Box Office: ‘Hannah Montana’ delivers solid $34M

Weekend of April 10 – 12, 2009

Walt Disney’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie” soared to the top of the North American box office this weekend with $34 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Directed by Peter Chelsom, the film is based on Disney’s popular television series and stars Miley Cyrus as an energetic teenager who gets to reexamine her hectic double life as a famous pop star during a trip to her hometown.

Last week’s winner “Fast & Furious” collected another solid $28.7 million in second place, reaching a cumulative gross of $118 million after a strong two-week run. In the Justin Lin-directed action flick, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel team up to infiltrate the operations of a ruthless drug lord.

Meanwhile, DreamWorks Animation’s latest family adventure “Monsters vs. Aliens” dropped to No. 3, taking home $22.6 million and bringing its domestic total to $141 million. In the film, a group of eccentric monsters assist the U.S. government in battling a hostile alien planning to take over the world.

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Box Office: ‘Fast & Furious’ delivers stunning $72M

Weekend of April 3 – 5, 2009

“Fast & Furious” easily outraced its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a stunning $72.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The return of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the lead roles proved to be quite lucrative, as the fourth installment in the popular series delivered a better opening weekend than any of its three predecessors.

Also doing pretty well this weekend was DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters Vs. Aliens,” which took home another $33.5 million for a domestic total of $105.7 million after only two weeks in release.

At No. 3, “The Haunting in Connecticut” pulled in $9.5 million, reaching a total gross of $37.2 million. Starring Virginia Madsen, the Peter Cornwell-directed horror thriller follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

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'Fast & Furious' wins Friday b.o. race with $30M

"Fast & Furious" raced to the top of the North American box office Friday with a whopping $30.1 million in ticket sales.

The fourth installment in the popular series easily beat the $9.7 million opening day gross of its predecessor, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." In the Justin Lin-directed film, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker team up to infiltrate the operations of a drug lord. 

Things didn't go so well for "Adventureland," this week's second wide release. The Greg Mottola-directed comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart finished in sixth place and only pulled in $2.1 million. The movie follows a recent college grad who takes on a crappy job at an amusement park.

At No. 2, DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" took home another $8.9 million, lifting its total gross to $81.9 million. Following in thid place with $3.6 million was "The Haunting in Connecticut," which brought its domestic total to $31.3 million.

Meanwhile, "I Love You, Man" collected $2.7 million at No. 4, reaching a cumulative gross of $44.1 million. Nicholas Cage's latest thriller "Knowing" took home $2.6 million for a total of $52.7 million.

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

Box Office: 'Monsters vs. Aliens' takes No. 1 spot

Weekend of March 27 – 29, 2009

“Monsters vs. Aliens” easily destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a whopping $58.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

DreamWorks Animation’s latest 3D-animated family adventure follows a group of monsters assisting the U.S. government in trying to destroy a ruthless alien leader. The film’s voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie.

Debuting at No. 2 this weekend with $23 million was Peter Cornwell’s horror thriller “The Haunting in Connecticut.” Starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner and Amanda Crew, the film follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

Last week’s winner “Knowing” dropped to third place, collecting $14.7 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $46.2 million after two weeks in release. The Alex Proyas-directed apocalyptic thriller stars Nicholas Cage as a professor struggling to prevent a series of global disasters.

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'Monsters vs. Aliens' delivers monstrous b.o. start

DreamWorks Animation's 3D-animated adventure "Monsters vs. Aliens" stormed the North American box office Friday with an estimated $16.7 million in ticket sales.

Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon, the film follows a group of monsters trying to prevent a ruthless alien leader from destroying humanity. The voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett and Hugh Laurie.

Debuting in second place Friday with $9.5 million was Peter Cornwell's "The Haunting in Connecticut." Starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner and Amanda Crew, the horror thriller follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

Last week's winner "Knowing" dropped to No. 3, earning $4.6 million and lifting its cumulative gross to $36.1 million after two weeks in release. Directed by Alex Proyas, the film follows Nicholas Cage as a father trying to prevent a series of global disasters.

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Movie Review: “I Love You, Man”

Seen on: March 22, 2009

The players: Director: John Hamburg, Writers: Larry Levin, John Hamburg, Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Sarah Burns, Jaime Pressly

Facts of interest: Rudd also starred in "Role Models," while Segel recently starred in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

The plot: Rudd stars as a recently engaged man who has no guy friends and heads out to look for the perfect best man.

Our thoughts: In John Hamburg’s buddy comedy “I Love You, Man,” Paul Rudd plays Peter Klaven, a recently engaged real estate agent with a big problem: he really needs a best man, but much to his chagrin, he has absolutely no guy friends. Only solution: go on a series of ‘man-dates’ to find the perfect best buddy.

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Box Office: 'Knowing' reigns supreme at No. 1

Weekend of March 20 – 22, 2009

“Knowing” emerged as the champion at the North American box office this weekend with $24.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Alex Proyas’ apocalyptic thriller celebrated the widest release this week at 3,332 locations, taking the No. 1 spot as early as Friday. In the film, Nicholas Cage tries to prevent a series of global disasters.

Debuting in second place was John Hamburg’s latest comedy “ I Love You, Man,” which picked up $18 million. Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, the movie centers on a man who doesn’t have male buddies and heads out to find the perfect best man for his wedding.

“Duplicity,” the weekend’s third new release, finished third with $14.4 million. The Tony Gilroy-directed comedy stars Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as two spies teaming up to pull off the perfect corporate con.

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'Knowing' destroys competition at Friday box office

Alex Proyas' apocalyptic thriller "Knowing" took the No. 1 spot Friday at the North American box office with an estimated $8.9 million in ticket sales. The film follows Nicholas Cage as he tries to prevent a series of global disasters.

Debuting in second place was new entry "I Love You, Man," which collected $6.3 million. Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, the comedy centers on a man who has no male friends and heads out to find a best man for his wedding.

Meanwhile, Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity" finished in third place with $4.7 million. In the comedy, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two spies teaming up to pull off the perfect corporate con.

At No. 4, last week's box office champion "Race to Witch Mountain" collected another $3.8 million, lifting its domestic gross to $35.5 million after two weeks in release.

Following in fifth place with $2 million was Zack Snyder's "Watchmen," which brought its total haul to $93.3 million. "The Last House on the Left" reached a cumulative gross of $20 million at No. 6.

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

This week's new movie releases - March 20, 2009

We're only looking at three wide releases this week: Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity" with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, "I Love You, Man" with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, and Alex Proyas' thriller "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage:

KNOWING

Synopsis: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

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Posters for 'Wolverine,' 'Up' & 'I Love You, Man'

Here are five new posters I recently stumbled across:

The first one is a French one-sheet for Gavin Hood's upcoming action flick "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which stars Hugh Jackman and explores the complex life of the big man with the scary claws.

Also starring are Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, Danny Huston as William Stryker, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and Dominic Monaghan as Beak.

Below, you'll also find two new character posters for Pixar's upcoming adventure "Up," about a 78-year-old who decides to finally fulfill his dream and explore the globe. Release is set for May 29.

Scroll further down and you will come across the latest one-sheet for John Hamburg's upcoming comedy "I Love You, Man," in which Paul Rudd plays a man who starts going on man dates to find the perfect best friend. This one starts March 20.

Finally, I also stumbled across a German poster for "Fast & Furious," which reunites Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. This time, they team up to infiltrate the operation of a ruthless heroin importer. "F&F" arrives April 3.

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