Roger Ebert picks best animated films of 2009

Roger Ebert posted an entry on his blog about his 10 favorite animated films of the year. Ten is quite a big selection for this genre, which is why it's quite hard to leave some out. Still, he managed to do just that.

He picked: "A Christmas Carol," "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Sita Sings the Blues," "9," "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," "Ponyo," "The Princess and the Frog," "Up" and "Waltz with Bashir."

I can't comment on "Ponyo" and "Sita Sings the Blues" because I haven't seen those, but the one film I disagree on with Ebert is "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." I would never call it the best of the three.

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'Up' still a big hit at international box office

Pixar's animated adventure "Up" continued its overseas box office reign this weekend, scoring another $20.2 million from ticket sales in 26 markets for an international total gross of $324.9 million.

Disney also took the No. 2 spot, as "G-Force" picked up $8.3 million for a cume of $138.5 million. Following in third place with $7.9 million was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" ($44.3 million total).

At No. 4, French adventure "Lucky Luke" opened with $5.9 million in just one market. Coming in close behind in fifth place was "The Ugly Truth," which bagged $5.4 million for a cume of $101.8 million.

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Box Office: 'Wild Things' triumphs with $32M

Weekend of October 16 – 17, 2009: New releases help boost box office performance

Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” easily defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book scored a strong average of $8,693 per theater at 3,735 locations. Starring Max Records, the film follows a lonely boy who bonds with a bunch of wild creatures in his imagination.

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Box Office: 'Couples Retreat' easily wins the race

Weekend of October 9 – 11, 2009: 'Couples Retreat' wins; 'Paranormal Activity' delivers!

Universal’s comedy “Couples Retreat” safely landed at the top of the North American box office this weekend with a solid $35.3 million in ticket sales at 3,000 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman, the film follows four couples traveling to a prestigious tropical island resort where they’re forced to partake in numerous couple therapy sessions.

Also breaking into the top 10 this weekend was “Paranormal Activity,” which expanded to 159 locations and took the No. 5 spot with a superb $7 million. The film’s early total gross currently stands at $8.2 million.

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'Couples Retreat' lands at top of box office Friday

New release "Couples Retreat" easily topped the North American box office Friday with a solid $12.3 million in ticket sales at 3,000 locations. That's a nice start for the comedy starring Vince Vaughn.

Also starring Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell and Kristin Davis, the film follows four couples who travel to a presitigious tropical island resort where they're forced to partake in a series of therapy sessions.

Delivering the most surprising result Friday was Paramount's horror hit "Paranormal Activity," which bagged an incredible $2.5 million from ticket sales at only 159 locations, enough for the No. 4 spot.

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'The Ugly Truth' wins overseas box office race

Sony's romantic comedy "The Ugly Truth" worked its way to the top of the overseas box office this weekend with an estimated $12.1 million in ticket sales after expanding to 54 territories.

Starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler as two TV personalities struggling to get along, the film has reached an international total gross of $70.8 million.

At No. 2, Jonathan Mostow's sci-fi action flick "Surrogates" took home $11.4 million, reaching a cumulative gross of $28.4 million. Willis plays a cop in a world where humans use surrogates to perform everyday tasks.

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Box Office: 'Zombieland' destroys competition

Weekend of October 2 – 4, 2009: The zombies rule them all!

Ruben Fleischer’s excellent horror comedy “Zombieland” stormed the North American box office and slashed its competition this weekend with a solid $25 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film scored a surprising average of $8,235 per theater at 3,036 locations. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, the film follows four humans trying to survive in a world taken over by zombies.

At a distant No. 2, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” bagged another $16.7 million, lifting its domestic gross to an impressive $82.3 million after a three-week run. The Sony Pictures Animation release is playing in both 3D and standard format.

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'Zombieland' rules Friday box office with $9.4M

Ruben Fleischer's hilarious horror comedy "Zombieland" delivered a superb start at the North American box office Friday, grossing $9.4 million from ticket sales at 3,036 locations. That's a solid performance indeed.

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, the film follows four humans trying to survive in a world taken over by zombies. I absolutely enjoyed it, and I'm glad it's doing this well.

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'Up' still dominates international box office

Disney registered another solid weekend at the internatinonal box office as "Up" held on to the top spot with earnings of $12.3 million from ticket sales in 25 markets. The animated adventure by Pixar currently boasts a total gross of $215 million.

Disney also released "Surrogates," which landed at No. 2 with a gross of $12.2 million. In the Jonathan Mostow-directed sci-fi film, Bruce Willis plays a cop investigating a murder in a world in which humans use surrogates to complete everyday tasks.

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Box Office: 'Meatballs' defeats 'Surrogates,' 'Fame'

Weekend of September 25 – 27, 2009: 'Meatballs' reigns as new releases struggle

Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” topped the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend with a decent $24.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Scoring an average of $7,887 per theater at 3,119 locations, the animated adventure brought its domestic total to $60 million after a little more than one week in release. The film is playing in both 3D and standard format.

At No. 2, Jonathan Mostow’s “Surrogates” debuted with $15 million via an average of $5,083 per theater at 2,951 locations. In the film, Bruce Willis plays a cop investigating a murder in a world in which humans use surrogates to complete everyday tasks.

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