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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'The Final Destination' takes overseas box office

New Line Cinema's "The Final Destination" took the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $17.3 million in ticket sales. The horror flick is currently playing in 28 markets in 3D and standard format, and it reached a total gross of $55.3 million.

At No. 2, Quentin Tarantino's acclaimed WWII drama "Inglourious Basterds" finished with $9.4 million, bringing its international total gross to $99 million. Following in third place with $8.4 million was Pixar's "Up," which lifted it cume to $181.3 million.

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'Inglourious Basterds' keeps overseas b.o. crown

Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" prevailed at the international box office this weekend with an estimated $14.3 million in ticket sales in 35 markets. The film's overseas total gross currently stands at a solid $83.3 million.

Following closely in second place this weekend was "The Final Destination," which also retained the No. 1 spot in North America. The David R. Ellis-directed horror sequel brought in $14 million, lifting its international cume to $31.1 million.

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'Inglourious Basterds' stays on top overseas

Those "Inglourious Basterds" are doing pretty well for themselves, as Quentin Tarantino's WWII drama topped the international box office again this weekend with an estimated $19.4 million in ticket sales. That brings the film's overseas total to $59.1 million. Congrats, Mr. Aldo Raine.

Following the basterds at No. 2 was Fox's animated flick "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which bagged another $15 million for a stunning total gross of $635.2 million. To be honest, I never expected this stinker to perform this well internationally.

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'Inglourious Basterds' dominates overseas box office

Quentin Tarantino's fantastic WWII drama "Inglourious Basterds" rushed to the top of the international box office this weekend with an esimated $27.5 million in 22 markets, scoring the best opening for a Tarantino flick overseas. Domestically, the film also took the crown with $37.6 million.

Worldwide, "Basterds" pulled in $65.1 million this weekend. In the R-rated film, Brad Pitt stars as Lt. Aldo Raine, who assembles a gang of Jewish soldiers making it their mission to kill every Nazi they encounter on their way to Paris.

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'G.I. Joe' still rules international box office

While the superb "District 9" took the crown at the North American box office this weekend, Stephen Sommers' "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" continued its overseas dominance with a gross of $26.2 million in a total of 49 markets.

The mediocre summer action flick brought its international total to $91.5 million after only one week in release. At home, "Joe" has collected $98.7 million to date.

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'G.I. Joe' rules international box office

Stephen Sommers' summer action flick "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" is ruling the worldwide box office after scoring $56.2 million domestically and grabbing a decent $44.1 million in ticket sales overseas.

Internationally, the film debuted in 35 territories, taking the top spot in almost half of these markets. "G.I. Joe" follows a unit of soliders tracking down a ruthless weapons manufacturer planning to take over the world.

Former box office champion "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" dropped to second place this weekend, taking another $22.3 million for a total gross of $541.8 million.

Following in third place with $16.9 million was Pixar's animated adventure "Up," which brought its international cume to $108.8 million. The film is currently playing in 21 markets.

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Half-Blood Prince is still the overseas b.o. king

While North American audiences rushed to see Judd Apatow's "Funny People," David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" retained its top spot at the overseas box office with a weekend gross of $42.7 million.

Playing in 64 markets, the sixth installment in the series has lifted its international gross to $492.3 million. Worldwide, "Prince" has already collected a superb $747.7 million.

At No. 2, Pixar's animated family adventure "Up" took home another $23.7 million in 23 territories. Its total gross currently stands at $80.2 million, with more openings to follow during the next months.

Following in third place with $22.3 million was "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which brought its overseas cume to $549.7 million. Internationally, that makes it the highest-grossing animation flick of all time.

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'Half-Blood Prince' remains on top overseas

While high-tech guinea pigs ruled the North American box office this weekend, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" continued its overseas dominance with an estimated $84.4 million in ticket sales.

Playing in 64 markets, the David Yates-directed adventure lifted its international total to $405.3 million, compared to a domestic gross of $221.8 million.

At No. 2, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" finished with $40.6 million, bringing its cumulative gross to $505.4 million. Following in third place with $10.2 million was Todd Phillips' "The Hangover," which reached an overseas cume of $98.5 million.

Meanwhile, Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" took home $9.6 million in 33 territories, lifting its total haul to $36.3 million. Johnny Depp stars in the film chronicling the adventures of John Dillinger.

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Box Office: 'G-Force' crawls to top with $32M

Weekend of July 24 – 26, 2009

Walt Disney’s 3D-animated family flick “G-Force” topped the North American box office with $32.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced film follows a squad of smart guinea pigs trying to stop a ruthless villain from taking over the world. The film grabbed an average of $8,697 per theater at 3,697 locations.

Last week’s winner “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” collected another $30 million in second place, reaching a total gross of $221.8 million after an excellent one-week run.

New entry “The Ugly Truth” debuted in third place with a weekend gross of $27 million from ticket sales at 2,882 locations. Starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, the film centers on a TV producer struggling to control the cocky host of one of her shows.

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