'Jonas Brothers' rule Friday box office

Bruce Hendricks' concert movie "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" topped the North American box office Friday with an estimated $4.8 million in ticket sales.

Playing in 3D, the film follows the popular band on their Burning Up tour. The formula already proved successful for last year's "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour," which grossed $65.2 million.

Last week's winner "Madea Goes to Jail" dropped to No. 2, earning $4.6 million and reaching a domestic total of $52.9 million. Finishing third was "Slumdog Millionaire," which brought its cumulative gross to $106.1 million after Friday's gross of $3.2 million.

Meanwhile, Pierre Morel's thriller "Taken" took home $2.8 million Friday, lifting its total haul to $100.7 million. At No. 5, Ken Kwapis' comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" earned $1.9 million for a cumulative gross of $74.5 million.

The weekend's only other wide release, "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," only made it to sixth place with $1.7 million in ticket sales.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

'Button' continues overseas b.o. dominance

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" topped the overseas box office this weekend with an estimated $31 million in ticket sales.

Playing in 53 markets, David Fincher's Oscar-nominated drama lifted its international gross to $118.6 million, compared to $122.2 million domestically.

At No. 2, Walt Disney's "Bolt" scored $16.5 million for a total of $131.8 million. Following in third place was Tom Cruise's WWII thriller "Valkyrie," which took home $11.9 million and reached an overseas total haul of $72 million.

Meanwhile, "He's Just Not That Into You" picked up $11.4 million in 16 territories. Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin and Scarlett Johansson, among others, the film follows a bunch of individuals making new discoveries about dating and marriage.

While it topped the box office domestically with $42.2 million, Marcus Nispel's remake "Friday the 13th" collected $10.4 million in 30 markets, placing the movie at No. 5.

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Box Office: 'Friday the 13th' reigns with $42M

Weekend of February 13 – 15, 2009

“Friday the 13th” slashed its competition at the top of the North American box office with a whopping $42.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Marcus Nispel’s remake of the 1980 horror flick follows Jason Voorhees as he brutally murders everyone daring to enter his territory at Camp Crystal Lake. The film was produced on a $19 million budget.

Things didn’t look that great for this weekend’s two other wide releases. P.J. Hogan’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” debuted only at No. 4, pulling in $15.4 million. Based on the books by Sophie Kinsella, the film follows Isla Fisher as a journalist struggling to get control of her debt.

Meanwhile, Tom Tykwer’s thriller “The International” finished in seventh place, collecting only $10 million. Starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, the movie focuses on an Interpol agent and a NY district attorney trying to bring down a corrupt bank.

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Box Office: ‘Into You’ finds love at No. 1 spot

Weekend of February 6 – 8, 2009

Ken Kwapis’ comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You” topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $27.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Featuring an all-star cast including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson and Ginnifer Goodwin, the film follows a bunch of adults discovering new truths about dating and married life.

Still going strong in second place was Pierre Morel’s thriller “Taken,” which reached a total haul of $53.3 million after weekend earnings of $20.3 million. Liam Neeson stars as a protective father hunting down those responsible for his daughter’s kidnapping.

Debuting at No. 3 with $16.3 million was Henry Selick’s 3D stop-motion adventure “Coraline.” Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, the film follows a curious girl who discovers a door to a parallel reality in her new home.

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'He's Just Not That Into You' takes box office lead

Ken Kwapis' latest comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" topped the North American box office Friday with an estimated $10.5 million in ticket sales.

Featuring a cast including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin and Scarlett Johansson, the film follows a bunch of individuals discovering new truths about dating and married life.

At No. 2, Pierre Morel's thriller "Taken" scored another $6.3 million, lifting its total haul to $39.3 million after one week in theaters. Following in third place with $4.5 million was Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion adventure "Coraline," based on the book by Neil Gaiman.

Meanwhile, new entry "Push" debuted at No. 4 with $3.5 million, beating "The Pink Panther 2," which only made it to fifth place with $3.3 million. The latter stars Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, who's on a mission to find a thief and retrieve the stolen Pink Panther diamond.

Other results from Friday's box office: "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" takes No. 6 with $2.7 million, while "The Uninvited" pulled $2.1 million in seventh place. Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" finished at No. 8 with $1.9 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

'He's Just Not That Into You' web reviews

Dating and married life are placed under scrutiny in Ken Kwapis' latest comedy "He's Just Not That Into You," starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long. It's a great cast, but how great is the movie?

• CinemaBlend's Katey Rich: "So it's not that funny, not that smart, and not that original, but the movie has a hypnotic pull regardless."

• Matt Goldberg at Collider: "Director Ken Kwapis has absolutely no idea what he's doing with this film. He divides it up into sections, there are brief "man-on-the-street" interviews (done by actors so what's the point?), and then there are about five inter-linked love stories."

• Brad Brevet at RopeOfSilicon: "Like I said, just watching this film is a social experiment and going to the theater to watch it should be considered extra credit."

• Ron Henriques at LatinoReview: "But this film manages to make both men and women look like buffoons when all of their problems can be solved by a little communication with each other."

• William Goss at Cinematical: "Nah, at the end of the day, this film feels more like a one night stand than anything else: you'll enjoy taking it home overnight, but when tomorrow comes, it's less a matter of calling it as merely recalling it."

This week's new movie releases - Feb. 6, 2009

I can only hope this week of new movie releases will turn out better than the last, and at this stage, things look pretty good. This week's releases are: Henry Selick's "Coraline," Paul McGuigan's "Push," Ken Kwapis' "He's Just Not That Into You" and Harald Zwart's "The Pink Panther 2."

CORALINE

Synopsis: Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door and discovers an alternate version of her life on the other side. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life and the people in it – only much better. But when this seemingly perfect world turns dangerous, and her other parents try to trap her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to escape this increasingly perilous world – and save her family.

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