The latest collaboration between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio bested The Departed's $26.9 million opening, and set DiCaprio's best opening weekend numbers as well. The horror-thriller was the lone new wide release at the box office this weekend, which definitely helped it reach the top spot, but it also got a boost from the predictable tanking of last weekend's holdovers. Valentine's Day bled over 70% to 2nd place with $16.7 million, while Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman fell to 4th and 5th place with $15.3 million and $9.9 million, respectively. Avatar, now in its 10th weekend of release, held on to 3rd place with $16.2 million, and its $688 million domestic total will almost certainly cross the $700 million mark in the coming weeks.

The most worrisome news if for Wolfman, one of Universal's most prized icons and, with a low-ball budget of $150 million, its $50.4 million total gross isn't very encouraging. The studio is still moving forward with reboots/re-imaginings of several of its classic horror icons, and as a fan, I certainly hope they fare better.]]>

Shutter Island set a new personal best opening for director Martin Scorsese over the weekend, scaring up $41.1 million at the box office.

The latest collaboration between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio bested The Departed’s $26.9 million opening, and set DiCaprio’s best opening weekend numbers as well. The horror-thriller was the lone new wide release at the box office this weekend, which definitely helped it reach the top spot, but it also got a boost from the predictable tanking of last weekend’s holdovers. Valentine’s Day bled over 70% to 2nd place with $16.7 million, while Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman fell to 4th and 5th place with $15.3 million and $9.9 million, respectively. Avatar, now in its 10th weekend of release, held on to 3rd place with $16.2 million, and its $688 million domestic total will almost certainly cross the $700 million mark in the coming weeks.

The most worrisome news if for Wolfman, one of Universal’s most prized icons and, with a low-ball budget of $150 million, its $50.4 million total gross isn’t very encouraging. The studio is still moving forward with reboots/re-imaginings of several of its classic horror icons, and as a fan, I certainly hope they fare better.

The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski’s latest film starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, and Kim Cattrall, opened in limited release with $183,009 across 4 theaters, or a solid $45,752 per-theater average.

Next week, Kevin Smith’s cop comedy Cop Out and horror remake The Crazies will hit theaters. The latter has definitely been getting stronger reviews, but the star power of Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan, as well as the broad comedic appeal of the TV spots, should put Cop Out in front. The record remains at 10 for 16.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow:

Including the Monday holiday, its four day total of $63.1 million led the charge as a trio of new releases helped make this the highest-grossing February weekend ever. The Wolfman narrowly edged out Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief with a $31.5 million 3-day total, just in front of Percy Jackson's $31.2 million, but the four day totals put Percy Jackson well ahead of the horror icon revival. Chris Columbus' latest hauled in $38.7 million against The Wolfman's $35.6 million over the full holiday frame, thanks to a decidedly strong Monday for the kid-friendly pic. Meanwhile, Avatar may have fallen to 4th, but it certainly didn't slow down as it hauled in another $28.8 million over the four days. Dear John rounded out the top 5 with $18.2 million.]]>

I guess a parade of famous actors and a timely holiday release is all you need to shatter records these days. Valentine’s Day became the biggest Presidents’ Day weekend release with its $56.3 million first place debut.

Including the Monday holiday, its four day total of $63.1 million led the charge as a trio of new releases helped make this the highest-grossing February weekend ever. The Wolfman narrowly edged out Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief with a $31.5 million 3-day total, just in front of Percy Jackson’s $31.2 million, but the four day totals put Percy Jackson well ahead of the horror icon revival. Chris Columbus’ latest hauled in $38.7 million against The Wolfman’s $35.6 million over the full holiday frame, thanks to a decidedly strong Monday for the kid-friendly pic. Meanwhile, Avatar may have fallen to 4th, but it certainly didn’t slow down as it hauled in another $28.8 million over the four days. Dear John rounded out the top 5 with $18.2 million.

Next week, Shutter Island is all alone at the box office, at least for wide releases. Roman Polanski’s latest film The Ghost Writer hits in limited release. The record stands at 10 for 16.

Check out the top 12 for the 3-day weekend below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar came in second with a solid $22.9 million, but Dear John's counter-programming on Super Bowl weekend worked wonders as its 84% female audience breakdown led it to become the second-highest grossing Super Bowl opening ever, behind only the Hannah Montana concert film. Meanwhile, James Cameron's latest declined by a mere 27% to bring its domestic total to $629.3 million (its worldwide total is north of $2.2 billion, by the way), so I don't think anyone's worried about this particular coup.

From Paris with Love proved a little too crazy for most audiences, coming in 3rd with an underwhelming $8.2 million. Edge of Darkness plummeted 60% in its second weekend, falling to 4th place with $6.9 million and bringing its total to $28.9 million in 10 days. Tooth Fairy rounded out the top 5 with $6.6 million.]]>

Finally, in its 8th weekend of release, Avatar was knocked from its perch atop the box office by Dear John’s surprising $30.5 million opening.

Avatar came in second with a solid $22.9 million, but Dear John’s counter-programming on Super Bowl weekend worked wonders as its 84% female audience breakdown led it to become the second-highest grossing Super Bowl opening ever, behind only the Hannah Montana concert film. Meanwhile, James Cameron’s latest declined by a mere 27% to bring its domestic total to $629.3 million (its worldwide total is north of $2.2 billion, by the way), so I don’t think anyone’s worried about this particular coup.

From Paris with Love proved a little too crazy for most audiences, coming in 3rd with an underwhelming $8.2 million. Edge of Darkness plummeted 60% in its second weekend, falling to 4th place with $6.9 million and bringing its total to $28.9 million in 10 days. Tooth Fairy rounded out the top 5 with $6.6 million.

The ambitious British crime thriller Red Riding Trilogy opened in limited release with a decent $14,526 haul across 1 venue. Much-buzzed about indie horror film Frozen also bowed at 106 screens to the tune of $131,395, or a much more disappointing $1,240 per-theater average.

Next week, a trio of high-profile releases will jostle for position at the box office. Chris Columbus’ next children’s fantasy epic Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief will compete with an A-list ensemble in the timely Valentine’s Day, as well as with Universal’s much-anticipated horror icon relaunch, The Wolfman. Seeing how it’ll be Valentine’s Day weekend, Valentine’s Day will probably cruise to an obligatory win, followed by the broader Percy Jackson and trailed by the hard-R The Wolfman. That’s actually the reverse order of how much I want to see those movies. The record stands at 7 for 13.

Check out the rest of the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Most of the list is nothing surprising though, as the usual suspects that have been picking up noms and wins throughout the awards season are the ones filling out the categories for the Academy Awards. Leading the pack are James Cameron's Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, with 9 nominations apiece. There are still a few surprises here and there, though, so be sure to check out the full list of nominees after the jump.

Here are your nominees...

James Cameron's box office juggernaut brought its foreign total to $1.45 billion and crossed the $2 billion worldwide mark, where it already has claim to to highest worldwide gross (though not the highest attendance - remember, a large part of Avatar's box office receipts come from inflated 3D ticket pricing). Meanwhile, Mel Gibson's return to acting Edge of Darkness made a very average debut at the box office, pulling in $17.2 million for 2nd place. When in Rome, the other new wide release, came in 3rd with a similarly unremarkable $12.4 million. The Tooth Fairy showed an above-average resiliency, falling 28.6% in its second weekend to take 4th place with $10 million. The Book of Eli rounded out the top 5 with a $8.9 million gross, bringing its total to $74.5 million.]]>

To utterly no one’s surprise, Avatar won the weekend yet again in its 7th week of release. Pulling in $31.3 million, the sci fi epic’s total reached $595.8 million and is mere days away from surpassing Titanic’s $600.8 million mark to claim the title of highest domestic gross of all time.

James Cameron’s box office juggernaut brought its foreign total to $1.45 billion and crossed the $2 billion worldwide mark, where it already has claim to to highest worldwide gross (though not the highest attendance – remember, a large part of Avatar’s box office receipts come from inflated 3D ticket pricing). Meanwhile, Mel Gibson’s return to acting Edge of Darkness made a very average debut at the box office, pulling in $17.2 million for 2nd place. When in Rome, the other new wide release, came in 3rd with a similarly unremarkable $12.4 million. The Tooth Fairy showed an above-average resiliency, falling 28.6% in its second weekend to take 4th place with $10 million. The Book of Eli rounded out the top 5 with a $8.9 million gross, bringing its total to $74.5 million.

Next week, two wildly different newcomers will inevitably vie for second place. Taken director Pierre Morel’s zany action-comedy From Paris with Love will compete with Nicholas Sparks’ latest romance Dear John. From Paris with Love will definitely play broader, and Morel’s Taken cred may be enough to trump some lukewarm early reviews, so I expect it to finish ahead of Dear John. The record stands at 7 for 11.

Check out this week’s top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar has now passed The Dark Knight's $533.3 million domestic total to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time. However, with James Cameron's latest still chugging along healthily at the theaters, Avatar should exceed Titanic's $600.8 million total in a matter of weeks. Overseas, Avatar has already accomplished that, its foreign total of $1.29 billion over $50 million more than Titanic's previous biggest foreign gross record of $1.24 billion. With its worldwide gross now at $1.838 billion, Avatar is only a hair's breadth away from Titanic's all-time worldwide record of $1.843 bilion. So, expect history to be made soon.

Meanwhile, the rest of the domestic field had a so-so outing. The angel-themed apocalyptic thriller Legion bowed in the number 2 spot with a healthy but average $17.5 million, while The Book of Eli held on to 3rd place with $15.7 million in its second weekend. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's family comedy The Tooth Fairy opened in 4th place with $14 million, considerably less than the debut of his other family fare. Extraordinary Measures, the other new wide release, fell flat as it opened in 8th place with a disappointing $6 million. The Lovely Bones rounded out the top 5 with an $8.4 million weekend.]]>

Avatar won the weekend yet again, pulling in $34.9 million for its sixth consecutive first-place finish at the box office and bringing its domestic total to $551.7 million.

Avatar has now passed The Dark Knight’s $533.3 million domestic total to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time. However, with James Cameron’s latest still chugging along healthily at the theaters, Avatar should exceed Titanic’s $600.8 million total in a matter of weeks. Overseas, Avatar has already accomplished that, its foreign total of $1.29 billion over $50 million more than Titanic’s previous biggest foreign gross record of $1.24 billion. With its worldwide gross now at $1.838 billion, Avatar is only a hair’s breadth away from Titanic’s all-time worldwide record of $1.843 bilion. So, expect history to be made soon.

Meanwhile, the rest of the domestic field had a so-so outing. The angel-themed apocalyptic thriller Legion bowed in the number 2 spot with a healthy but average $17.5 million, while The Book of Eli held on to 3rd place with $15.7 million in its second weekend. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s family comedy The Tooth Fairy opened in 4th place with $14 million, considerably less than the debut of his other family fare. Extraordinary Measures, the other new wide release, fell flat as it opened in 8th place with a disappointing $6 million. The Lovely Bones rounded out the top 5 with an $8.4 million weekend.

Next week, Mel Gibson returns to theaters in his first starring role since 2002’s Signs with Edge of Darkness, which may actually have a chance at unseating Avatar. Gibson will contend with Kristen Bell’s new romantic comedy When in Rome, and I think he’ll come out on top. He’s done enough movie star rehab for audiences to have forgiven him for his past misconduct, and plus Edge of Darkness just looks pretty damn good. The record stands at 5 for 9.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Ricky Gervais was pretty awesome as host. He really doesn't give a damn, and all his bits were biting and hilarious. At one point, he quips that a Golden Globe can't be bought, not officially, anyway, following it up with "what the hell, I'm not going to do this again anyway." His joke at the end of the following clip was the comedic highlight of the night, and the funniest one I've heard at an awards show, maybe ever:

Catch the video and full winners list after the jump.]]>

In case you missed it, yesterday night was the 2010 Golden Globes Awards ceremony. The show was pretty zippy, though the seating arrangements were kind of awkward in that a lot of the award winners seemed to take a while to get from their tables to the stage. I guess that’s what you get for putting your A-list celebrities in the front rows, instead of your actual nominees. Avatar was definitely the big winner of the night, though that isn’t too surprising considering how much the foreign press has been loving it up. The Hurt Locker got the worst snub of the night, getting shut-out completely, though (500) Days of Summer and even Inglourious Basterds, to an extent, should’ve gotten more love.

Ricky Gervais was pretty awesome as host. He really doesn’t give a damn, and all his bits were biting and hilarious. At one point, he quips that a Golden Globe can’t be bought, not officially, anyway, following it up with “what the hell, I’m not going to do this again anyway.” His joke at the end of the following clip was the comedic highlight of the night, and the funniest one I’ve heard at an awards show, maybe ever:

Catch the video and full winners list after the jump.

Martin Scorsese won the Cecil B. DeMille award, and the show producers put together a pretty great tribute montage for him. Scorsese’s speech was also eloquent, classy, and focused primarily on thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press for their hand in supporting film preservation, a cause which Scorsese champions (and rightly so). You can’t help but respect the hell out of a guy who, even with the caliber of his body of work, still holds the filmmakers who came before him in such reverence and maintains such a modest and astute understanding of his place in cinematic history. Check out both the montage and the speech below:

FILM NOMINEES (winners in bold)

Best drama
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“Up in the Air”

• No love for The Hurt Locker here.

Best musical or comedy
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Hangover”
“It’s Complicated”
“Julie & Julia”
“Nine”

• A surprise win, but kind of a fun pick, anyway. Iron Mike came up as part of the cast to accept the award. 500 Days definitely got robbed here though.

Actor in a drama
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Tobey Maguire, “Brothers”

• Bridges received a well-deserved standing ovation for this win.

Actress in a drama
Emily Blunt, “The Young Victoria”
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

• This was a stretch here. Carey Mulligan was easily the more impressive performance, though a Gabourey Sidibe win would’ve been nice too.

Director
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Clint Eastwood, “Invictus”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”

• Cameron mentions not having a speech prepared because he thought Kathryn Bigelow easily had this one in the bag. Color me surprised too.

Actor in a musical or comedy
Matt Damon, “The Informant!”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Nine”
Robert Downey Jr., “Sherlock Holmes”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “(500) Days of Summer”
Michael Stuhlbarg, “A Serious Man”

• Downey Jr. also gave a pretty excellent speech, opting not to thank, well, anybody. Video embedded below:

Actress in a musical or comedy
Sandra Bullock, “The Proposal”
Marion Cotillard, “Nine”
Julia Roberts, “Duplicity”
Meryl Streep, “It’s Complicated”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

• I know it was a particular weak field for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical, but who can really be mad at a Meryl Streep win? She could win every year and no one would ever really be mad about it.

Supporting actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

• Probably one of the most deserving wins of the night.

Supporting actress
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Julianne Moore, “A Single Man”

Foreign language
“Baaria”
“Broken Embraces”
“The Maid (La Nana)”
“A Prophet”
“The White Ribbon”

Animated film
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“Up”

• Up was the easy pick, but it’s been a particularly tough field this year with both Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline offering some stiff competition. Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen one of the latter two win, as they were pretty great throughout. Up was good; it’s first 20 minutes were possibly the best 20 minutes of any movie this year, but the rest of the movie was just decent.

Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “District 9″
Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”
Nancy Meyers, “It’s Complicated”
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”

• A good win for a very deserving Up in the Air, but I thought Tarantino should’ve come away with this one. Reitman even said as much in his speech, commenting, “Quentin, I’m still waiting for them to say your name. I’m really confused right now.”

Original score
Michael Giacchino, “Up”
Marvin Hamlisch, “The Informant!”
James Horner, “Avatar”
Abel Korzeniowski, “A Single Man”
Karen O, Carter Burwell, “Where the Wild Things Are”

• Definitely my pick. Giacchino killed it in 2009, especially with his work in Up and Star Trek (not to mention his TV work with Lost and Fringe, among others). I mentioned earlier that Up’s first 20 minutes may be the best 20 minutes of any movie this year; it only reaches those heights with Giacchino’s beautiful and brilliant score.

Original song
“Cinema Italiano” (written by Maury Yeston), “Nine”
“I Want to Come Home” (written by Paul McCartney), “Everybody’s Fine”
“I Will See You” (written by James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell), “Avatar”
“The Weary Kind (Theme from ‘Crazy Heart’)” (written by Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett), “Crazy Heart”
“Winter” (written by U2), “Brothers”

TELEVISION NOMINEES:

Best TV drama series
“Big Love,” HBO
“Dexter,” Showtime
“House,” Fox
“Mad Men,” AMC
“True Blood,” HBO

Best TV comedy or musical series
“30 Rock,” NBC
“Entourage,” HBO
“Glee,” Fox
“Modern Family,” ABC
“The Office,” NBC

• The fun pick wins it.

Best actor in a TV drama
Simon Baker, “The Mentalist,” CBS
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men,” AMC
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter,” Showtime
Hugh Laurie, “House,” Fox
Bill Paxton, “Big Love,” HBO

• Michael C. Hall, rocking a headscarf/cap(?) due to hair loss from treatment for his Hodgkins Lymphoma, finally wins the very deserved award.

Best actress in a TV drama
Glenn Close, “Damages,” FX
January Jones, “Mad Men,” AMC
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife,” CBS
Anna Paquin, “True Blood,” HBO
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer,” TNT

Best actress in a TV comedy
Tina Fey, “30 Rock,” NBC
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie,” Showtime
Toni Collette, “The United States of Tara,” Showtime
Lea Michele, “Glee,” Fox
Courteney Cox, “Cougar Town,” ABC

• Collette’s work on Tara is amazing, and it’s nice to see her get some recognition for it. With the exception of Falco’s performance in Nurse Jackie, of which I’m unfamiliar with, none of the other nominees even come close to the acting Collette turns in for her show.

Best actor in a TV comedy
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock,” NBC
Steve Carell, “The Office,” NBC
David Duchovny, “Californication,” Showtime
Matthew Morrison, “Glee,” Fox
Thomas Jane, “Hung,” HBO

Best actor in a supporting role
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage,” HBO
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS
William Hurt, “Damages,” FX
John Lithgow, “Dexter,” Showtime
Michael Emerson, “Lost,” ABC

• Dexter may have lost out to Mad Men for Best Series, but it certainly racked up the acting awards. Bravo for Lithgow, whose work on Dexter this season was truly stunning. Anyone else feel like there should be a separate comedy category?

Best actress in a supporting role
Jane Lynch, “Glee,” Fox
Rose Byrne, “Damages,” FX
Janet McTeer, “Into the Storm,” HBO
Jane Adams, “Hung,” HBO
Chloe Sevigny, “Big Love,” HBO

Best TV movie or miniseries
“Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime
“Grey Gardens,” HBO
“Into the Storm,” HBO
“Little Dorrit,” PBS
“Taking Chance,” HBO

Best actor in a miniseries or TV movie
Kevin Bacon, “Taking Chance,” HBO
Kenneth Branagh, “Wallender,” PBS
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Endgame,” PBS
Brendan Gleeson, “Into the Storm,” HBO
Jeremy Irons, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime

Best actress in a miniseries or made-for-TV movie
Joan Allen, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime
Drew Barrymore, “Grey Gardens,” HBO
Jessica Lange, “Grey Gardens,” HBO
Anna Paquin, “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,” CBS
Sigourney Weaver, “Prayers for Bobby,” Lifetime

The picture dipped only 18% to bring its domestic total to $491.8 million, while its worldwide box office reached a staggering $1.6 billion, putting it in position to surpass Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time over the next couple of weeks. At this rate, breaking the $2 billion mark isn't entirely out of the question either.

Meanwhile, there was plenty to go around over the MLK holiday weekend, with The Book of Eli coming in 2nd with a strong $31.6 million start. That's Denzel Washington's second best opening weekend ever, behind only 2007's American Gangster. Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones also expanded wide to a surprisingly decent $17 million weekend, good enough for 3rd place (though not nearly good enough to begin earning back its $100 million budget). Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel moved past Sherlock Holmes into 4th place, earning $11.5 million, while the picture starring Golden Globe-winning Robert Downey, Jr. came in 5th with $9.8 million. New release The Spy Next Door opened flatly to a 6th place debut, pulling in $9.7 million and (hopefully) urging Jackie Chan to consider some better fare.]]>

In addition to picking up a couple Golden Globes in the Best Director and Best Picture – Drama categories, Avatar earned another $41.3 million and took the top spot at the box office for the fifth weekend in a row.

The picture dipped only 18% to bring its domestic total to $491.8 million, while its worldwide box office reached a staggering $1.6 billion, putting it in position to surpass Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time over the next couple of weeks. At this rate, breaking the $2 billion mark isn’t entirely out of the question either.

Meanwhile, there was plenty to go around over the MLK holiday weekend, with The Book of Eli coming in 2nd with a strong $31.6 million start. That’s Denzel Washington’s second best opening weekend ever, behind only 2007’s American Gangster. Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones also expanded wide to a surprisingly decent $17 million weekend, good enough for 3rd place (though not nearly good enough to begin earning back its $100 million budget). Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel moved past Sherlock Holmes into 4th place, earning $11.5 million, while the picture starring Golden Globe-winning Robert Downey, Jr. came in 5th with $9.8 million. New release The Spy Next Door opened flatly to a 6th place debut, pulling in $9.7 million and (hopefully) urging Jackie Chan to consider some better fare.

In the specialty market, The Last Station opened in limited release. The Leo Tolstoy biopic starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, and Paul Giamatti bowed strongly with $81,700 in 3 venues, or a $27,233 per-theater average.

Next week, three new releases will join a market already crowded with strong holiday holdovers. Joining the fray will be the Brendan Fraser-Harrison Ford medical (melo?)drama Extraordinary Measures, Paul Bettany’s supernatural action-thriller Legion, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s family comedy(?) The Tooth Fairy. Of the three, The Tooth Fairy might actually have the best shot to finish in front. Legion and Extraordinary Measures don’t have quite as broad an appeal, and I expect them to finish in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. I’d do some more research on the different buzz the films have been getting, but I ALREADY WORK AROUND THE CLOCK! The record stands at 4 for 6.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar's domestic total now sits at $430.8 million, becoming the second-fastest to $400 million behind only The Dark Knight. It also officially became the highest grossing film released in 2009, besting Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's $402.1 million mark. Internationally, Avatar performed even better than last week thanks to a record-setting opening in China that saw it claim both opening week and single day records. Its $150.5 million international haul brings its foreign total to $910.8 million, and paired with its domestic gross, Avatar now has a spectacular worldwide tally of $1.34 billion. That's still $500 million shy of Titanic's $1.84 billion all time mark, but Avatar is certainly making it seem at least feasible that a succession could happen.

Back in the domestic picture, Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel continued their dead heat for next place, bringing in $16.59 million and $16.57 million, respectively, for a 2nd-3rd place photo finish. Daybreakers debuted in 4th place with a so-so $15.1 million, though the other two new wide releases struggled out of the gate. Leap Year came in 6th place with $9.2 million while Youth In Revolt limped to a 9th place finish with $6.9 million. It's Complicated rounded out the top 5 with an $11 million take.]]>

There’s just no stopping James Cameron. Avatar once again topped the box office in its fourth month of release with a $50.3 million weekend, showing only the slightest signs of slowing in the post-holiday frame. It set the mark for biggest fourth weekend gross, handily unseating the record previously held by Titanic’s $28.7 million.

Avatar’s domestic total now sits at $430.8 million, becoming the second-fastest to $400 million behind only The Dark Knight. It also officially became the highest grossing film released in 2009, besting Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s $402.1 million mark. Internationally, Avatar performed even better than last week thanks to a record-setting opening in China that saw it claim both opening week and single day records. Its $150.5 million international haul brings its foreign total to $910.8 million, and paired with its domestic gross, Avatar now has a spectacular worldwide tally of $1.34 billion. That’s still $500 million shy of Titanic’s $1.84 billion all time mark, but Avatar is certainly making it seem at least feasible that a succession could happen.

Back in the domestic picture, Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel continued their dead heat for next place, bringing in $16.59 million and $16.57 million, respectively, for a 2nd-3rd place photo finish. Daybreakers debuted in 4th place with a so-so $15.1 million, though the other two new wide releases struggled out of the gate. Leap Year came in 6th place with $9.2 million while Youth In Revolt limped to a 9th place finish with $6.9 million. It’s Complicated rounded out the top 5 with an $11 million take.

Next week, Denzel Washington will try to unseat the reigning champ with his The Book of Eli, while Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones expands nationwide. The Spy Next Door, Jackie Chan’s fairly-awful looking family adventure-comedy, also goes wide. Fish Tank, the acclaimed British indie, opens in limited release. I expect Eli to finish ahead of the pack, though it may not be able to overcome the staying power of Avatar. The Lovely Bones should come in second, with The Spy Next Door bringing up the rear. The new year record is 1 for 3.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Lively will star opposite Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan as Carol Ferris, a woman who runs her father's aerospace company, and the one who hires Reynold's cocky and fearless test pilot character. In the comics, Jordan goes on to become the titular intergalactic policeman and his romance with Ferris becomes complicated when an opposing alien race bestows her with the power of a crystal called the Star Sapphire. Though the character called for someone older, Lively reportedly impressed the studio and filmmakers with a strong audition, as well as with her work in Ben Affleck's The Town.

Hit the jump for some more details and our thoughts.

Reese and Wernick have been hired to pen Fox's Deadpool, which is set to return Ryan Reynolds to the role he originated in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The two have already proven they know how to blend action and humor with Zombieland, and it's something they'll have to do very well to pull off a faithful Deadpool movie. Though no director is yet attached, and a timetable for production to begin is still unknown given Reynold's involvement with Green Lantern, I remain optimistic about this project, especially now that Reese and Wernick have come aboard.

Hit the jump to see what other big franchise Reese and Wernick have been hired to write.

Check out the stills (click to enlarge!) after the jump.]]> Universal has released their 2010 movie preview, and it’s got some pretty awesome stills for some of our most anticipated movies. The centerpiece is Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which, being a big fan of both Wright’s body of work as well as the original Scott Pilgrim comics, is definitely the movie we’re most excited about in the bunch. The preview also gives us a look at David Gordon Green’s medieval stoner comedy Your Highness, the SNL-skit adaptation MacGruber starring Will Forte, and the third installment of the Meet the Parents franchise, Little Fockers.

Check out the stills (click to enlarge!) after the jump.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

The synopsis for the film goes a little something like this:

Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for totally average garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22-year-old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him. Genre-smashing filmmaker Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) tells the amazing story of one romantic slacker’s quest to power up with love in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass–and now is back in town–to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past–from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over

There’s no official release date yet, but all signs point to August as a good bet.

Your Highness

Synopsis:

Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world-Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed.

Thadeous (McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he’s settled for a life of wizard’s weed, hard booze and easy maidens. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off.

Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman)-an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own-the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker, and not only does he die a coward, he gets front row seats to the dawn of an all-new Dark Ages.

Your Highness is slated for an October 1 release date.

MacGruber

Synopsis:

Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. In 2010, Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber.

In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job.

Assembling an elite team of experts-Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig)-MacGruber will navigate an army of assassins to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. His methods may be unorthodox. His crime scenes may get messy. But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.

MacGruber is scheduled to hit theaters on April 23.

Little Fockers

There’s no official synopsis, but the Ben Stiller/Robert De Niro franchise picks up 5 years later, with the younger Fockers raising children of their own. Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner all reprise their roles, and they are joined by new cast members Jessica Alba, Harvey Keitel, and Laura Dern. Paul Weitz takes over directing duties from Jay Roach.

Little Fockers has a July 30 release date.

That mark eclipsed not only Meet the Fockers' previous record of $41.7 million, but earned the title of highest grossing third weekend ever, ahead of Spider-Man's $45 million. James Cameron's latest dipped only 9.4%, hitting the $350 million mark in only 17 days, second only to last summer's The Dark Knight. In three weekends, Avatar has already become the second highest grossing film released in 2009 (behind only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which it will soon pass) and moved up to 15th on the all-time list. That's insane. And overseas, things were even better: a $133 million international take put its foreign total up to $666.7 million. Combined with its domestic numbers, Avatar's worldwide total in 3 weeks is $1.02 billion, making it the 4th highest-grossing picture of all time and mere days away from overtaking both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (both final installments in huge trilogies, by the way) for 2nd place behind only (hey, how about that) Cameron's last film, Titanic. And this is after less than a month in theaters! Sure, inflated IMAX/3D prices play a part, and the pace will probably slow now that the holidays are winding down, but come on! It sure makes all that ink we spilled about whether Avatar would be able to recoup its budget or not seem silly.

Anyway, things were pretty shiny behind Avatar too. Sherlock Holmes and the dreaded Squeakquel both posted strong holdover numbers, coming in 2nd and 3rd with $36.7 million and $35.2 million, respectively. It's Complicated dipped the least among last weekend's wide openers, falling only 14.9% to maintain 4th place with $18.8 million. The Blind Side kept up its impressive showing as well, rounding out the top 5 with $11.9 million, which put it past the $200 million mark.]]>

Well, Avatar certainly doesn’t show any signs of slowing down at the box office, racking up another 1st place finish with $68.5 million for the highest grossing New Year’s weekend ever.

That mark eclipsed not only Meet the Fockers‘ previous record of $41.7 million, but earned the title of highest grossing third weekend ever, ahead of Spider-Man’s $45 million. James Cameron’s latest dipped only 9.4%, hitting the $350 million mark in only 17 days, second only to last summer’s The Dark Knight. In three weekends, Avatar has already become the second highest grossing film released in 2009 (behind only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which it will soon pass) and moved up to 15th on the all-time list. That’s insane. And overseas, things were even better: a $133 million international take put its foreign total up to $666.7 million. Combined with its domestic numbers, Avatar’s worldwide total in 3 weeks is $1.02 billion, making it the 4th highest-grossing picture of all time and mere days away from overtaking both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (both final installments in huge trilogies, by the way) for 2nd place behind only (hey, how about that) Cameron’s last film, Titanic. And this is after less than a month in theaters! Sure, inflated IMAX/3D prices play a part, and the pace will probably slow now that the holidays are winding down, but come on! It sure makes all that ink we spilled about whether Avatar would be able to recoup its budget or not seem silly.

Anyway, things were pretty shiny behind Avatar too. Sherlock Holmes and the dreaded Squeakquel both posted strong holdover numbers, coming in 2nd and 3rd with $36.7 million and $35.2 million, respectively. It’s Complicated dipped the least among last weekend’s wide openers, falling only 14.9% to maintain 4th place with $18.8 million. The Blind Side kept up its impressive showing as well, rounding out the top 5 with $11.9 million, which put it past the $200 million mark.

The White Ribbon had a solid limited release debut, pulling in $61,300 across 3 venues, or a $20,433 per-theater average.

My first set of 2010 predictions (which I actually made last week) has next weekend’s wide releases of Leap Year, Daybreakers, and Youth in Revolt finishing in that order. We’ll find out next weekend if my instincts have gotten any better than last year.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar claimed the title of highest-grossing second weekend ever, narrowly edging out The Dark Knight's $75.2 million, after dipping only 2% from its opening weekend's numbers. $57.9 million of its Christmas haul was from 3D sites, a new record for the format. After 10 days, Avatar's domestic total sits at a lofty $212.7 million, and with its $410.9 million foreign take, James Cameron is once again king of the world as his latest film's worldwide total is at a staggering $623.6 million.

The new wide releases all pulled their weight, with Sherlock Holmes leading the pack. The star power of Robert Downey, Jr. helped vault the film into 2nd place with a $62.4 million bow, and its Friday take of $24.6 million handily set the new record for best Christmas day opening. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (I want to destroy that title) meanwhile defied all odds by not only being worse than the original, but out-grossing it as well. It had a weekend haul of $48.9 million for 3rd place, and tallied with its Wednesday opening, the film has hit an unconscionable five-day total of $75.6 million. Numbers like that have me living in terror that a third installment is inevitable. Thanks a lot, kids.

Nancy Meyer once again showed that romantic comedies with adults over 50 years old do, in fact, have an audience. It's Complicated's 4th place debut with $22.1 million outdid Meyer's Something's Gotta Give, anchored by Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin's on-screen indiscretions. The Blind Side kept up its impressive run, rounding out the top 5 with $11.5 million.]]>

Between Christmas falling on a Friday and a slew of strong new releases, this past weekend became the highest-grossing ever as Avatar repeated at the number 1 spot with a smashing $75.6 million.

Avatar claimed the title of highest-grossing second weekend ever, narrowly edging out The Dark Knight’s $75.2 million, after dipping only 2% from its opening weekend’s numbers. $57.9 million of its Christmas haul was from 3D sites, a new record for the format. After 10 days, Avatar’s domestic total sits at a lofty $212.7 million, and with its $410.9 million foreign take, James Cameron is once again king of the world as his latest film’s worldwide total is at a staggering $623.6 million.

The new wide releases all pulled their weight, with Sherlock Holmes leading the pack. The star power of Robert Downey, Jr. helped vault the film into 2nd place with a $62.4 million bow, and its Friday take of $24.6 million handily set the new record for best Christmas day opening. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (I want to destroy that title) meanwhile defied all odds by not only being worse than the original, but out-grossing it as well. It had a weekend haul of $48.9 million for 3rd place, and tallied with its Wednesday opening, the film has hit an unconscionable five-day total of $75.6 million. Numbers like that have me living in terror that a third installment is inevitable. Thanks a lot, kids.

Nancy Meyer once again showed that romantic comedies with adults over 50 years old do, in fact, have an audience. It’s Complicated’s 4th place debut with $22.1 million outdid Meyer’s Something’s Gotta Give, anchored by Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin’s on-screen indiscretions. The Blind Side kept up its impressive run, rounding out the top 5 with $11.5 million.

Up in the Air expanded wide to 1,895 theaters and grossed a healthy $11.3 million for 6th place, but The Princess and the Frog and Nine, to a greater extent, both failed to gain any traction as they finished with $9 million and $5.5 million, respectively. In the specialty market, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus bowed with $124,743 across 4 sites, or a solid $31,186 per-theater average.

There won’t be any new releases until the week after New Years, when a middling trio of wide openers will compete with this past weekend’s juggernauts. Vampire action-thriller Daybreakers hits theaters alongside Amy Adams’ romantic comedy Leap Year and Michael Cera’s teen comedy Youth in Revolt. Leap Year is definitely the easiest sell here so I expect it to finish ahead of the pack, though strong reviews and word-of-mouth makes Daybreakers a dark horse. Youth In Revolt will most likely finish third because though it is also receiving a lot of positive buzz, the film has a bigger mountain to climb with its niche target audience and the Weinstein Company/Dimension’s history of disappointing box office returns. Michael Haneke’s Cannes Palm d’Or winning drama The White Ribbon opens this Wednesday in limited release as well. The year-end record is 58 for 82, or 71%.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Despite heavy snowstorms across the American Northeast, James Cameron's sci fi epic Avatar hauled in an estimated $73 million over the weekend to take the top spot at the box office. That figure put Avatar into the record books as the highest grossing debut ever for a non-sequel/remake/adaptation, and also made it the second-highest opening in December behind just I Am Legend's $77.2 million back in 2007.

Heavy snowfall bombarded the East Coast over the weekend, which saw marked declines starting Saturday as the brunt of the storm hit. Still, Avatar managed to get a good number of folks to the theater, with 3D presentations accounting for about $52 million of the gross. IMAX doesn't report its numbers until Monday, but company reps are already saying the film has broken every major IMAX record. An additional $159.18 million came in through international territories, which brought Avatar's worldwide debut up to a whopping $232.2 million. With movies traditionally gaining steam through Christmas, Avatar is already well on its way to making back its sky-high budget and becoming another stellar blockbuster hit for Cameron.

The other new wide release, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, made virtually no noise in its opening and managed only $7 million for 4th place. Last weekend's number 1, The Princess and the Frog, fell to second with a $12.2 million showing and brought its total to a so-so $44.8 million. The Blind Side continued its strong run and came in 3rd with $10 million, while The Twilight Saga: New Moon rounded out the top 5 with $4.4 million (and just barely edged out Invictus' 6th place, $4.2 million weekend).]]>

Updated: Variety is now reporting that Sunday numbers were stronger than expected, with Avatar’s final tally being $77.3 million to finish ahead of I Am Legend as the best December opening ever.

Despite heavy snowstorms across the American Northeast, James Cameron’s sci fi epic Avatar hauled in an estimated $73 million over the weekend to take the top spot at the box office. That figure put Avatar into the record books as the highest grossing debut ever for a non-sequel/remake/adaptation, and also made it the second-highest opening in December behind just I Am Legend’s $77.2 million back in 2007.

Heavy snowfall bombarded the East Coast over the weekend, which saw marked declines starting Saturday as the brunt of the storm hit. Still, Avatar managed to get a good number of folks to the theater, with 3D presentations accounting for about $52 million of the gross. IMAX doesn’t report its numbers until Monday, but company reps are already saying the film has broken every major IMAX record. An additional $159.18 million came in through international territories, which brought Avatar’s worldwide debut up to a whopping $232.2 million. With movies traditionally gaining steam through Christmas, Avatar is already well on its way to making back its sky-high budget and becoming another stellar blockbuster hit for Cameron.

The other new wide release, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, made virtually no noise in its opening and managed only $7 million for 4th place. Last weekend’s number 1, The Princess and the Frog, fell to second with a $12.2 million showing and brought its total to a so-so $44.8 million. The Blind Side continued its strong run and came in 3rd with $10 million, while The Twilight Saga: New Moon rounded out the top 5 with $4.4 million (and just barely edged out Invictus‘ 6th place, $4.2 million weekend).

In the specialty market, Rob Marshall’s Nine bowed spectacularly to the tune of $247,000 at 4 theaters, or a weekend-best $61,750 average. Crazy Heart also fared well, with $84,200 at four sites for a $21,050 average.

Avatar will face some stiff competition next week when Sherlock Holmes bows at theaters. Likewise, It’s Complicated will come into the picture with Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which I still can’t believe is getting a theatrical release (TELL ME those ads don’t look like direct-to-DVD hooey). Incidentally, that’s also the order that I think the new releases will finish in next week. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will open in limited release as well. The record stands at 57 for 79.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow