Babylon A.D.," Overture Films' Don Cheadle thriller "Traitor" (No. 5, $10 million), and a pair of comedies: Lionsgate's "Disaster Movie" (No. 7, $6.9 million) and MGM/Weinstein Co's "College" (No. 15, $2.6 million).

Additionally, Focus Features' costly Sundance Film Festival acquisition "Hamlet 2" opened nationally, a weekend after debuting in two theaters. The Steve Coogan comedy earned $2.1 million, taking its total to $3.1 million. The General Electric Co unit reportedly paid $10 million for rights to the film, just shy of the Sundance record of $10.5 million paid in 2006 for "Little Miss Sunshine" by News Corp's Fox Searchlight.

"Thunder" still No. 1 at North American box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Action film parody "Tropic Thunder" clung to the top spot at the North American box office for a third straight week as the summer moviegoing season sputtered to a lackluster close, Hollywood studios reported on Sunday.

Paramount Pictures' farcical combat movie within a comedy, starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, sold an estimated $11.5 million in U.S. and Canadian tickets Friday through Sunday to bring its three-week tally to $83.8 million.

While the final weekend heading into the U.S. Labor Day holiday is typically one of the slowest of the summer, the box office was especially lethargic despite five new films competing for attention in domestic theaters. None of those even managed to even crack the $10 million mark.

"It was an underwhelming end to a phenomenal summer," said Paul Dergarabedian, head of box office tracking service Media By Numbers.

Business also was likely dampened by the approach of Hurricane Gustav along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where many families were too busy boarding up their homes and fleeing to higher ground to go to the movies.

"Tropic Thunder," about a group of self-absorbed actors who get caught up in a real-life battle with narco-terrorists while filming a war movie in Southeast Asia, was the only film to post ticket sales in the double-digit millions.

Its biggest competition came from a real action flick, the sci-fi thriller "Babylon A.D." from 20th Century Fox starring Vin Diesel, which grossed an estimated $9.7 million in its first weekend to land at No. 2.

Blockbuster Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" climbed up a notch on the box office chart to No. 3 with weekend receipts of nearly $8.8 million, pushing its cumulative domestic haul to an estimated $502 million after 45 days in release.

"Dark Knight," a Warner Bros picture, becomes only the second film to cross the $500 million threshold. Two weeks ago, it surpassed "Star Wars" as the second highest grossing movie ever, behind only "Titanic" at $601 million.

Weekend ticket sales as a whole were sluggish, however, down 14 percent from the same period a year ago, as several new films failed to gain traction at the megaplex.

Two comedies opening on Friday, "Disaster Movie" and "College," plus Don Cheadle's thriller "Traitor," which debuted on Wednesday, and "Hamlet 2," a comedy that expanded nationally on Wednesday, grossed just $17.9 combined this weekend.

Together with "Babylon A.D." those films together accounted for $27.6 million in ticket sales, only about $1 million more than the top-grossing movie from last year's same weekend, "Halloween," managed all by itself.

The Labor Day holiday on Monday marks the official conclusion to the 18-week summer film season, which can account for as much as 40 percent of the movie industry's total business for the year.

When final studio figures come in later this week, Hollywood is expected to eke out roughly $4 billion in North American box office receipts, perhaps even slightly exceeding last summer's record $4.18 total.

But with the actual number of admissions down more than 3 percent from a year ago, the gain in revenues is fueled mostly by higher ticket prices.

'Dark Knight' swings past $500 million mark

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Batman's rich alter-ego Bruce Wayne has added half a billion dollars to his riches. "The Dark Knight" on Sunday became the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500 million at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4 million, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros.

The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took "Titanic," which reached $500 million in a little more than three months. "Titanic," the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No. 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8 million.

Despite its brisk pace, "The Dark Knight" is not expected to approach the total for "Titanic," which put up smaller numbers week after week but lingered at the top of the box office for months.

Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., said he expects "The Dark Knight" to finish at about $530 million, though it could reach $550 million if business persists as strongly as it has.

"I keep raising the number because it just keeps holding better than expected," Fellman said.

"The Dark Knight" will climb to about $505 million by Labor Day, the conclusion of Hollywood's busy summer season. That amounts to nearly one-eighth of Hollywood's overall summer revenue of $4.2 billion, which edges the previous summer record of $4.18 billion set last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Factoring in today's higher admission prices, "The Dark Knight" would need to take in about $900 million to match the number of tickets sold by "Titanic."

Labor Day weekend was generally sleepy at theaters, with a rush of new movies failing to find much favor with audiences. Through Sunday, Paramount's comedy "Tropic Thunder" remained No. 1 for the third straight weekend with $11.5 million.

The 20th Century Fox sci-fi thriller "Babylon A.D." with Vin Diesel debuted in second place with $9.7 million, while Overture Films' espionage drama "Traitor," starring Don Cheadle, opened at No. 5 with $7.9 million.

Premiering at No. 7 was Lionsgate's spoof flick "Disaster Movie" with $6.2 million. MGM's campus comedy "College" opened well outside the top 10 with $2.1 million.

The top 12 movies took in $75.2 million, down 23 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Halloween" opened with $26.4 million.

"This is kind of an inauspicious end to a really incredible summer," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "We limped past the finish line."

Peter Jackson in "Tintin" director's chair

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Hollywood Reporter) - The first of DreamWorks' Tintin movies will be directed by Peter Jackson, not Steven Spielberg, according to Herge Studios, which holds the rights to the vintage comic strip character.

Spielberg, who had been tabbed to direct the first installment of the would-be franchise, will now be only indirectly involved in the filming, the Brussels-based studio said.

The first film will be based on two of the books, "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure," written by Tintin creator Herge -- the pen name of Belgian artist Georges Remi -- between 1942 and 1944.

The film, scripted by Stephen Moffat, a writer on the British sci-fi series "Doctor Who," will be animated with motion-capture technology. It stars 18-year-old Thomas Sangster as the title character and Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" triology, as Tintin's friend Captain Haddock.

Kevin Smith makes a porno with `Zack and Miri'

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Smith likes to watch porn online, not to get his jollies but to marvel at how extreme the art of exhibitionist sex can be.

"I'm a morning porn peruser, and not for the titillation factor. I just find it interesting," said Smith, whose latest comedy is "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," the tale of best friends shooting their own skin flick to dig themselves out of debt. "I'll go read Google news, I'll go read Guardian UK, go read our Web site, and then if I've got nothing else, I will just peruse the porn sites, because it's an ever-expanding world."

"Just when you see the most outlandish clip you could ever see, somebody introduces something new. I just check in periodically just to see how far porn has gone in my absence," Smith said after screening "Zack and Miri" for The Associated Press at his Los Angeles home last week.

Debuting Oct. 31, "Zack and Miri" stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as lifelong buddies who have shared an apartment for years but never considered each other as potential mates.

Writer-director Smith — whose films include "Clerks," "Dogma" and "Chasing Amy" — has taken two people who have yet to realize they're a couple and cast them into a sweet little romance — with a whole lot of sex and swearing.

Profanity is almost a given for Smith, whose characters barrage one another with four-letter words.

"It turns some people off but that's how mostly everybody I know speaks," Smith said. "It's kind of strange. Whenever somebody goes, `That offends me,' I'm like, wow, what kind of weird, opposite bizarro frame of mind do you live in? Cursing is just so second nature, you don't even think of it as cursing any more. It's just your lexicon."

At the outset of the new film, Rogen's Zack and Banks' Miri have known each other so long and so well that they're almost like siblings. The twenty-something slackers blissfully share a dumpy apartment on which they're far behind on the rent and utility bills. When the electricity is turned off in the middle of winter, they burn their unpaid bills in a garbage can for heat.

A chance encounter with a gay porn actor (Justin Long) gives Zack the notion that they could make their own sex flick to pay off their debts. When he and Miri add up how much money they could clear from one dirty movie, they wonder why everyone isn't busy making porn.

"Because other people have options and dignity," Zack concludes.

They recruit an amateur cast and crew to make their porno, among them "Clerks" co-star Jeff Anderson as "cinematographer" and Jason Mewes — Jay to Smith's Silent Bob, the pair of stoners in most of his movies — as a well-endowed "actor."

The cast also includes Craig Robinson as Zack's co-worker and producer, "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh as Long's lover, and former adult-film star Traci Lords and current porn queen Katie Morgan.

The porn shoot becomes something of a loving, though lewd, re-creation of how Smith made his debut film, "Clerks," at the New Jersey convenience store at which he worked.

"Basically, it's a dressed-up version of making your first film. It just happens to be a porn film," Smith said.

Just like "Clerks," "Zack and Miri" initially was hit with an NC-17 tag by the ratings board of the Motion Picture Association of America. That rating prohibits anyone younger than 17 from seeing a movie.

Smith nipped and tucked the key objectionable segment, a comically over-the-top sex scene between Mewes and Morgan. But the ratings board held to the NC-17 designation, which Smith later got knocked down to an R rating after stating his case to the MPAA appeals board.

With the exception of one tender, tame sex scene, the porn action in "Zack and Miri" was meant to be outrageous, a commentary on the impossibly silly deeds in real skin flicks, Smith said.

"It's not titillating in the least. It's comedic," Smith said. "If you're turned on by this, then we didn't do our job very well."

THE AUTUMN OSCAR RACE IS NOW ON!! HERE IS A SNEAK PEEK AT THE SEASON'S BEST.

OSCAR BAIT

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Who's in it: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton

Why you'll see it: Director David Fincher's last film, "Zodiac," was one of the most criminally overlooked masterpieces in recent years. The presence of Brad Pitt should guarantee more eyeballs for his latest project. Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Benjamin Button" is about a man who ages backwards. And through the magic of motion-capture (the same technology used in "Beowulf"), Pitt will play Button at every age, from a stooped senior citizen to a fresh-faced boy. We're curious already. (Dec. 19)

Revolutionary Road

Director Sam Mendes is joined by his wife, Kate Winslet, as well as "Titanic" boatmate Leonardo DiCaprio for the story of a suburban Connecticut couple in the 1950s whose marriage is dissolving. (Dec. 26)

The Road

If you've read Cormac McCarthy's brilliant but dispiriting novel about a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, you don't need much cajoling to see this one. Viggo Mortensen plays the dad, Kodi Smit-McPhee the son. (Nov. 26)

The Changeling

This period drama from director Clint Eastwood picked up major buzz after screening at Cannes earlier this year. A mother (Angelina Jolie) has her kidnapped son returned to her and begins to suspect that the boy is not hers. (Oct. 24)

Milk

Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and James Franco headline this drama from director Gus Van Sant about the life of Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official who ultimately got assassinated. (Nov. 26)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Australia

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star is this outback epic from director Baz Luhrmann. (Nov. 14)

The Duchess
Another year, another costume drama for Keira Knightley. She plays the fashionable Duchess of Devonshire. (Sept. 19)

ACTION

Quantum of Solace

Who's in it: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ukrainian model-actress Olga Kurylenko

Why you'll see it: Sorry, Sean Connery. 2006's "Casino Royale" was the best James Bond yet. And this 22nd installment in the franchise promises to continue with the gritty, realistic tone the last one established. Picking up one hour after "Casino Royale" left off, the film sends the British secret agent around the globe to stop a shadowy organization from taking control of South America's water supply. What's not to like? Well, except that title, which comes from an unrelated Bond story by creator Ian Fleming. Craig has said the title has grown on him and that it's a reference to Bond's search for a bit of peace - and closure - after his girlfriend Vesper was murdered in "Casino Royale." (Nov. 7)

Eagle Eye

From an idea by Steven Spielberg. Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan discover a mysterious woman has framed them as terrorists. D.J. Caruso, of "Disturbia," directs. (Sept. 26)

RocknRolla

Marital troubles or not, Guy Ritchie proves he can still craft a stylish British crime drama. Gerard Butler and Tom Wilkinson star. (Oct. 31)

Body of Lies

The film's pedigree alone - it was written by "The Departed" scribe William Monahan and directed by Ridley Scott - has us salivating. Leonardo DiCaprio is a covert Middle East operative and Russell Crowe is his handler. (Oct. 10)

Righteous Kill

The anticipation of seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino onscreen together for the first time since "Heat" is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that the director of this serial-killer thriller is the same who did Pacino's disastrous "88 Minutes." (Sept. 12)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Valkyrie

Tom Cruise's oft-delayed turn as a Nazi colonel who attempts to assassinate Hitler. (Dec. 26)

COMEDY

Burn After Reading

Who's in it: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, J.K. Simmons, Richard Jenkins

Why you'll see it: Following multiple Oscar wins for the bleak "No Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers regain their twisted sense of humor (see "Raising Arizona," "Fargo," "O Brother Where Art Thou" and, kind of, "Intolerable Cruelty") with this smaller-scale movie about a couple of dim-bulb gym employees (Pitt, McDormand) trying to make money off the found memoirs of a CIA agent (Malkovich). There are enough auspicious pairings here to make several quality films, actually: Clooney and Pitt ("Ocean's Eleven"); Clooney and the Coens ("O Brother"); McDormand and the Coens ("Raising Arizona," "Fargo"); Clooney and Swinton ("Michael Clayton"). Plus: Malkovich plays a scary bad guy! (Sept. 12)

The Women

A group of gossipy gals (Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith and Debra Messing) bond when they discover the husband of their friend (Meg Ryan) is having an affair. "Sex and the City" lite. (Sept. 12)

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Kevin Smith has unfortunately confirmed you will once again see Seth Rogen's bare backside in this raunchy tale of two friends (Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who decide to earn some cash by making an amateur porno. (Oct. 31)

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Michael Cera brings some of his patented awkward goodness to the story of a loser who ends up spending the night with a girl (Kat Dennings) who poses as his girlfriend. (Oct. 3)

Role Models

Of all the Judd Apatow regulars, Paul Rudd could be the most underrated. The gifted comedian gets top billing (along with Seann William Scott) as an energy drink rep who's forced to mentor a kid in a charity program. (Nov. 14)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Four Christmases

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents over the holidays. (Nov. 26)

Marley & Me

Based on the book, a family learns lessons from their dog. With Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. (Dec. 25)

Fall movie preview

Summer's movie superheroes give way to more intimate, prestige-minded films

After four months of spandex-and-iron-clad do-gooders, the capes are being mothballed, the batarangs holstered and the gamma-irradiated creatures caged. The summer of the superhero has come to a close, true believer, although one suspects Hollywood is sorry to see its costumed crime-fighters go, considering The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Wanted grossed more than $1 billion at the North American box office alone.

No one expects this fall's crop of more intimate, prestige-minded dramas, comedies and thrillers to perform as staggeringly -- how could they? -- but for the movie industry, old habits are hard to break and autumn has always been about stories for grown-ups that might lead to Oscar gold.

Still, after 2007's disastrous fall season -- in which audiences snubbed a horde of war-themed dramas -- executives are being nothing if not practical. So from now until mid-November, there is an abundance of escapist fare to distract from messy, unmarketable reality. And if something brilliant or provocative slips through the cracks, so be it. Here are 10 to watch:

Burn After Reading (Sept. 12)

After last year's savage No Country for Old Men, Oscar-winning siblings Ethan and Joel Coen veer into slapstick with this screwball farce about stolen CIA documents swiped by a dim personal trainer (Brad Pitt). George Clooney, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand co-star. That No Country for Old Men echoed such early Coen-made fare as Blood Simple makes us hopeful Burn After Reading is a lot more Raising Arizona or even O Brother Where Art Thou than Intolerable Cruelty, The Hudsucker Proxy or, gawd help us all, The Ladykillers.

Righteous Kill (Sept. 12)

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro partner up for the first time since Michael Mann's Heat -- and for only their third film together -- as gruff detectives investigating vigilante-style slayings. The pairing of the acting titans aside, there's reasonable cause for concern. First clue: The involvement of journeyman Jon Avnet, who last helmed Pacino's barely-releasable 88 Minutes and is far from the rareified leagues of a Mann or Francis Ford Coppola (who directed De Niro and Pacino separately in the second Godfather instalment).

Eagle Eye (Sept. 26)

Shia LaBeouf re-teams with his Disturbia director D.J. Caruso as a fugitive who finds himself manipulated by mysterious phone calls and on the run with a single mother (Michelle Monaghan). Apparently the hush-hush plot -- part-War Games, part-Alfred Hitchcock -- was conceived by Steven Spielberg, who undoubtedly approved of the casting of LaBeouf, his scruffy Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull star.

Body of Lies (Oct. 10)

Problem: You're releasing a war-on-terror thriller following a movie-going year in which audiences balked at nearly a dozen similarly-themed explorations of the malfeasance of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East (In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, Lions for Lambs, etc., etc.). Solution: Emphasize your movie's not-insignificant star wattage (Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe sparring as a CIA operative stationed in Jordan and his bloated, shifty agency boss) and Ridley Scott-directed action (think Syriana with shootouts). Will it work? The trailer is gangsters and the DiCaprio-Crowe pairing should prove irresistible. Just no one say "al-Qaeda" in the television ads.

W. (Oct. 17)

Josh Brolin stars as George W. Bush in this biographical tale -- the tagline "A Life Misunderestimated" is enough to make me smile -- that follows the U.S. president from his days as a perpetual underachieving drinker to the fella with his finger on the nuclear button. As terrifying a thought as that might be, director Oliver Stone promises 1) it's not a horror movie 2) it's not a hatchet job and 3) it's not terribly concerned with politics. Rather, he considers his film an honest character study. Surrounding Brolin is a fascinating cast: Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, James Cromwell as George H.W. Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice and Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush. Still, as irresistible as this sounds, will anyone pay to see it? Fact is, even those who would enjoy it most may simply be -- after eight long years -- nauseated at the thought of two more hours with W.

Changeling (Oct 24)

In Clint Eastwood's latest directorial outing, Angelina Jolie stars as a mother whose kidnapped child is returned home -- except she's convinced this boy isn't her son. Worse, everyone just thinks she's crazy, including the police. As preposterous as it sounds, the film is based on a true story that occurred in 1920s Los Angeles. Although last year's A Mighty Head met with mixed response and zero interest from the Academy, this film may give Jolie something small and bald to hoist that's not a baby, adopted or otherwise.

Quantum of Solace (Nov. 7)

Having resuscitated the 007 franchise so potently that some critics even blasphemously wondered aloud if he was superior to Sean Connery, Daniel Craig returns as Ian Fleming's super-spy. And to those who fretted that this sequel would mark a spiral into the Austin Powers-ready cheekiness and eye-rolling gadgetry that Casino Royale jettisoned, fear not. Oscar-winner Paul Haggis again performed surgery on the screenplay, behind the camera is the gifted director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball) and Craig once more appears more severe than suave. But then that's to be expected given the plot hinges on a revenge-obsessed Bond out to destroy the organization that murdered the love of his life (Eva Green). One shouldn't brace for The Dark Knight-sized grosses, but we'd be stunned if Quantum didn't surpass Casino Royale (which, like Batman Begins, had to live down its jokey predecessor) to become one of the top-grossing Bonds, James Bonds, ever.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Nov. 7)

Considering 1) the original grossed $193 million and 2) filmgoers can't get enough of computer-rendered creatures (this summer's Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda both topped $210 million mark), a sequel to the 2005 toon was a given. Moreover the abrupt departure of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from its November slot to next July assures this animated follow-up will have even more of the family crowd to itself. This time out, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer) and the penguins crash-land in the vast plains of Africa where they meet species of their own kind for the first time. Whatever happens, we're pretty sure no one gets eaten: The studio has already announced plans for Madagascar 3.

Australia (Nov. 14)

Reuniting with her Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann, Nicole Kidman stars as an English aristocrat forced to align herself with a rough-hewn local (Hugh Jackman, replacing Russell Crowe) as she faces cattle barons and the Japanese forces that bombed the city of Darwin following Pearl Harbor. Big, vivid, romantic, epic, Australia hearkens back to a species of cinema that's all but extinct. Why? Because to recoup your costs (Australia came with an estimated pricetag of $150 million), you need to woo multiplex mall rats who wouldn't know David Lean from Antoine Fuqua.

The Road (Nov. 14)

In this adaptation of the best-seller by Cormac McCarthy -- who also penned No Country for Old Men -- Viggo Mortensen stars as a man leading his young son through a post-apocalyptic America ravaged by war and populated by cannibals, thieves and gangs. John Hillcoat, who last helmed the sullen, superb western The Proposition, seems perfectly suited to McCarthy's dour but poetic material. Look for Charlize Theron in flashbacks as Mortensen's hope-starved wife.

'Thunder' reigns again with $16.1 million weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The action comedy "Tropic Thunder" weathered a rush of new movies to remain No. 1 for a second-straight weekend with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Paramount-DreamWorks release — starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as actors caught up in real battle while shooting a war movie — raised its 12-day total to $65.7 million.

"Tropic Thunder" came in just ahead of Sony's campus comedy "The House Bunny," which debuted in second place with $15.1 million. "The House Bunny" stars Anna Faris as an ostracized Playboy bunny who becomes den mother to a sorority of campus misfits.

Universal's "Death Race" — an update of 1975's "Death Race 2000," with Jason Statham starring as a driver in a kill-or-be-killed auto race of the future — opened at No. 3 with $12.3 million.

The weekend's other new wide releases, Ice Cube's sports drama "The Longshots" and Rainn Wilson's music comedy "The Rocker," opened weakly.

"The Longshots" — an MGM-Weinstein Co. release starring Ice Cube as a former high school star coaching his niece, the first girl to play Pop Warner football — came in at No. 8 with $4.3 million.

20th Century Fox's "The Rocker," starring Wilson as an over-the-hill heavy-metal drummer who gets a chance at stardom with a high school band, took in $2.8 million to finish at No. 12.

After a run of blockbuster weekends, late summer was proving the usual dumping ground for modest movies as business slowed and audiences eased into back-to-school mode.

That opened the door for "Tropic Thunder" to repeat as the weekend's box-office leader.

"There isn't that divide where there's a couple of huge movies coming every week," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.

Summer's biggest hit, "The Dark Knight," continued its climb up the box-office charts, placing fourth with $10.3 million. The Warner Bros. Batman sequel has taken in $489.2 million on its way to becoming the second film ever to top $500 million, after "Titanic" ($600.8 million).

Overall movie revenues of $3.9 billion are slightly ahead of last summer's record pace. But higher admission prices mean the actual number of tickets sold is down about 3 percent compared to summer 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Still, Hollywood should finish with a box-office record and a second-straight summer topping the $4 billion mark.

"Thank you, `Dark Knight.' That's added close to half a billion dollars," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "One film like `The Dark Knight' can make a huge difference."

In limited release, Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2" pulled in $435,000. Starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher staging a campy, irreverent musical sequel to Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet 2" expands into nationwide release Wednesday.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Tropic Thunder," $16.1 million.
2. "The House Bunny," $15.1 million.
3. "Death Race," $12.3 million.
4. "The Dark Knight," $10.3 million.
5. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," $5.7 million.
6. "Pineapple Express," $5.6 million.
7. "Mirrors," $4.9 million.
8. "The Longshots," $4.304 million.
9. "Mamma Mia!", $4.303 million.
10. "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," $4.1 million.

Weekend offers a "Race" to the summer finish line

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Box-office grosses will start to fade this weekend as inevitably as a summer tan.

The comparable period from 2007 rung up less than $109 million, the second-smallest tally of the box-office season. A similarly underwhelming industry performance is likely this weekend, even with four new titles hitting the marketplace in wide release.

Still, one of the market entrants is well positioned to capture the flag of the summer's penultimate box-office session, thanks to relatively weak competition from new releases and holdovers alike. "Death Race," Universal's remake of the 1975 thriller "Death Race 2000," will try to go for the gold -- supported primarily by young male moviegoers -- with a bow in the mid- to high-teen millions.

DreamWorks/Paramount's R-rated comedy "Tropic Thunder" could drop as much as 50 percent or so from its chart-topping opening session. That could find it fetching less than $13 million this weekend while still potentially competing for second place.

But Sony's PG-13 comedy "The House Bunny," starring Anna Faris ("Scary Movie"), also looks likely for the low-teen millions and could outpace "Tropic" if its grosses climb into the midteens, mostly on interest from young females.

Warner Bros.' box-office behemoth "The Dark Knight" likely will finish third or fourth during its sixth frame, with $10 million or so. But two additional wide openers look unlikely to make it out of the single-digit millions.

Rated PG, the Ice Cube/Keke Palmer-starring "The Longshots" -- a family football tale from MGM and Dimension directed by rocker-turned-helmer Fred Durst -- hasn't shown much strength in prerelease tracking. But the topliner usually can deliver at least middle-single-digit millions from his core fan base alone, so a late surge of interest in the film could see it climb just a bit higher during its opening frame.

Fox's PG-13 comedy "The Rocker" might need five days to reach a similar range. Having earned some positive early buzz, the Rainn Wilson-starring comedy unspooled Wednesday to stimulate additional word-of-mouth, but its first-day tally was just $600,000.

The R-rated "Death Race" stars Jason Statham, who tends to be popular with female filmgoers, and tracking also shows appeal among prospective urban moviegoers. Depending on how many females and older men join the film's young-male target group, "Death Race" could represent the weekend's best hope for a breakout performance.

Notable limited releases this weekend include exclusive engagements for Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2." The gambit aims to stimulate positive word-of-mouth before wide expansion of the Steve Coogan/Catherine Keener film over the long Labor Day frame.

Weekend offers a "Race" to the summer finish line

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Box-office grosses will start to fade this weekend as inevitably as a summer tan.

The comparable period from 2007 rung up less than $109 million, the second-smallest tally of the box-office season. A similarly underwhelming industry performance is likely this weekend, even with four new titles hitting the marketplace in wide release.

Still, one of the market entrants is well positioned to capture the flag of the summer's penultimate box-office session, thanks to relatively weak competition from new releases and holdovers alike. "Death Race," Universal's remake of the 1975 thriller "Death Race 2000," will try to go for the gold -- supported primarily by young male moviegoers -- with a bow in the mid- to high-teen millions.

DreamWorks/Paramount's R-rated comedy "Tropic Thunder" could drop as much as 50 percent or so from its chart-topping opening session. That could find it fetching less than $13 million this weekend while still potentially competing for second place.

But Sony's PG-13 comedy "The House Bunny," starring Anna Faris ("Scary Movie"), also looks likely for the low-teen millions and could outpace "Tropic" if its grosses climb into the midteens, mostly on interest from young females.

Warner Bros.' box-office behemoth "The Dark Knight" likely will finish third or fourth during its sixth frame, with $10 million or so. But two additional wide openers look unlikely to make it out of the single-digit millions.

Rated PG, the Ice Cube/Keke Palmer-starring "The Longshots" -- a family football tale from MGM and Dimension directed by rocker-turned-helmer Fred Durst -- hasn't shown much strength in prerelease tracking. But the topliner usually can deliver at least middle-single-digit millions from his core fan base alone, so a late surge of interest in the film could see it climb just a bit higher during its opening frame.

Fox's PG-13 comedy "The Rocker" might need five days to reach a similar range. Having earned some positive early buzz, the Rainn Wilson-starring comedy unspooled Wednesday to stimulate additional word-of-mouth, but its first-day tally was just $600,000.

The R-rated "Death Race" stars Jason Statham, who tends to be popular with female filmgoers, and tracking also shows appeal among prospective urban moviegoers. Depending on how many females and older men join the film's young-male target group, "Death Race" could represent the weekend's best hope for a breakout performance.

Notable limited releases this weekend include exclusive engagements for Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2." The gambit aims to stimulate positive word-of-mouth before wide expansion of the Steve Coogan/Catherine Keener film over the long Labor Day frame.

Jackson, Del Toro Get Hobbit House in Order

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Peter Jackson just can't kick his Hobbit habit.

After a fruitless eight-month search for the perfect scribe, the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings overlord and his handpicked Hobbit helmer, Guillermo del Toro, have decided they're the best men for the job of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth prequel into two films.

The duo will get a big assist from Jackson's fellow LOTR Best Screenplay winners, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Jackson and del Toro took over the writing chores after both of their schedules opened up. Because of their shared love and familiarity with the material, both agreed to pen the project rather than having a hired gun take a stab at it.

After settling a bigger lawsuit over LOTR profits, Jackson came aboard as an executive producer overseeing production on two features based on The Hobbit and other Tolken writings.

In April, he tapped del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, the Hell Boy films) to take over the directing chair. Del Toro is moving to New Zealand for five years to shoot both Hobbit movies back-to-back.

The first installment will follow a young Bilbo Baggins on a quest to find a treasure guarded by the evil dragon Smaug with the assistance of an itinerant wizard Gandalf and a party of 13 dwarves. The second installment will use storylines Tolkien suggested in The Hobbit that set up events in The Lord of the Rings and will take place during the 60 years between the two books.

Del Toro has also been in touch with LOTR principals Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Andy Serkis about reprising their roles as Gandalf, Aragorn and Gollum, respectively. The filmmakers have also talked to Ian Holm, who played the older Bilbo in LOTR, but the 76-year-old actor's participation depends largely on his health. Should he not be able to play the titular character, del Toro has reportedly been mulling the possibility of having him narrate the tale.

Production on the two-parter is slated to begin in late 2009, with the first Hobbit movie hitting theaters in 2011 and the sequel in 2012.

"The Dark Knight" leads box office for third weekend

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman narrowly fended off the new "Mummy" sequel to lead the weekend box office in North America for a third weekend, while moviegoers rejected Kevin Costner's new political comedy "Swing Vote."

"The Dark Knight" earned $43.8 million for the three days beginning Friday, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday. Universal's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" followed with $42.5 million.

Walt Disney Co's "Swing Vote" came in at No. 6 with just $6.3 million, the latest disappointment for Costner, who has not had a $100 million movie since 1992's "The Bodyguard."

The total for "The Dark Knight" rose to $394.9 million. Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said it expects the film to add at least $100 million, likely becoming the No. 2 movie of all time in North America. "Titanic" holds the record with $601 million, ahead of 1977's "Star Wars" and its two reissues with $461 million.

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" came in below pundits' forecasts of an opening in the $50 million range, bruised by the Batman juggernaut. The Brendan Fraser film actually beat "The Dark Knight" on Friday but the reigning champ bounced back on the next two days. (The Sunday component of the data is an estimate; final data will be issued on Monday.)

Universal, a unit of General Electric Co, said "The Mummy" was big internationally. The film, set in China and co-starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, opened to $59.5 million from 28 territories.

Fraser has had a low profile since appearing as part of the ensemble in the Oscar-winning 2004 movie "Crash." But he now has two movies in the top 5, with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" at No. 5 with a four-week total of $73.1 million.

Batman may bow down to "Mummy"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - This is the weekend Batman should get whooped by somebody's mummy.

Universal on Friday opens "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which could earn upwards of $50 million for the weekend in United States and Canada, enough to end the two-week reign of "The Dark Knight."

Warner Bros.' massive Batman sequel appears likely to gross $40 million or so during its third session.

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" marks the third film in the Brendan Fraser adventure franchise, following 1999's "The Mummy," which opened to $43.4 million, and 2001's "The Mummy Returns," which unwrapped a $68 million bow. They ended up with $155.4 million and $202 million, respectively.

The addition of Jet Li as a villain in the threequel seems to have restoked interest among the franchise's fan base. Michelle Yeoh also joins the cast, while Maria Bello replaces Rachel Weisz.

Also Friday, Disney debuts the Kevin Costner political comedy "Swing Vote," but low turnout among an older-skewing crowd should limit returns to the single-digit millions.

"Dark Knight" overshadows box office rivals again

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman buried his rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday, racing past $300 million in a record 10 days.

The Caped Crusader's blockbuster outing, "The Dark Knight," sold an estimated $75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its haul to $314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.

The previous speed record for a $300 million film was 16 days set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in 2006. "The Dark Knight" now ranks as the biggest movie of the year, surpassing the $315 million haul of "Iron Man."

The next target is $400 million, which took "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach in 2004. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman predicted "The Dark Knight" would take just 18 days to reach that milestone.

As was the case with last weekend, when "The Dark Knight" enjoyed a record-breaking $158 million opening, the other films were a bit of an afterthought.

The Columbia Pictures comedy "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perpetual adolescents, opened surprisingly strongly at No. 2 with $30 million. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" came in at No. 4 with $10.2 million, a figure at the lower end of expectations.

In between, the ABBA-inspired musical romance "Mamma Mia!" slipped one place to No. 3 with $17.8 million while its 10-day total rose to $62.7 million.

Aronofsky rebooting 'Robocop'

Darren Aronofsky has accepted MGM's challenge to relaunch the "Robocop" franchise.

The company announced on Thursday (July 24) that the new "Robocop" feature is being fast tracked for a 2010 release with the "Requiem for a Dream" helmer directing from a script by David Self.

"Darren is undeniably one of the most talented, original and visceral film makers, and David is one of the greatest writers in Hollywood," says Mary Parent, chairman of MGM's Worldwide Motion Picture Group. "All of us at MGM couldn't be more excited."

The project will be produced by Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites.

In a statement, Medavoy says, "After making the first 'Robocop' at Orion more than 20 years ago, I'm thrilled to be helping to return this character to the screen with our partners at MGM and through the eyes of Darren Aronofsky and David Self."

Paul Verhoven directed the 1987 original, which focused on a Detroit cop played by Peter Weller. After being terminally wounded, the character is brought back as a law-enforcement cyborg bent on cleaning up urban blight.

The relatively low-budget film was a box office success and even picked up a pair of Oscar nominations.

"With a filmmaker of Darren Aronofsky's vision and imagination and a writer of David Self's caliber, we are poised to bring to the screen an entertaining and provocative film, which will now be under the creative guidance of two of the best storytellers working in our industry today," say Fischer and Thwaites in yet another statement.

Other credits for Aronofsky include "Pi," "The Fountain" and the upcoming "The Wrestler."

Self wrote the dramas "Thirteen Days" and "Road to Perdition."

Comic-Con: Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Surprise

Los Angeles (E! Online) - In the first twist of this year's San Diego Comic-Con, an unscheduled Hugh Jackman bonded with fans and showcased footage from next summer's prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

"Without you guys, I wouldn't have a career," Jackman told an energized crowd, who had gathered to see Keanu Reeves promote The Day the Earth Stood Still and Mark Wahlberg talk about Max Payne.

The party-crashing Jackman, muttonchops-free and just off a plane from Australia, offered a shout-out to Wolverine creator Len Wein and waded into the audience to shake hands with the comics vet.

Sneak-peek footage from the flick, due May 2009, had a few surprises as well:

Most notable were the glimpses at Wolverine's mutant costars, including Gambit (Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch), Kestrel (will.i.am) and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). "You're going to see a lot of beserker rage," Jackman promised the jacked-up crowd, obviously hungry to see more of Wolverine's hard-to-cage anger.

The clip's money shot, according to fan reaction: Wolverine facing off against archrival Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), and declaring, "I'm going to cut your goddamned head off. See if that works."

Yes, Hugh, in fact it does.

Mulder, Scully believe in `X-Files' audience

LOS ANGELES - Some Mulder and Scully fans were dubious when the title for the new movie based on their favorite TV show was announced: "The X-Files: I Want to Believe."

How, the skeptics wondered, could the two former FBI agents be anything but true believers after years of encountering aliens, monsters, ghosts and everything else that might go bump in the night?

But so-called X-Philes want to believe in this franchise that started way out on the fringes and eventually brought the creepy and paranormal into the mainstream. The feeling among its creators is mutual.

"We want to believe in the audience," said David Duchovny, who reprises his role as Fox Mulder, the guy with boogeymen on the brain, co-starring with Gillian Anderson as his soul mate and doubting Thomas, science-minded Dana Scully.

Devoted as fans might be, it's a leap of faith for "The X-Files" to return after such a long absence in an era when so many franchises compete for audiences' attention and sequels tend to come every two or three years.

It's been a decade since the first "X-Files" movie and six years since the series went off the air after nine seasons.

The keepers of "The X-Files" figure the long wait has only fired up fans even more for a new adventure. In an interview with The Associated Press alongside Duchovny, Anderson and producer Frank Spotnitz, series creator Chris Carter described the reception he got at a fan gathering in Chile, where he had no idea the show had such a following.

"It was wild and warm and enthusiastic. They had an expo where they re-created Mulder's desk," said Carter, who also directed the new movie and co-wrote it with Spotnitz. "It was just amazing to be sitting there eating sunflower seeds (Mulder's favorite snack) at Mulder's desk in Chile."

Anderson recalled a similar reaction when they appeared earlier this year at New York Comic Con, a fan convention.

"The response that we got from the audience was almost, it was crazy. That was kind of the beginning of my realizing, people do still care," Anderson said. "I also think it's gotten passed down through the generations to kids of people who first watched it on TV."

"The X-Files" debuted in 1993 and quickly won a loyal cult audience. Strong word of mouth gradually drew more and more fans to the weird show with its ongoing story arc about alien visitations to Earth and clever stand-alone stories that one week might deal with life-sucking bugs unleashed from old-growth timber, and another week might touch on monstrous humans resulting from generations of inbreeding.

At the heart was Mulder, a brilliant FBI agent convinced his sister was abducted by aliens. Nicknamed "Spooky" by derisive colleagues, Mulder handled the X-Files, cases involving unexplained phenomena the bureau would prefer to sweep under the rug.

Scully, a medical doctor, was assigned as Mulder's partner, mainly to debunk his work, but she eventually became his comrade in arms, the two complementing each other's talents and maintaining a deep but chaste romantic longing.

Spotnitz said when he joined the show in the second season, "none of my friends knew what it was at that point. But by the end of season two, people were writing fan fiction. I remember distinctly somebody saying to me, `Oh, you've got them. Once they're actually making it their own, you've actually captured their imagination.' And it's true. They're still writing fan fiction 15 years later."

The 1998 big-screen film was immersed in the show's dense alien mythology. "I Want to Believe" is patterned after the stand-alone episodes, requiring little prior knowledge of Mulder and Scully.

Drummed out of the FBI as the series wound down, Mulder has been living in exile, collecting news clips of strange happenings and hurling pencils at the ceiling out of boredom.

Scully, now a practicing doctor at a hospital, is approached by FBI agents (Amanda Peet and Xzibit) as an intermediary to bring Mulder in to consult on a case in which a defrocked-priest-turned-psychic (Billy Connolly) claims to have visions about a missing bureau agent.

And they're off and running on a trail that leads them to a stash of severed arms buried in the snow, more missing persons and some ghoulish medical experiments worthy of Frankenstein.

"Chris had a Border collie when we started and I had a half-Border collie, and I always thought of Mulder like a Border collie. He needed a job, so when you see him at first, he's like a Border collie who's a lapdog," Duchovny said. "It's not right. And the movie's a little bit about him getting his job back. That's where his heart is."

His heart also clearly remains with Scully. They spar just like old times, but they share the most explicit moments of affection in their 15 years together, though still restrained by Hollywood romantic standards.

Many fans always wanted to see Mulder and Scully in an all-out love affair, but Anderson said it was wise for Carter and Spotnitz to steer the show clear of that.

"They ended up playing the parents of the fans who thought they knew what they wanted, but if they had gotten what they wanted, I think they would have been sorely disappointed," Anderson said. "It would have had a negative effect on the series. But what was given to them was so electric and so long-lasting that it helped to carry through all the way to the end."

Cast and crew are game for more "X-Files" movies if fans still believe strongly enough to convince distributor 20th Century Fox that the audience is there.

Now that Mulder has his foot back in the door at the FBI, the alien mythology that obsessed him on the job could be resurrected for a future film, Carter said.

"There's a looming date in 2012 which is part of the literature, if you will, on a Mayan calendar. It's supposed to be when the aliens do something," Carter said. "We've mentioned that date a number of times in the series, so it's something that we certainly would be looking at. I'm not sure exactly how yet, but if there is a next movie, we would consider doing it then."

'Hellboy II' catches fire with $35.9 million debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Superheroes battling inner demons often rule the box office. This time, the superhero was a demon as "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" pulled in $35.9 million to debut as the No. 1 weekend film.

Universal's "Hellboy" sequel, starring Ron Perlman as the red-skinned devil fighting for the good guys, took over the top spot from Will Smith's superhero tale "Hancock," which slipped to second place with $33 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sony's "Hancock" raised its domestic total to $165 million.

Opening at No. 3 with $20.6 million was New Line's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," starring Brendan Fraser in an underground adventure shot in digital 3-D.

Eddie Murphy bombed with his comedy "Meet Dave," a 20th Century Fox release that took in just $5.3 million. The movie features Murphy in dual roles as a tiny alien and his spaceship — which is designed to resemble a full-sized human for a visit to Earth.

"It was a tough concept to get across," 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston said of "Meet Dave," which cost about $55 million to make. "It's upsetting for all of us and for Eddie. He's very funny in this. Just not enough people came."

Science-fiction comedy has not been a kind genre for Murphy. His biggest bomb ever was the sci-fi tale "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," which cost about $90 million and took in just $4.4 million during its entire run.

"Hellboy II" was a rare case of one studio taking on another's hand-me-downs. Sony released the first "Hellboy" in 2004 but passed on the sequel, which allowed Universal to step in.

The original movie was a modest box-office performer, hauling in $23.2 million over opening weekend and $59 million in its entire run. However, it really caught fire on DVD, convincing Universal executives that a sequel was in order.

"When a film is a franchise that another studio didn't want to continue to pursue, it makes things even better," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal. "We believed in the filmmakers, the talent packaged together. We saw the potential."

Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") returned to direct the sequel, which pits Perlman's Hellboy against an elf who aims to unleash a monstrous mechanical army on humanity.

"`Pan's Labyrinth' made a big impression on a lot of people," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "If they weren't fans of Guillermo del Toro before, they certainly are now."

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" stars Fraser in a modern twist on Jules Verne's classic tale about a trip to the planet's core.

Though 3-D screens accounted for fewer than a third of 2,811 theaters where the movie played, those cinemas pulled in $11.7 million, well over half of the picture's revenues, according to Warner Bros., which handled its distribution.

Warner had to book the movie largely in traditional 2-D theaters because not enough cinemas have been converted to projectors capable of showing digital 3-D movies.

"We would have liked to have more of these," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.

Overall Hollywood revenues fell compared to the same weekend a year ago, when "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" opened with $77.4 million. The top 12 movies took in $145 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend in 2007.

However, Batman arrives Friday to heat up the box office again. The Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" is one of the year's most-anticipated films even without the death of co-star Heath Ledger. His death and the buzz over his maniacal performance as Batman nemesis the Joker has fans in a frenzy to see the movie.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," $35.9 million.
2. "Hancock," $33 million.
3. "Journey to the Center of the Earth," $20.6 million.
4. "WALL-E," $18.5 million.
5. "Wanted," $11.6 million.
6. "Get Smart," $7.1 million.
7. "Meet Dave," $5.3 million.
8. "Kung Fu Panda," $4.3 million.
9. "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," $2.5 million.
10. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $2.3 million

EDDIE DONE WITH STARDOM

The trailer for "Meet Dave," Eddie Murphy's latest movie, is most remarkable for what it doesn't feature: namely, Murphy in a fat suit or in drag, or both.

Instead, "Meet Dave" - out Friday - looks like it could actually be a return to the Eddie of yore, primarily because of its '80s-ish premise about tiny alien soldiers commanding a starship shaped like . . . Eddie Murphy. How "Innerspace"! How "All of Me"!

Throw in co-star Elizabeth Banks - who brings a comedy resume that includes Judd Apatow and David Wain - and you've got a possible return to greatness.

How disappointing, then, to hear Murphy's pitch to the public: "I have close to 50 movies and it's like, why am I in the movies?" he told Tanika Ray of "Extra" recently. "I've done that part now. I'll go back to the stage and do stand-up."

Coming as a follow-up to Murphy's well-documented dash from the Oscars after he didn't win Best Supporting Actor for "Dreamgirls," it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that Murphy's no ray of sunshine. But perhaps getting back to his roots will cheer him up. After all, "Delirious" and "Raw," his two stand-up concert movies, are among his most popular films ever.

Still, even Murphy may have realized that one doesn't go around proclaiming one's retirement when one is as big a cash cow as the formerly profane comedian.

Days after Murphy made the proclamation, one of his reps took it back, following the announcement with some seriously dubious news: "Eddie is not retiring. 'Beverly Hills Cop IV' is in development."

'Hancock' grabs heroic $107.3M over long weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith's box-office superpowers remain intact. Smith's "Hancock" — the story of a boozing, foul-mouthed superhero who dresses like a street bum — led the Fourth of July weekend with a $66 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That raised the total for Sony's "Hancock" to $107.3 million since it opened Tuesday night to get a jump on the holiday.

It was a familiar place for Smith, one of Hollywood's most-consistent draws. "Hancock" is his fifth movie to open at No. 1 over the Fourth of July. The others were "Men in Black" and its sequel, "Independence Day" and "Wild Wild West."

"Will Smith, Mom, apple pie and the Fourth of July. It doesn't get any better," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "People just so relate to him and the characters that he plays. They totally embraced it as something different, something fresh."

The previous weekend's top flick, the Disney-Pixar animated tale "WALL-E," slipped to second place with $33.4 million. Its 10-day total is $128.1 million.

Overall business slipped for the first time in a month. The top 12 movies pulled in $158.7 million, down 4 percent from the Fourth of July weekend last year, when "Transformers" opened at No. 1 with $70.5 million, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Revenues this summer are at $2.22 billion, about 2 percent ahead of Hollywood's record pace in 2007, when summer revenues topped $4 billion for the first time.

"Hancock" co-stars Jason Bateman as a public-relations man who tries to give an image-makeover to Smith's cranky character. Charlize Theron plays Bateman's wife, who has her own reasons for wanting the superhero to stay out of her life.

It was the second-best opening weekend for Smith, following last December's "I Am Legend" at $77.2 million, and was his eighth-straight movie to open at No. 1.

"`Hancock' did not get great reviews, but it doesn't matter. A guy like Will Smith is arguably the most-bankable star in the world," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "He's utterly likable and he's real, and that permeates from the screen to the audience."

Overseas, "Hancock" pulled in an additional $78 million in 50 other countries.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Hancock," $66 million.
2. "WALL-E," $33.4 million.
3. "Wanted," $20.6 million.
4. "Get Smart," $11.1 million.
5. "Kung Fu Panda," $7.5 million.
6. "The Incredible Hulk," $5 million.
7. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $3.9 million.
8. "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," $3.6 million.
9. "Sex and the City," $2.3 million.
10. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," $2 million.

ABBA foursome make rare appearance

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - All four members of supergroup ABBA appeared together on Friday at the Swedish premiere of the film "Mamma Mia!," delighting fans with their first public showing for years.

Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- known as Frida -- and Agnetha Faltskog walked down the red carpet at a Stockholm movie theatre to the cheers of several thousand fans.

The movie follows "Mamma Mia!" the musical, which toured worldwide and features 22 ABBA songs, including "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All."

The foursome, who shot to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, last performed together in public in 1986, although there were reports they sang together at a private birthday party for a friend in 1999.

They were once reported to have been offered $1 billion to reunite for a concert tour.

At the film premiere, Agnetha and Frida embraced with actress Meryl Streep, posing for pictures before the three did a dance together. Moments later, all four band members appeared on the theatre balcony.

They stood together with Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and other members of the Mamma Mia! cast.

At news conferences, Streep, Brosnan and Firth enthused about ABBA's music while discussing the challenges of singing and wearing figure-hugging Spandex costumes for their roles.

"Once I started singing I kind of rather enjoyed it," Brosnan, better known for James Bond films than musicals, said. "The Spandex was a bit of a challenge and the boots were. But I had the time of my life making this movie."

SINGING ABILITY

Co-star Firth, star of two "Bridget Jones's Diary" films, said the most frightening aspects of the film were also the most motivating.

"There's an old Miles Davis quote which I've always cherished, which is 'Don't play what you know, play what you don't know'," Firth said.

Ulvaeus had high praise for the actors' vocal abilities. "Most of them don't think they can sing, but they can, I assure you."

The Spandex outfits were a different matter.

"You're going to get bulges that you didn't want and not really developments you did want," said Firth, who performed as Mr. Darcy in the BBC mini-series of "Pride and Prejudice."

Streep said she had been excited by the prospect of singing since she had performed in high school musicals such as "Oklahoma!."

"That was my beginning so it was kind of like coming home to the thing that I loved very, very much," she said.

Asked to name her favorite ABBA song, Streep said:

"I couldn't say. I honestly don't have a favorite song. It's like saying which of your children is your favorite, which of your movies is your favorite. I don't think of it in sports terms like that."

Indy Jones, fridge replace Fonzie

LOS ANGELES -- Harrison Ford doesn't tell Shia LaBeouf to "Sit on it." Nor does Cate Blanchett's slinky Soviet come running when the crusty 65-year-old hero snaps his fingers. But with the 19-years-in-the-making sequel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull still in theatres, the question is curiously apt: Is Indiana Jones the new Fonzie?

Apparently so. What other conclusion is there now that "Nuked the fridge" may soon surpass "Jumped the shark" as the catch phrase of choice to describe a once-beloved franchise that has spiralled into such preposterousness it will never recover?

A brief recap for those of you with lives: During the opening sequence of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ford's intrepid archeologist-adventurer finds himself on ground zero at a secret nuclear test site.

Faced with imminent atomic doom, our newly-minted senior citizen ducks into a lead-lined fridge -- he's in the middle of simulated suburbs populated by mannequins -- and is blasted who-knows-how-far as everything else in range is logically decimated.

Miraculously -- or simply because, like Jar Jar Binks, story architect George Lucas thought it was a neat idea -- Jones survives, tumbling out of the household appliance unharmed by the mushroom-cloud-sized explosion and radiation-free. (If only Bruce Banner had hopped into a beer cooler before those gamma rays turned him into a rampaging green-skinned goliath.)

Although the Steven Spielberg-directed sequel earned mostly positive reviews (mine included) and has amassed $300 million at the North American box office, nastier-than-thou fanboys and bloggers retaliated the only way they know how: By inventing a ridiculing viral lingo. And thus the term "Nuked the fridge" was born, a reference to -- and replacement of -- "Jumped the shark" which harkens to the 1970s sitcom Happy Days.

Back then, fans were stunned into disbelief by an episode in which Henry Winkler's leather-jacketed rebel, strapped to water skis, spends his Hawaiian vacation jumping a Great White. Ever since, "Jumped the shark" has been invoked to describe a series that has careened well p