"Avatar" grosses $19.4 million on Monday

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Holiday season between Christmas and New Year brings good fortune for every blockbusters, with 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" topping the others as it grossed $19.4 million from 3,456 theaters on Monday, bringing the domestic earnings to $232.1 million in 11 days, reports Variety.

Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" placed No. 2, grossing $12.1 million from 3,700 runs for a four-day domestic earnings of $87.7 million.

Warner Bros.' Robert Downey Jr.-Jude Law starrer "Sherlock Holmes" came in No. 3, grossing $11.2 million from 3,626 theaters for a four-day earnings of $73.6 million.

Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin starrer "It's Complicated," from Universal, grossed $4.3 million from 2,887 for a four-day total of $26.4 million.

Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" placed No. 5 on Monday, grossing $3.1 million from 3,475 runs for a domestic cume of $66.8 million.

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Holiday box office breaks records

Source: Variety

'Avatar' tops 'Chipmunks,' 'Sherlock Holmes' with $75 million

There was enough Christmas cheer for nearly everyone at the domestic B.O., which tallied its biggest weekend in history as a number of films -- led by 20th Century's 3D juggernaut "Avatar" -- benefited from moviegoers stuffing themselves silly.

Revenues for the frame reached an estimated $280 million, overtaking the $260 million earned the weekend "The Dark Knight" opened in July 2008.

In another milestone, domestic ticket sales for 2009 jumped the $10 billion mark for the first time ever, capping a record-breaking year that is running 12% ahead of last year. Attendance is up more than 5%.

"Avatar" dipped only 3% in its second sesh to an estimated $75 million from 3,456 runs for a cume of $212.3 million. Overseas, the James Cameron-directed pic fell 12% to an estimated $145 million from 14,844 playdates in 108 markets for a foreign total of $405 million and dazzling worldwide haul of $617.3 million in its first 10 days.

Placing No. 2 domestically was Warner Bros.' Robert Downey Jr.-Jude Law topliner "Sherlock Holmes," opening to $65.4 million from 3,626 to easily secure the top bow ever for a Christmas weekend. Previous record-holder was "Meet the Fockers" ($46.2 million).

Fox is ending the year on a high note, between "Avatar" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which posted a five-day Christmas bow of $77.1 million from 3,700 runs. That included a weekend haul of $50.2 million, which put the kiddie pic at No. 3 and bested the $44.2 million debut of the first "Alvin" the weekend of Dec. 14, 2007.

Overseas, "Squeakquel" debuted to a strong $36.5 million from 5,492 screens in 42 markets for a worldwide debut of $113.6 million. International number was 215% ahead of "Alvin's" opening in the same territories.

Stateside, Universal's female-skewing romantic comedy "It's Complicated" came in No. 4, grossing an estimated $22.1 million from 2,886 to score Nancy Meyers her second-best bow after that of "What Women Want" ($33.6 million). "It's Complicated" stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

Expanding wide over the frame were Paramount's George Clooney starrer "Up in the Air" and the Weinstein Co.'s Rob Marshall-directed musical "Nine."

"Up in the Air" came in No. 5 for the weekend, grossing an estimated $11.8 million from 1,895 theaters for a cume of $24.5 million and location average of 6,203.

"Nine" placed No. 8, grossing a softer $5.5 million from 1,412 screens for a cume of $5.9 million and per-location average of 3,926.

Distributors said the box office gained with Dec. 25 falling on a Friday as Christmas afternoon and evening are a busy time for theaters, and Friday is a big moviegoing day to begin with.

Most films saw substantial gains from Friday to Saturday, particularly family pics. "Alvin" was up 41%; "Avatar," 21%; "Up in the Air," 19%; and "It's Complicated," 16%.

The only two movies on the top 10 chart seeing Friday-to-Saturday declines were "Sherlock" (-11%) and "Nine" (-8%).

It is routine for films doing business on opening day to see a Saturday drop, however, as in the case of "Sherlock," which grossed a record-breaking $24.9 million on Christmas Day. That put "Sherlock" ahead of "Avatar's" $23.5 million to win the day. Previous best Christmas Day gross for a new pic was that of "Marley and Me" ($14.4 million).

"I'm thrilled that we blew away all the expectations," Warner Bros. prexy of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said.

"Sherlock" skewed slightly male at 54%. Audience was fairly evenly divided among auds over and under 30. Warners is hoping the pic, which received a B CinemaScore, will launch a franchise.

As of three weeks ago, many box office observers believed "Sherlock" had a shot at beating "Avatar" over Christmas weekend. Based on an iconic character, "Sherlock," directed by Guy Ritchie and also starring Rachel McAdams, was a known brand.

Despite the challenge of introducing tentpoles based on original stories, "Avatar" is benefiting from incredible word of mouth, as evidenced by the fact that the film nearly grossed as much in its second frame as in its first $77 million frame.

Fox senior VP of distribution Bert Livingston said it wasn't a surprise that "Sherlock" beat "Avatar" on Christmas Day but that "Avatar" ruled overall. "It was our second Friday, and I think they had a great campaign. People wanted to see ('Sherlock')," Livingston said.

Livingston added that the studio couldn't have been more delighted with the opening of "Squeakquel."

"When Alvin did $18.8 million on the first day, I thought that every family had gone to see it opening day, and wondered whether it would be the biggest day of the weekend. I didn't think we could beat that number, but we did, and the film grossed $20.4 million on Saturday," Livingston said.

"Squeakquel's" audience was 70% families. Sequel overperformed among Latinos, who helped to drive the B.O. success of the first "Alvin," which cumed $217.3 million domestically and $143.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $360.6 million.

The weekdays between Christmas and New Year's weekend see Saturday-like business, and with such a strong Christmas weekend, distribs are hoping that the trend is even more pronounced this year.

"Avatar," for instance, could hit $300 million in domestic B.O. by the end of New Year's weekend.

Universal prexy of domestic distribution Nikki Rocco said "It's Complicated" is poised to have lasting playability as older women become freed up from holiday activities. The romantic comedy received an A- CinemaScore, with moviegoers overwhelmingly female and over 30.

Relativity Media co-financed "It's Complicated."

Among limited releases, Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," Heath Ledger's final film, scored the top per-location average of the frame at $32,495. The Sony Pictures Classics release opened to an estimated $129,980 from four locations in New York and Los Angeles.

Fox Searchlight's Jeff Bridges topliner "Crazy Heart" grossed an estimated $156,000 from 12 theaters in its second frame for a location average of $13,000 and cume of $320,578.

Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" grossed an estimated $38,000 from three runs in its third frame for a location average of $12,667 and cume of $273,000.

Tom Ford's "A Single Man," from the Weinstein Co., grossed an estimated $323,000 from 46 theaters in its third sesh for a location average of $7,022 and cume of $891,000.

SPC's Pedro Almodovar pic "Broken Embraces" grossed an estimated $360,385 from 71 runs for a theater average of $5,076 and cume of $1.3 million in its sixth weekend.

Apparition's Emily Blunt pic "The Young Victoria" grossed an estimated $603,866 from 163 runs for an average of $3,705 and cume of $886,514.

Prestige pics vying for awards attention at the end of the year face a tough road as they have to compete with bigger releases. The challenge is to hold on and play into January and February.

Distribs decided to take a different approach with "Up in the Air" and "Nine," expanding nationwide over Christmas.

"Up in the Air" continued to play most strongly on the East and West coasts. Its per-screen average was $6,023; last Christmas, "Slumdog Millionaire," playing on far fewer screens, grossed $4.3 million from 614 locations on the same weekend for a location average of $7,006.

"Nine," with an ensemble cast that includes Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard, had a tougher time and saw declines in holdover theaters in New York. However, musicals can have strong legs.

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Box Office Dec. 25-27 Results

1 Avatar - $75,000,000
2 Sherlock Holmes - $65,380,000
3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - $50,200,000
4 It's Complicated - $22,114,420
5 Up in the Air - $11,755,000
6 The Blind Side - $11,730,0000
7 The Princess and the Frog - $8,683,000
8 Nine - $5,544,000
9 Did You Hear About the Morgans? - $5,000,000
10 Invictus - $4,390,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office Dec. 26-27 Results (Japan)

1 AVATAR - FOX
2 Nodame Cantabile The Movie I (JPN.) - Toho
3 One Piece Film Strong World (JPN.Animation) - Toei
4 UP - Disney
5 Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W
& Decade Movie Taisen 2010 (JPN.) - Toei
6 Free And Easy 20 Final (JPN.) - Shochiku
7 2012 - SPE
8 Professor Layton And The Eternal Diva (JPN.Animation) - Toho
9 Ultra Galaxy Legend (JPN.) - WB
10 THE FOURTH KIND - WB

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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"Alvin" squeaks by "Avatar" at box office

Source: Variety

Fox's 'Chipmunks' opens to $18.7 million

Twentieth Century Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" opened to $18.7 million on Wednesday from 3,656 theaters, securing the best gross for a title debuting on the Wednesday of Christmas week at the domestic B.O.

One Fox insider say the studio didn't expect "Squeakquel" to outdo Fox's "Avatar," which still did excellent business, grossing $16.4 million from 3,452 runs for a domestic earnings of $125.9 million.

"It was a great number for 'Alvin,' and it exceeded our expectations," Fox senior VP of domestic distribution Bert Livingston said.

Original "Alvin and the Chipmunks" posted an opening day gross of $13.3 million from 3,475 runs when opening Dec. 14, 2007, a Friday. That film earned $279.2 million domestically.

Previous best opening for the Wednesday before Christmas appears to be "Meet the Fockers" at $12.1 million, according to Rentrak.

Between "Avatar" and now "Squeakquel," Fox is ending the year on a high note. "Squeakquel" has the advantage of being the only new family entry at the holiday B.O.

James Cameron's "Avatar" is displaying extraordinary B.O. strength, grossing at least $16 million every day this week. On Wednesday, it was one of the titles that was up from Tuesday at 2 percent.

"Avatar" gets competition on Christmas Day from Warner Bros.' Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law starrer "Sherlock Holmes."

Theater traffic is expected to slow dramatically today, being Christmas Eve. "Alvin" could be heavily impacted.

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"Avatar" to be joined by "Sherlock," "Chipmunks"

Source: Variety

Experts expect Christmas holiday to set records

With a socko $16.4 million domestically on Monday, Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar" continued its box office juggernaut and should win the Christmas weekend as well -- but there's plenty of competition, as Santa will be delivering a sleigh full of new titles.

Considering the new wide releases and specialty pics, as well as potent holdovers, some believe it could be a record-breaking holiday.

Today, Fox opens its other holiday tentpole, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel," in 3,657 theaters. And Paramount's George Clooney starrer "Up in the Air" expands nationwide into roughly 1,800 theaters after a successful, three-week run. Directed by Jason Reitman, pic's cume is $8.7 million.

Opening on Christmas Day are Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes," bowing in 3,626 theaters, and Universal's romantic comedy "It's Complicated," in 2,887 runs.

Also on Friday, the Weinstein Co.'s musical "Nine" is expanding wide after beginning in a limited run designed to build word-of-mouth. The Rob Marshall-helmed tuner gets 1,500 screens.

Limited openers include Sony Pictures Classics' "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," Heath Ledger's final film, directed by Terry Gilliam. It opens in four runs in New York and Los Angeles.

A host of other limited holdovers will also be competing for attention, such as "Broken Embraces," "A Single Man," "The Young Victoria," "The Road," "An Education," "Lovely Bones" and "Precious."

The final two weeks of the year are huge for distributors and theater owners; in the week between Christmas and New Year's, "every day is like a Saturday,"according to one studio distributor. However, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning are a wash. By 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., theater lobbies begin to come alive. The fact that Christmas falls on a Friday should have minimal impact (a Saturday Yule is more damaging.)

B.O. mavens will be following the race between "Avatar" and "Sherlock Holmes," beginning Christmas afternoon. Two weeks ago, tracking showed higher awareness for "Sherlock" than the James Cameron pic. In some ways, that wasn't surprising, because "Avatar" is an original story and an unknown brand, whereas the Guy Ritchie-helmied film is based on an iconic character and starring Robert Downey Jr.

But now the landscape has shifted, due to "Avatar's" strong launch. Its Dec. 21 tally was one of the highest ever for a Monday, bringing the film a domestic cume of $94.1 million in its first four days.

Both "Sherlock" and "Avatar" consider themselves to be all-audience films, meaning they will vie for the same eyeballs. Each is being viewed as a potential franchise.

Alvin" has two distinct advantages: It's a sequel, and it's the only family film entering the market.

The original "Alvin," opening Dec. 14, 2007, debuted to $44 million on its way to cuming $217 million domestically. Among the driving forces in its success were Latino auds. "Squeakuel" is expected to have a strong opening day.

Overseas, "Alvin" nabbed $143.3 million, for a worldwide total of $360.6 million. "Squeakuel" is making major international push, opening day and date in numerous markets.

Fox isn't worried about "Alvin" and "Avatar" cannibalizing each other, whether domestically or internationally.

It's Complicated" hopes to benefit from being the only female-skewing pic on the marquee. Film's core demo is women over 25, although younger women are showing interest, as well as some older men. The pic is similar in storyline and tone to writer-helmer Nancy Meyers' "Something's Gotta Give," toplining Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The latter debuted to $16.1 million on Dec. 12, 2003 on its way to cuming $124.6 million domestically.

Holdovers that should benefit from the holiday include Warners' "The Blind Side" and Disney's "The Princess and the Frog."

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Nominations for the 33rd Japan Academy Prize announced

By Siewaun
Reference: Japan Academy Prize

Nominations for the 33rd Japan Academy Prize (Japan's equivalent of the Oscars) was announced yesterday.

Director Kichitaro Negishi's "Villon's Wife" received the most nominations -- for Picture of the Year, Director of the Year (Kichitaro Negishi), Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Tadanobu Asano), and Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Takako Matsu).

Here are the nominees in 15 categories (award ceremony to be held on March 5th, 2010):

Picture of the Year:

Villon’s Wife (Kichitaro Negishi)
The Sun That Doesn’t Set (Setsuro Wakamatsu)
Zero Focus (Isshin Inudo)
Mt. Tsurugidake (Daisaku Kimura)
Dear Doctor (Miwa Nishikawa)

Animation of the Year

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Khara)
Summer Wars (Mamoru Hosoda)
Doraemon (Shigeo Koshi)
Yona Yona Penguin (Rintaro)
Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser (Yasuichiro Yamamoto)

Director of the Year

Isshin Inudo (Zero Focus)
Daisaku Kimura (Mt. Tsurugidake)
Kichitaro Negishi (Villon’s Wife)
Miwa Nishikawa (Dear Doctor)
Setsuro Wakamatsu (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)

Screenplay of the Year

Isshin Inudo/Kenji Nakazono (Zero Focus)
Daisaku Kimura/Atsuo Kikuchi/Toshimasa Miyamura (Mt. Tsurugidake)
Yozo Tanaka (Villon’s Wife)
Takuya Nishioka (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)
Miwa Nishikawa (Dear Doctor)

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Tadanobu Asano (Villon’s Wife)
Tadanobu Asano (Mt. Tsurugidake)
Nao Omori (The Vulture)
Tsurube Shofukutei (Dear Doctor)
Ken Watanabe (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Haruka Ayase (Oppai Volleyball)
Ryoko Hirosue (Zero Focus)
Du-na Bae (Airdoll)
Takako Matsu (Villon’s Wife)
Aoi Miyazaki (The Shonen Merikensack)

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Eita (Dear Doctor)
Teruyuki Kagawa (Mt. Tsurugidake)
Masato Sakai (The Triumphant Return of General Rouge)
Tetsuji Tamayama (The Vulture)
Tomokazu Miura (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Tae Kimura (Zero Focus)
Kyoka Suzuki (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)
Miki Nakatani (Zero Focus)
Shigeru Muroi (Villon’s Wife)
Kimiko Yo (Dear Doctor)

Outstanding Achievement in Music

Shinichiro Ikebe (Mt. Tsurugidake)
Koji Ueno (Zero Focus)
Norihito Sumitomo (The Sun That Doesn’t Set)
Shutoku Mukai (The Shonen Merikensack)
Takashi Yoshimatsu (Villon’s Wife)

Outstanding Foreign Language Film

Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood)
Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
The Changeling (Clint Eastwood)
The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)
Red Cliff – Part 2 (John Woo)

Special award from the chairman

Genken Nakaoka - late (2009/03/08)
Shuei Matsubayashi - late (2009/08/15)
Yoshiro Muraki - late (2009/10/26)

Achievement Award from the Chairman

Nishida Toshiyuki (The Fishing Maniac's Diary)
Mikuni Rentaro (The Fishing Maniac's Diary)

Association Special Award

Sumiko Hata - Director
Yukio Hokari - Acoustics
Kiyoshi Matsushita - Background
Matsuda Takashi - Costumes

Society Medal of Honor

Hisaya Morishige - late actor (2009/11/10)
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'Avatar' poised to earn several Oscar nominations

Source: hollywoodreporter

Commentary: Film should benefit from wider best picture race

Since June, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opened up the best picture race to 10 nominees, Oscar has been waiting for a knight in shining boxoffice armor -- preferably a "Dark Knight": a boxoffice powerhouse with strong critical credentials.

A large part of the rationale for opting for an Oscar Top 10 was the hope that Academy voters would embrace mainstream hits, thereby expanding the potential audience for the broadcast while avoiding the cries of protest from jilted fanboys who felt robbed when "The Dark Knight" failed to earn a best picture nomination last time around.

But then another "Dark Knight" failed to immediately materialize.

Consider: Pixar's "Up," released in May and now the No. 3 domestic grosser of 2009, is regarded as a possible contender -- if it isn't relegated to the animated feature category. "The Hangover," the year's biggest comedy at No. 4, with $277 million, would have to overcome the hurdle that it is the year's biggest comedy. "Star Trek" might have attracted appreciative reviews and a No. 6 rank at the boxoffice, but it doesn't seem to have inspired much Oscar buzz in the top categories. In fact, you have to move all the way down the list of the year's top grossers to No. 22, "Inglourious Basterds," before finding another movie that appears to be in line for a best picture nom.

But just when it appeared that a whole host of smaller, specialty films were lining up to fill the available slots -- in the process, undermining the Academy's attempt to reach out to a wider audience -- Fox's "Avatar," with a veritable flourish of trumpets, has ridden to the rescue.

There were plenty of skeptics awaiting the years-in-the-making film with a show-me attitude. But once it began screening two weeks ago, and in the wake of its opening Friday, James Cameron's space odyssey has redefined the awards-season contests.

Critically, the movie's collective reviews stand at 83 out of 100 on the Metacritic Web site. At RottenTomatoes.com, 83% of the movie's notices were positive, and among the site's sampling of top critics, the approval rate rose to 94%. Even the Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan, one of the loudest voices torpedoing Cameron's "Titanic" in 1997, hailed the filmmaker's new movie, praising it for restoring "a sense of wonder to the moviegoing experience" and testifying "the film's romantic protagonists paradoxically end up feeling like creatures whose fates we care more about than we did Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's on the boat."

Commercially, "Avatar" appears on track as well. Its first-weekend domestic gross clocked in at $77 million, which was several million dollars higher than the studio's Sunday estimate. It remains to be seen whether it will attract the repeat business that floated "Titanic's" boat week to week. It's worth noting, though, that moviegoers showed a preference for seeing the movie in 3D -- 72% of the opening-weekend take came from 3D screens, 13% from Imax 3D screens. Since there's still a relatively limited number of 3D and Imax screens in play, that suggests the movie will play like an old-fashioned, leggy blockbuster, rather than the one- or two-weekend wonders of the standard superwide release, with moviegoers lining up for the available screens.

All of which brings us back to the Academy, where the movie officially screened at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Sunday evening. The audience was packed, and the response was huge, with waves of applause greeting individual names during the end credits.

Hollywood insiders, recognizing the technical leaps involved, already have begun applauding. None other than Steven Spielberg has called "Avatar" "the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since 'Star Wars.' "

But it's not just about technique. Thematically, the movie also might strike a nerve with the Academy.

"Honestly, it's the most liberal, old-fashioned Hollywood movie in years," said one member of Sunday's audience. "It's eco-friendly, and it's a diatribe against George Bush's America, raping and pillaging sovereign nations for their resources."

So how big could "Avatar's" footprint be when the Academy noms are announced Feb. 2?

Right now, the number that's being bandied about is nine -- drawn from a menu that includes best picture, director, visual effects, editing, art direction, sound, sound editing, score and song. (Cinematography, costumes and makeup are more of a stretch, given how much of that work was done digitally.)

Unlike "Titanic," which earned acting noms for Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart, "Avatar" will have a tougher time winning over the actors branch unless it's feeling generous and rewards Sigourney Weaver with a supporting actress nom for her feisty scientist.

By rights, Zoe Saldana also should be part of the conversation for her warrior princess Neytiri. But while the actress might have displayed her versatility with her equally high-profile appearance this summer as Uhura in "Star Trek," she's not seen in the flesh in "Avatar." Even though the studio hopes to get out the message that the actors involved delivered full-blown performances that Cameron captured digitally, that's still a tough sell.

Witness the fact that SAG ignored "Avatar" when it handed out its noms last week. (One added factor: Most of the 2,300-member SAG nominating committee probably hadn't seen the movie by the time its nominating ballots were due Dec. 14.)

But even though "Avatar" isn't expected to pick up the 14 noms that "Titanic" commanded, if it makes it into best picture contention, that will be an achievement in itself since the Academy -- at least under its old five-pic rule poise -- has been fairly resistant to fantasy and sci-fi movies in its top category.

Since 1977's "Star Wars," only 1982's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and the three "Lord of the Rings" movies at the beginning of this decade have made that select list of nominees. A movie like 1993's "Jurassic Park" -- groundbreaking in its day -- had to settle for visual effects and two sound noms, all of which it won.

Right now, "Avatar" is looking like it will join that club -- and potentially attract lots of self-proclaimed Avartards to the March 7 Oscar broadcast as well.

Adam Shankman, who's producing the show with Bill Mechanic, certainly was jazzed when he tweeted early Monday: " 'Avatar' is not only brilliant but has the most powerful environmental message of the year. Amazing. Game-changer."

Cue the dancing Na'vi.

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Song Hye-kyo to star in "The Grand Master"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Popular Korean actress Song Hye-kyo ("All In," "Autumn Fairy Tale," "Full House," "My Girl and I") is now busy learning Cantonese, and also kungfu! And the reason for these hard work is because she has been cast by director Wong Kar Wai in his upcoming feature "The Grand Master."

Hye-kyo will be starring in a yet unannounced supporting role.

The movie which centers on martial-arts master Ip Man, who trained Bruce Lee, will be starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Ip Man, Zhang Ziyi as the wife of Ip Man, Gong Li as the head of a martial-art clan. Veteran chinese actor Zhao Benshan and Chang Chen also star.

Shooting has already begin, and Wong Kar Wai is aiming to finish it up by April.

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Box Office Dec. 18-20 Results

1 Avatar - $73,000,000
2 The Princess and the Frog - $12,224,000
3 The Blind Side - $10,030,000
4 Did You Hear About the Morgans? - $7,000,000
5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $4,400,000
6 Invictus - $4,170,000
7 Disney's A Christmas Carol - $3,419,000
8 Up in the Air - $3,100,000
9 Brothers - $2,630,000
10 Old Dogs - $2,289,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office Dec. 19-20 Results (Japan)

1 One Piece Film Strong World (JPN.Animation) - Toei
2 Nodame Cantabile The Movie I (JPN.) - Toho
3 UP - Disney
4 Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W & Decade Movie Taisen 2010 (JPN.) - Toei
5 2012 - SPE
6 Professor Layton And The Eternal Diva (JPN.Animation) - Toho
7 Ultra Galaxy Legend (JPN.) - WB
8 THE FOURTH KIND - WB
9 PUBLIC ENEMIES - Toho Towa
10 A Tale Of Ululu's Wonderful Forest (JPN.) - Toho

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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'Avatar' earns $73 million in opening

Source: Hollywoodreporter.com

"Mother Nature worked her own special effects on "Avatar" during the weekend as a big East Coast snowstorm kept James Cameron's sci-fi actioner from piling its opening boxoffice as high as expected.

But Fox still managed to shovel a blizzard's worth of business with the 3D release, which topped domestic rankings with an estimated $73 million through Sunday. The motion capture-and-live action hybrid bowed simultaneously in 106 international territories, where it rung up $159.2 million in foreign coin for a worldwide debut totaling $232.2 million.



The weekend's sole other wide opener -- Sony's romantic comedy "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker -- fetched $7 million in fourth place. Disney's animated feature "The Princess and the Frog" fell 50% from its week-earlier wide debut to $12.2 million in second place with a $44.8 cume, while Warner Bros.' Clint Eastwood-directed "Invictus" dropped 52% in its sophomore session to $4.2 million in sixth place with a $15.8 million cume.

Collectively, the weekend's top 10 films registered $122.2 million, or 58% more than top performers in the same frame last year, according to Nielsen EDI. That makes four straight weekends in which the industry has outpaced year-earlier comparisons.

In a limited bow, Fox Searchlight unspooled Jeff Bridges starrer "Crazy Heart" in two New York locations and two in L.A. to gross $84,204, or an auspicious $21,051 per site. "Heart" will add solo runs in four additional markets Friday.

The Weinstein Co. opened Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" in four theaters and grossed $246,933. That represented a whopping $61,733 per venue ahead the pic's scheduled expansion into wide release next weekend.

Apparition debuted period drama "Young Victoria" with 20 playdates in eight U.S. markets and grossed $148,254, or a pleasing $7,413 per engagement.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, Sony Pictures Classics added 24 locations for a total of 30 for Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" as the Penelope Cruz starrer grossed $205,281, or a solid $6,843 per site. "Broken" cume climbed to $847,976.

Freestyle Releasing's drama "Me and Orson Welles" added 68 theaters for a total 132 to gross $170,068, or a thin $1,288 per venue, with cume of $563,569.

Drawing largely positive reviews from film critics, "Avatar" totes a negative cost of $300 million or more, according to unofficial estimates. Fox and Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment worked for the past few years with Giant Studios in west L.A. on motion-capture animation for the groundbreaking production and used WETA Digital in New Zealand for final rendering and other digital work.

Fox brought in a pair of co-financing partners on "Avatar" as the production costs began to pile up. The studio declined to disclose how pic equity is split among the three participants -- Fox, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners.

Cameron & Co. began tubthumping the movie last summer, introducing screenings of extended footing at Cinema Expo in Amsterdam and Comic-Con in San Diego. But early Internet-driven sentiment was skeptical until more recent industry screenings of the entire film met with enthusiastic receptions, prompting notable pre-release interest.

Once in theaters, "Avatar" -- Cameron's first dramatic feature in 12 years -- proved less front-loaded than the typical fan-fueled release. That could be a hopeful sign, as a broader base of support could translate into a leggier theatrical run over coming weekends.

And the snow will melt eventually.

"Avatar" posted $27 million of its weekend haul Friday, including solid-but-unspectacular $3.5 million in boxoffice from more than 2,000 mostly 3D midnight performances. Then the snowstorms hit in major Eastern markets, yielding a disappointing Saturday tally of $25.7 million; Fox penciled it a $20.3 million estimate for Sunday.

Still, the weekend performance for "Avatar" fell just short record territory for the month. The biggest-ever December opening was with 2007's "I Am Legend" at $77.2 million.

Rated PG-13, "Avatar" drew audiences comprised 57% of males, with 62% of patrons age 25 or older.

"That bodes extremely well for us," Fox senior vp distribution Chris Aronson said. "With 62% of the audience being older, that bodes well for playability. The older audience has holiday distractions right now, but once they're freed, they will be flowing to this movie."

"Avatar" boasted about 3,000 3D screens and an equal number of 2D screens while playing in a total 3,452 theaters. Grosses for 3D screens were fattened by premium ticket charges, with Imax's 179 digital 3D screens doing particularly well.

"Basically, every one of our seats was sold out through the weekend and in many cases for the next week," Imax Film Entertainment president Greg Foster said. "We shattered every record we have."

Rated PG-13, "Morgans" skewed 60% female, with 54% of patrons age 30 or older.

"The opening was a little soft, with all the bad weather," Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said.

Looking ahead to next weekend, the Christmas holiday falling Friday will hamper family pics a bit but shouldn't hurt two adult-targeting wide openers: Universal's romantic comedy "It's Complicated" -- starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin -- and Warners' actioner "Sherlock Holmes," with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Fox unspools animated sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunk: The Squeakquel" on Wednesday to get ahead of the holiday hubbub.
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Actress Brittany Murphy died at age 32

The actress known to the roles from the movies Clueless & 8 mile has died from getting into cardiac arrest. She wasn't able to be revive before while arriving to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. It was mention that she died at 10:04 am as she did other roles for Don't say a word & Sin City. Although it is not officially known of what cause her death as there would be toxicology tests and it is known to be natural causes.

There is going to be autopsy in a next day or two while that leaves L.A. police to do the investigation. Also she does have 3 post-production movies that she in: Abandoned,Something Wicked, and The Expendables as the first 2 got no schedule dates as the 3rd is in August 20, 2010 according to the sources. Also it was TMZ who manage to got this news first this morning.

~Darth Demon

Source: Boxoffice.com & News.yahoo.com
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Bryan Singer returns for "X-Men: First Class"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Bryan Singer has signed on to direct the third of the X-Men franchise titled, "X-Men: First Class" for 20th Century Fox.

Screenwriter Jamie Moss "Street Kings" wrote the script for the feature, which Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg will be producing.

Singer told Daily Variety that the story centers on the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where they're relationship took a wrong turn. Xavier and Magneto will be in their twenties.

Singer said, "There is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from 'X-Men' will figure into the plot, though I don't want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain.

"Whether it's 'Batman,' 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Star Trek,' if the characters are good, you want to see them on their journey even if you know their destiny. I put myself in the fan's position, and I think this story is something I would want to see, and so will they," said Singer.

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Peter Segal will be forming the "Neighborhood Watch"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Peter Segal ("The Longest Yard," "Get Smart") is in negotiations to direct supernatural comedy "Neighborhood Watch" for 20th Century Fox.

Previously, David Dobkin "Wedding Crashers" was attached to direct, and Will Ferrell to star in the comedy but that fell apart last summer. Now with Segal, who has had general success in the comedy film genre, on the director's chair for "Neighborhood Watch," we should see him deliver another successful comedy, hopefully.

The movie centers on a newcomer who joins the suburban neighborhood watch group, and stumbles upon a supernatural forces aiming to destroy the world.
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SAG nominations list

Source: Variety

MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia"

MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
"An Education"
Dominic Cooper
Alfred Molina
Carey Mulligan
Rosamund Pike
Peter Sarsgaard
Emma Thompson
Olivia Williams

"The Hurt Locker"
Christian Camargo
Brian Geraghty
Evangeline Lilly
Anthony Mackie
Jeremy Renner

"Inglourious Basterds"
Daniel Bruehl
August Diehl
Julie Dreyfus
Michael Fassbender
Sylvester Groth
Jacky Ido
Diane Kruger
Melanie Laurent
Denis Menochet
Mike Myers
Brad Pitt
Eli Roth
Til Schweiger
Rod Taylor
Christoph Waltz
Martin Wuttke

"Nine"
Marion Cotillard
Penelope Cruz
Daniel Day-Lewis
Judi Dench
Fergie
Kate Hudson
Nicole Kidman
Sophia Loren

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Mariah Carey
Lenny Kravitz
Mo'nique
Paula Patton
Sherri Shepherd
Gabourey Sidibe

PRIMETIME TELEVISION
MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"
Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano De Bergerac"
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"
Ruby Dee, "America"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
"The Closer"
G.W. Bailey
Michael Paul Chan
Raymond Cruz
Tony Denison
Robert Gossett
Phillip P. Keene
Corey Reynolds
Kyra Sedgwick
J.K. Simmons
Jon Tenney

"Dexter"
Preston Bailey
Julie Benz
Jennifer Carpenter
Courtney Ford
Michael C. Hall
Desmond Harrington
C.S. Lee
John Lithgow
Rick Peters
James Remar
Christina Robinson
Lauren Velez
David Zayas

"The Good Wife"
Christine Baranski
Josh Charles
Matt Czuchry
Julianna Margulies
Archie Panjabi
Graham Phillips
MacKenzie Vega

"Mad Men"
Alexa Alemanni
Bryan Batt
Jared S. Gilmore
Michael Gladis
Jon Hamm
Jared Harris
Christina Hendricks
January Jones
Vincent Kartheiser
Robert Morse
Elisabeth Moss
Kiernan Shipka
John Slattery
Rich Sommer
Christopher Stanley
Aaron Staton

"True Blood"
Chris Bauer
Mehcad Brooks
Anna Camp
Nelsan Ellis
Michelle Forbes
Mariana Klaveno
Ryan Kwanten
Todd Lowe
Michael McMillian
Stephen Moyer
Anna Paquin
Jim Parrack
Carrie Preston
William Sanderson
Alexander Skarsgard
Sam Trammell
Rutina Wesley
Deborah Ann Woll

ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
"30 Rock"
Scott Adsit
Alec Baldwin
Katrina Bowden
Kevin Brown
Grizz Chapman
Tina Fey
Judah Friedlander
Jane Krakowski
John Lutz
Jack McBrayer
Tracy Morgan
Keith Powell

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Larry David
Susie Essman
Jeff Garlin
Cheryl Hines

"Glee"
Diana Agron
Chris Colfer
Patrick Gallagher
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jane Lynch
Jayma Mays
Kevin McHale
Lea Michele
Cory Monteith
Heather Morris
Matthew Morrison
Amber Riley
Naya Rivera
Mark Salling
Harry Shum Jr.
Josh Sussman
Dijon Talton
Iqbal Theba
Jenna Ushkowitz

"Modern Family"
Julie Bowen
Ty Burrell
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Nolan Gould
Sarah Hyland
Ed O'Neill
Rico Rodriguez
Eric Stonestreet
Sofia Vergara
Ariel Winter

"The Office"
Leslie David Baker
Brian Baumgartner
Creed Bratton
Steve Carell
Jenna Fischer
Kate Flannery
Ed Helms
Mindy Kaling
Ellie Kemper
Angela Kinsey
John Krasinski
Paul Lieberstein
B.J. Novak
Oscar Nunez
Craig Robinson
Phyllis Smith
Rainn Wilson

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
"Public Enemies"
"Star Trek"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
"24"
"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"Heroes"
"The Unit"

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Betty White

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SAG nominations announced

Source: Variety

Winners will be announced Jan. 23

"Inglourious Basterds," "Precious" and "Up in the Air" scored the most traction among thesps with three Screen Actors Guild feature nominations each as actors opted for a mix of mainstream and specialty titles. On the TV side, "30 Rock," "The Closer" and "Dexter" led the way with three nominations apiece.

In the guild's ensemble cast category, "Basterds" and "Precious" landed nods as did "An Education," "The Hurt Locker" and "Nine." Though "Up in the Air" wasn't cited in that category, George Clooney took a best actor nom and castmates Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick each received nods in the supporting actress contest.

"Basterds" castmates Christoph Waltz and Diane Kruger scored nominations in the supporting actor and actress categories. Kruger's nod may have been the biggest surprise of the morning's announcements, which mostly followed expectations.

Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe continued to rack up recognition with an actress nomination for "Precious," as did castmate Mo'Nique in the supporting actress category.

Michelle Monaghan and Chris O'Donnell announced the nominations Thursday morning at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Nominations were based on voting by a panel of 2,100 randomly selected SAG members across the country. (Many of the late-year-debut films sent out screeners to nomination committee members.)

Clooney will face competition for the actor kudo from Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," Colin Firth for "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman for "Invictus" and Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker." Four of them had also received Golden Globe drama noms, with Renner replacing Globes contender Tobey Maguire for "Brothers."

Besides Sidibe, actress noms went to Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side," Helen Mirren for "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan for "An Education," and Meryl Streep for "Julie and Julia." All five also received Golden Globe noms; Bullock's prospects as an awards candidate have gained momentum amid the surprise box office success of "The Blind Side," now at more than $152 million domestically.

The longest relationship I have had has been with the Screen Actors Guild, and I am so happy that after all these years together familiarity did not breed contempt," Bullock said.

Waltz faces competition in the supporting actor field from Matt Damon for "Invictus," Woody Harrelson for "The Messenger," Christopher Plummer for "The Last Station" and Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones." That quintet matched the Golden Globes list.

Penelope Cruz took the remaining supporting actress nomination for "Nine." She won the supporting actress Oscar this year for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Paramount and the Weinstein Co. tied for the most noms by studio with six each, followed by Sony Classics with four. (Three of TWC's noms were shared by Universal for "Basterds.")

Among thesps who'd received kudos attention recently but were absent from SAG's roster were Michael Stuhlbarg for "A Serious Man"; Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"; Alfred Molina, "An Education"; Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard for "Nine"; Emily Blunt, "Young Victoria"; Abby Cornish, "Bright Star"; and Damon, "The Informant."

In TV, "30 Rock" was nominated for ensemble in a comedy series, Alec Baldwin as lead comedy actor and Tina Fey as lead comedy actress; the NBC skein won all three categories this year.

Baldwin has won the category for three years running while Fey has taken the last two trophies.

Other noms for ensemble comedy were scored by "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Office" and newcomers "Glee" and "Modern Family." "The Closer" and "Dexter" took ensemble drama nods along with "The Good Wife," "True Blood" and "Mad Men," which won the category this year.

Hugh Laurie of "House" will be vying for his third SAG trophy as actor in a drama series against Simon Baker of "The Mentalist," Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad," Michael C. Hall of "Dexter" and Jon Hamm of "Mad Men."

NBC led with eight nominations, followed by CBS and HBO with seven each.

All five actresses tapped in the drama series category have been nominated previously for the same program, but none has won. Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" scored their fifth nods; Patricia Arquette ("Medium") and Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace") received their third; and Glenn Close took a second nomination for "Damages."

Ballots will be sent to the 120,000 SAG members Winners will be announced Jan. 23 in ceremonies at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.

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Actress Jennifer Jones dies at 90

Source: Variety

Won Oscar for "Song of Bernadette"

Jennifer Jones won an Oscar for her first starring role, in 'The Song of Bernadette.'

Actress Jennifer Jones, whom producer and future husband David O. Selznick groomed into a major leading lady in his films, and who later married Norton Simon, died Thursday in Malibu of natural causes. She was 90.

The raven-haired actress was nominated for Oscars five times, winning for her first starring role, in "The Song of Bernadette," in 1944. Known for her intense performances, Jones was one of Hollywood's biggest stars of the 1940s and '50s. But other than her role in 1974 melodrama "The Towering Inferno," she largely stayed out of the limelight after the 1960s.

Among her most memorable roles were the vixen who vamps with rowdy cowboy Gregory Peck in "Duel in the Sun" and the Eurasian doctor who falls for Korean War correspondent William Holden in "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing."

Jones, born Phyllis Isley in Tulsa, Okla., met Selznick when she was 20. She was already married to actor Robert Walker and had appeared in a Republic Western called "New Frontier" and a Dick Tracy serial under her given name. Her parents, who owned the Isley Stock Co., had allowed her to move to New York to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts when she was 18. A year later she met and married Walker, and they trekked to Hollywood for their honeymoon.

Selznick met her after an audition for the film version of "Claudia" and took her under his wing, arranging for her to study with Sanford Meisner of the Group Theater and giving her a four-year publicity build-up, capped by her debut role in "Song of Bernadette" as the peasant girl of Lourdes who witnesses a miracle. "It is an inspirationally sensitive and arresting performance" was Variety's assessment of the role.

She was next cast in the Selznick-penned wartime romance "Since You Went Away," for which she received a second Oscar nom as supporting actress. Her co-star/romantic interest was husband Walker, from whom she was separating amid fan magazine rumors of her affair with mentor Selznick. Jones' third Acad nom in a row came for "Love Letters."

The 1946 overblown Western "Duel in the Sun" drew Jones yet another nomination as the passionate "half-breed" Pearl Chavez. In 1949, after Selznick obtained a divorce from his first wife, Irene Mayer Selznick, he and Jones were finally married. But Jones' career curiously began to careen downhill as Selznick took great pains to cast her in usually heavy-handed "important" literary adaptations.

There were high points in Jones' later career, like Vincente Minnelli's underrated version of Flaubert's "Madame Bovary," with Jones doing a fine turn as a dreamy-eyed and tragic Emma Bovary. And she was deliciously wry in John Huston's noir comedy "Beat the Devil" from a Truman Capote script.

Her performances were less successful in the film version of Theodore Dreiser's "Carrie" and in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street." Her Broadway debut in a stage adaptation of Henry James' "Portrait of a Lady" ran only a week.

She had a few hits in the 1950s, including the sudsy Technicolor "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" opposite Wil�liam Holden and a remake of Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms." Her later films included another "Tender Is the Night" and the lesser-known pics "The Idol" and "Angel, Angel Down We Go."

Selznick died in 1965, and two years later, upon learning of the death of an old friend, actor Charles Bickford, Jones tried to kill herself with an overdose of sleeping pills. In 1976, her only daughter by Selznick jumped from the roof of a high-rise.

By then, she had married industrialist Norton Simon in 1971 and made a rare foray back to the screen in disaster melodrama "The Towering Inferno." In 1989, with Simon in failing health, Jones took control of her husband's Pasadena-based Norton Simon Museum, serving as chair of the board. She initiated the museum's gallery renovation and spearheaded outreach initiatives.

She is survived by a son, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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Toho unveils 2010 line-up

Source: Variety

Japan's biggest distributor, Toho, has unveiled a 30-pic line-up for 2010 that promises stiff competition for Hollywood in the already difficult Japanese market.

Topping the line-up is the new toon from Studio Ghibli, "Karigurashi no Arrietty" (Arrietty Borrows Everything), based on Mary Norton's classic book, "The Borrowers."

Pic will be directed by studio animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi with resident genius Hayao Miyazaki scripting and supervising. It is skedded to bow in the summer.

Packing even more box office potential is the third outing in the "Bayside Shakedown" series about a cheeky detective, played by Yuji Oda, who battles bad guys and police bureaucracy with the aid of oddball co-workers.

The pic has been penciled in for a July bow. The second installment, released in 2003, made $197 million.

Also looking to top the B.O. is the third entry in the "Umizaru" series about elite divers in the Japanese Coast Guard, due out in September. The previous pic, bowing in 2006, made $81 million.

Umizaru 3" and "Bayside Shakedown 3" are produced by the Fuji TV network.

At the end of the year, Toho will be expecting big things from "Space Battleship Yamato," the sci-fi fantasy based on Reiji Matsumoto's iconic 1970s TV and pic toon series. The live-action pic, helmed by CGI whiz Takashi Yamazaki, has a budget in the region of $30 million -- huge for a local pic.

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Steven Spielberg has acquired "War Horse"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner, Stacey Snider, have acquired the feature rights to Michael Morpurgo's novel "War Horse." Screenwriter Lee Hall "Billy Elliot" has been hired to write the adaptation of Morpurgo's World War One themed novel.

The movie tells of an the the extraordinary bond between a young boy named Albert and a horse named Joey that are separated but whose fates continue to be intertwined over the course of WWI.

Spielberg will co-produce the adventure drama with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest. He is still in consideration on whether to direct the movie himself.

Spielberg was quoted as say, "From the moment I read (the book), I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make. It's heart and it's message provide a story that can be felt in every country."

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Studio Ghibli's latest animation feature "Karigurashi no Arrietty"

By Siewaun
Reference: Tokyograph

Studio Ghibli officially announced on Wednesday its latest animation feature titled ("Karigurashi no Arrietty" (Arrietty Borrows Everything)), which is based on Mary Norton's classic fantasy book "The Borrowers."

"Karigurashi no Arrietty" will be Hiromasa Yonebayashi's feature directorial debut. He was previously animation director and key animator on animation features such as "Ponyo," "Howl's Moving Castle," and "Spirited Away."

Adapted from Mary Norton's 1952 published, and award winning classic fantasy book, "The Borrowers" revolves around a family of "tiny people" of father Pod, mother Homily and their spirited thirteen year-old daughter, Arrietty. They live under the floorboards of a house, and survive through secretly "borrowing" of items from the normal humans who inhabit the house.

The animation movie is scheduled to be released on summer 2010.

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Nanni Moretti is making a new comedy, "We Have a Pope"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Italian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor, Nanni Moretti "The Son's Room" is making a new movie, a comedy "We Have a Pope." He has also hired veteran 83 year-old French actor, Michel Piccoli ("le Mépris," "La belle noiseuse") to star in the lead role as Cardinal/Pope.

Piccoli will star as a cardinal who gets the jitters after being elected pope. Moretti will play the Pope's psychiatrist in the $12 million movie, as announced previously.

Moretti wrote the script with screenwriter Federica Pontremoli and Francesco Piccolo. They previously collaborated on Moretti's previous movie, "The Caiman."

Moretti's Sacher Film is in collaboration with Domenico Procacci's Fandango and French producer Jean Labadie's Le Pact to produce the movie.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in Italy next month.

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Box Office Dec. 11-13 Results

1 The Princess and the Frog - $25,000,000
2 The Blind Side - $15,450,000
3 Invictus - $9,085,000
4 The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $8,000,000
5 Disney's A Christmas Carol - $6,871,000
6 Brothers - $5,000,000
7 2012 - $4,400,000
8 Old Dogs - $4,396,000
9 Armored - $3,500,000
10 Ninja Assassin - $2,710,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office Dec. 12-13 Results (Japan)

1 One Piece Film Strong World (JPN.Animation) Toei
2 Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W & Decade Movie Taisen 2010 (JPN.) - Toei
3 UP - Disney
4 2012 - SPE
5 Ultra Galaxy Legend (JPN.) - WB
6 PUBLIC ENEMIES - Toho Towa
7 Space Battleship Yamato Resurrection (JPN.Animation) - Toho
8 DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Disney
9 No More Cry !!! (JPN.) - Toho
10 Snow Prince (JPN.) - Shochiku

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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DiCaprio to star in Gibson's "Viking"

Leonardo DiCaprio will be starring in an untitled Viking period drama which Mel Gibson will direct. William Monahan "The Departed" is now writing the script for the movie.

Gibson will co-produce with Graham King and Tim Headington in a co-operation between King's GK Films and Gibson's Icon Prods.

King produced the 2006 crime thriller film "The Departed," scripted by Monahan, and starring DiCaprio. The movie won four Academy Awards at the 79th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), and Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan).

King was quoted by Daily Variety as saying, "This will be an awe-inspiring story, created with some of the industry's finest cinematic talent, and I am just over the moon to be making this film with Mel, Leo and Bill."

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Disney's "Princess" charms weekend moviegoers

Source: Reuters.com

"The family-friendly Disney movie drew $25 million in ticket sales. It tells the tale of a woman turned into a frog after a kiss and marks a return for the studio to hand-drawn animation.

"It's one of those classic Disney fairy tales and people just fell in love with it," said Chuck Viane head of domestic distribution at Walt Disney Co's Buena Vista unit.

The second place football film had a take of $15.5 million.



The No. 3 movie was Clint Eastwood's Nelson Mandela drama "Invictus," which brought in $9.1 million.

"This film has Oscar potential written all over it and should maintain solid grosses week after week," Paul Dergarabedian, head of Hollywood.com's box office tracking division, said in a statement.

Viane also said he believes "The Princess and the Frog" will deliver "a very strong multiple of the opening weekend."

"Disney's A Christmas Carol" slipped to the No. 5 spot on the box office chart from No. 4 the previous week with a take of $6.9 million. It has so far taken in $124.5 million.

Vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" dropped two slots to No. 4 with $8 million in ticket sales for a cumulative total of $267.4 million.

Another potential Oscar contender is Paramount's "The Lovely Bones," directed by Peter Jackson and based on the best-selling novel. It was released in three theaters and saw per theater sales of $38,667.

Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom.

"Brothers," a drama about soldiers returning home from war, took sixth place with $5 million.

Both "Invictus" and "The Blind Side" were released by Time Warner Inc studio Warner Bros.

"New Moon" was distributed by independent Summit Entertainment and "Brothers" was released by Lionsgate Entertainment."

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Cameron Diaz to star in comedy "Bad Teacher"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Cameron Diaz has signed on to star in Columbia Pictures' raunchy comedy "Bad Teacher," to be directed by Jake Kasdan "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."

Screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky "The Office" wrote the script, which is about a foulmouthed, gold-digging middle-school teacher who, after getting dumped by her boyfriend, competes with a colleague for the affections of the school's model teacher.

Producer Jimmy Miller is producing the movie through his Mosaic Media banner. Doug Belgrad and Jonathan Kadin are overseeing for Columbia Pictures.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in the spring in Los Angeles.

Diaz is also filming three other movies in various stages of production which are "Shrek Forever After," "Knight and Day" and "Green Hornet."

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Wasikowska and Fassbender in talks to join "Jane Eyre"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Mia Wasikowska ("Defiance," "Alice in Wonderland") and Michael Fassbender ("300," "Hunger") are in talks to take on the lead roles in the feature adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre," to be directed by Cary Fukunaga "Sin nombre".

Alison Owen and Paul Trijbits of Ruby Films are producing the movie with BBC Films and and Focus Features from the script written by Moira Buffini.

The 19th century story with gothic elements is center on Jane Eyre (Wasikowska), who during her time as governess at Thornfield Manor, falls in love with her byronic employer, Edward Rochester (Fassbender).

This movie is a remake of the original "Jane Eyre" 1996 movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli, which starred William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Owen and Trijbits are aiming to start filming next year.

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Marco T. Giordana to direct "Piazza Fontana"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Riccardo Tozzi president of Italy's production company Cattleya announced that they have hired director Marco Tullio Giordana ("The Best of Youth," "Quando sei nato non puoi più nasconderti") to direct a postwar political terrorism movie "Piazza Fontana" (working title).

Italian scriptwriter duo ("The Best of Youth," "Crime Novel") are writing the script based on the true event of the Piazza Fontana massacre.

The Piazza Fontana bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on December 12, 1969, killing 17 people and wounding 88. Three more bombs were detonated in Rome and Milan later that day. The incident which was widely rumoured to be the cooperation between the Italian secret services along with United States and Nato agencies acting via recruited neofascist agents and the false-flagging of the attack on anarchic groups. That marked the beginning of the "Strategy of Tension" (Strategia della Tensione) in Italy, which resulted in more than 1,000 attacks by 1989.

Cattleya will co-produce with RAI Cinema, which the latter will distribute locally via its 01 Distribuzione. Universal Picture is in talks to distribute the movie internationally.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in August 2010. Cast have not been announced yet.

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Charles M. Smith to write & direct "A Dolphin's Tale"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Writer/director Charles Martin Smith ("Air Bud," "Stone of Destiny") has been hired by Alcon Entertainment's Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove to write and direct an inspirational drama "A Dolphin's Tale."

Alcon acquired the feature rights from Clearwater Marine Aquarium CEO David Yates.

The movie is based on true event, which revolves around a young boy who befriended Winter, a female dolphin who lost her tail in a crab trap. He motivated everyone around him to help save the dolphin by creating a prosthetic appendage to replace her tail.

Alcon's co-founders/co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will finance and co-produce with Richard Ingber, their marketing president. Warner Bros. will handle the distribution, following motion picture production agreement between Alcon and Warner.

Winter, an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, a playful two-year-old, was found off the coast of Florida, caught in a crab trap. Kevin Carroll, one of the world's leading prosthetists, who has designed prosthetics for people, also for dogs, an ostrich, and even a duck, successfully created the prosthetic appendage for Winter.

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Andy Daly is Mayor Brown in "Yogi Bear"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

The cast is complete for Warner Bros.' live-action/CGI feature "Yogi Bear" with Andy Daly "Semi Pro" joining in, starring as Mayor Brown.

Daly joins Tom Cavanagh "Ed - NBC TV series" (Ranger Smith), Anna Faris (Rachel, a nature documentary filmmaker shooting Yogi and Boo-Boo), Dan Aykroyd (voicing Jellystone Park bear Yogi) and Justin Timberlake (voicing Yogi’s constant companion Boo-Boo).

Daly's Mayor Brown comes up with idea to sell Jelly Stone Park to fix his mess after driving the city into bankruptcy by using it's budget for his own pleasure.

Eric Brevig "Journey to the Center of the Earth" directs from the script by Brad Copeland "Wild Hogs." Donald De Line and Karen Rosenfelt producing, while DeLine executive Andrew Haas exec producing.

Shooting has already begun in New Zealand. Warner Bros is aiming for a December 17th 2010 release.

Original script for "Yogi" was written by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia.

Yogi bear first appeared in Hanna-Barbera cartoons in 1958 and was voiced by Daws Butler.

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Overture Films has rights to "Stone"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Overture Films announced on Monday that the studio has acquired U.S. distribution rights to thriller "Stone," starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich and Frances Conroy.

John J. Curran ("We Don't Live Here Anymore," "The Painted Veil") directed the movie from the script by Angus MacLachlan "Junebug," which is about a convicted arsonist (Norton) who uses his wife (Jovovich) to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into securing his parole.

Mimran Schur Pictures and Millennium Films financed the movie, with David Mimran, Jordan Schur and Holly Wiersma producing. Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort and Trevor Short executive producing.

Nu Image is handling international sales.

The movie is scheduled to be released some time next year.

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Brit actor Richard Todd dies at 90

Source: Variety

Richard Todd, who re-enacted his wartime exploits in the 1962 film "The Longest Day" and was Ian Fleming's choice to play James Bond, died of cancer Dec. 3 in Lincolnshire, England. He was 90.

Todd was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1949 film "A Hasty Heart" and starred as U.S. Senate chaplain Peter Marshall in "A Man Called Peter" (1954).

In Britain, one of his best-known roles was playing Royal Air Force pilot Guy Gibson in "The Dam Busters."

Fleming had preferred Todd to take the lead in "Dr. No" in 1962, The Daily Telegraph said in its obituary, but a schedule clash opened the way for Sean Connery to define the part. Instead, Todd took the role of role of Inspector Harry Sanders in "Death Drums Along the River," released in 1963.

Born Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Todd at first hoped to become a playwright but discovered a love for acting after helping found the Dundee Repertory Company in Scotland in 1939.

He volunteered for the British Army, and was among the first paratroopers dropped into Normandy in the D-Day invasion. He was also one of the first paratroopers to meet the glider force commanded by Maj. John Howard at Pegasus Bridge; he played Howard in "The Longest Day." After being discharged in 1946, he returned to Dundee. His role as male lead in "Claudia" led to romance and then marriage to his leading lady, Catherine Grant-Bogle.

A Scottish accent mastered while preparing for his role in "The Hasty Heart" proved a useful skill in his later film career.

He won praise for his performance in the film of "The Hasty Heart," which included Ronald Reagan and Patricia Neal in the cast. The New York World-Telegram hailed Todd as "a vivid and vigorous actor" and the New York Herald Tribune said his performance "combined lofty stature with deep feeling, attracting enormous sympathy without an ounce of sentiment."

In "A Man Called Peter," Marshall's widow Catherine said Todd "was just about the only film actor whose Scottish syllables would have met (her husband's) standards."

Other film roles included Sir Walter Raleigh in "The Virgin Queen" (1955), costarring Bette Davis; a lead role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Stage Fright" (1949), with Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich; and the lead in Disney's "Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue" (1953).

Todd had a son and a daughter from his first marriage, and two sons from his marriage to Virginia Mailer. Both marriages ended in divorce.

His son Seamus from the second marriage killed himself in 1997, and his eldest son also killed himself in 2005 following the breakdown of his marriage.

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Box Office Nov. 4-6 (Results)

1 The Blind Side - $20,043,181
2 The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $15,427,628
3 Brothers - $9,527,848
4 Disney's A Christmas Carol - $7,763,244
5 Old Dogs - $6,892,265
6 2012 - $6,771,665
7 Armored - $6,511,128
8 Ninja Assassin - $5,061,499
9 Planet 51 - $4,386,873
10 Everybody's Fine - $3,852,068

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office Nov. 5-6 Results (Japan)

1 UP - Disney
2 2012 - SPE
3 No More Cry !!! (JPN.) - Toho
4 DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Disney
5 The Unbroken (JPN.) - Toho
6 Zero Focus (JPN.) - Toho
7 INGLORIOUS BASTARDS - Toho Towa
8 I Give My First Love To You (JPN.) - Toho
9 Macross Frontier The Movie (JPN.Animation) - KLOCK WORX
10 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON - Asmik Ace/Kadokawa

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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'Blind Side' tops 'New Moon' at boxoffice

Source: thehollywoodreporter

Sandra Bullock beat the vampires in her third time trying.

The Warner Bros.-distributed, Bullock-toplined football drama "The Blind Side" topped the weekend boxoffice with an estimated $20.4 million third frame and $129.3 million in cumulative boxoffice. Summit Entertainment's vampires-and-werewolves drama "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" was second with $15.7 million -- following gold-medal finishes the previous two sessions -- as cume for the fanged phenom reached $255.6 million.

The highly unusual ascendance to the top spot for Alcon Entertainment-produced "Blind Side" after two weekends in second place overshadowed the bows of three wide releases. Lionsgate's love-triangle drama "Brothers" -- starring Natalie Portman Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire -- was the best of the relatively weak group of new pics with $9.7 million in third place.

Sony Screen Gems' armored-truck heist pic "Armored" parked with $6.6 million in sixth place, tied with Sony's leggy actioner "2012." Miramax's Robert De Niro starrer "Everybody's Fine" unspooled in 10th with $4 million, and Full Circle's horror spoof "Transylmania" debuted well outside the top rankings with just $274,000.

A pair of pics playing through their sophomore sessions absorbed big drops from opening grosses. Disney's family comedy "Old Dogs" fell 60% to $6.9 million in fifth place with a $33.9 million cume, while Warners' martial arts actioner "Ninja Assassin" tumbled 62% to $6 million in eighth with a $29.8 million cume.

Collectively, the weekend's top 10 finishers rung up $86.8 million, or 18% more than top grossers in the same frame last year, according to Nielsen EDI.

In a limited bow, Paramount's George Clooney starrer "Up in the Air" registered $1.2 million from 15 playdates, or an auspicious $79,000 per engagement ahead of planned expansions during the next few weeks.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, the Weinstein Co.'s book adaptation "The Road" added 17 locations for a total of 128 and grossed $759,754, or a solid $5,936 per site, with a $3.2 million cume.

The No. 1 finish for "Blind Side" -- which is already deep into profitability, toting a mere $34 million negative cost -- represents one of just a handful of such chart-topping performances in a slow-climbing pic's third frame, including the 2005 ascendancy of leggy New Line laugher "Wedding Crashers."

"Blind Side" managed the rare feat by combining its own modest 49% drop with a big 63% decline for "New Moon." The soft competition didn't hurt, either.

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Taylor Lautner to take on "Max Steel"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Paramount has signed on Taylor Lautner ("Twilight," "New Moon") to star as "Max Steel," based on the Mattel toy property.

Introduced by Mattel in 1999, the action figure, Max Steel, was made into animated TV series which was aired from February 25, 2000 to January 15, 2002, with the total of thirty-five episodes.

The movie revolves around Josh McGrath, a 19 year old college student and an extreme sports star, who suffered an accident with Nanoprobes while working in an extreme sports articles manufacturing company which is in reality a facade for a secret counter-intelligence agency known as N-Tek. That gave him the ability to alter his appearance, turn invisible "Stealth mode !" and become super-strong "Going turbo !".

Screenplay will be written by Chad Damiani and J.P. Lavin "Capeshooters". No director has been attached at this time.

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Rob Lieber to adapt David Elliott's "Jeremy Cabbage"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Screenwriter Rob Lieber "Septimus Heap: Magyk" has been hired by Fox 2000 to adapt David Elliott's children's book "Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights," says Variety.

Story is about a 11-year-old orphan Jeremy Cabbage, lives at Harpwitch's Home for Mean Dogs, Ugly Cats, and Strey Children. Jeremy’s only chance is a good adoption–but who would possibly adopt Jeremy, an unloved, unwanted 11-year-old? The answer sets Jeremy off on an outrageous, comical adventure.

Producer Karen Rosenfelt ("Marley & Me," "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") is producing the movie through her Sunswept Entertainment banner.


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Paltrow , McGraw, Hedlund, Meester are singing "Love Don't Let Me Down"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Gwyneth Paltrow "Iron Man," country star/actor Tim McGraw "The Blind Side," Garrett Hedlund ("Troy," "Eragon") and singer-songwriter/actress Leighton Meester "Gossip Girl -TV series" will all star in Screen Gems' musical drama "Love Don't Let Me Down."

Writer/director Shana Feste "The Greatest" will direct from her own script, which is about a rising young singer-songwriter (Hedlund) who gets involved with a fallen country singer, to be played by Paltrow. As they went on a tour to resurrect their singing career with her husband/manager (McGraw) and a beauty queen-turned-singer (Meester), romantic liaison threatens to ruin them all.

Tobey Maguire is producing with Jenno Topping through their Maguire Entertainment banner.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in January next year in Nashville.

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Harold Perrineau joins the "Hungry Rabbit Jumps"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Harold Perrineau ("The Matrix films," "30 Days of Night: Dark Days") has signed on to join Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce in thriller "Hungry Rabbit Jumps."

New Zealand movie producer, director and writer Roger Donaldson ("The World's Fastest Indian," "The Bank Job") will direct the movie from Robert Tannen's script, which is about a man (Cage) who hires an underground vigilante organization after his wife (Jones) is brutally assaulted. Perrineau is starring as Cage's friend and boss, an ex-cop turned high school principal.

Endgame Entertainment acquired Tannen's script in 2008 for Tobey Maguire to produce.

Maguire is producing the $30 million movie through his Maguire Entertainment banner, alongside Endgame’s James Stern and Gordonstreet Pictures’ Ram Bergman. Maguire Entertainment's Jenno Topping is executive producing.

Movie is scheduled to start shooting in New Orleans in two weeks.

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