‘Chihuahua’ leads Monday box office

Walt Disney Pictures’ family comedy “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” continued its reign at the top of the North American box office Monday with an estimated $1.3 million in ticket sales.

Raja Gosnell’s adventure about a spoiled chihuahua ending up astray in Mexico lifted its total gross to $30.6 million after only four days in release. Following closely in second place was “Eagle Eye,” which earned $1.1 million and reached a cumulative of $55.7 million.

Peter Sollett’s romantic comedy “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” took home $693,010 in third place, bringing its domestic total to $12 million after a four-day run. Meanwhile, George C. Wolfe’s “Nights in Rodanthe” reached $25.6 million thanks to Monday’s earnings of $582,207.

At No. 5, Ed Harris’ Western “Appaloosa” finished with a daily gross of $488,451. Its total haul currently stands at $6 million.

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

Box Office: 'Chihuahua' outruns 'Eagle'

By Franck Tabouring
Weekend of October 3 – 5, 2008

Walt Disney Pictures’ family adventure “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” took an easy lead at the North American box office this weekend with $29 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Raja Gosnell’s film about a spoiled chihuahua ending up astray in Mexico had no problems taking over the No. 1 spot from last week’s box office winner “Eagle Eye,” which finished strong in second place.

D.J. Caruso’s action thriller starring Shia LaBeouf took home another $17.7 million, reaching a domestic total of $54.6 million after only two weeks in release. Released by DreamWorks, the film follows a slacker and a single mom who are framed as terrorists and forced to participate in a political assassination.

Debuting in third place with $12 million was Peter Sollett’s “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” which stars Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as two young adults who spend an incredibly chaotic night together in New York City.

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Review: “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”

Seen on: October 4, 2008

The players: Director: Pete Sollett, Writer: Lorene Scafaria, Cast: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Ari Graynor, Rafi Gavron, Alexis Dziena

Facts of interest: Based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

The plot: Nick (Cera) and Norah (Dennings) spend an incredible chaotic but eventually magical night in New York City.

Our thoughts: Peter Sollett’s “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” has enough rhythm to maintain the audience’s attention for 90 minutes, but the film definitely lacks the surprise factor we’ve come to appreciate in this new genre of teenage comedies. It’s a shame, really, because the movie holds plenty of unexploited potential.

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‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ leads Friday b.o.

Friday marked a great start at the box office for Raja Gosnell’s family flick “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” which took the No. 1 spot with $7.8 million in ticket sales.

Last week’s champ “Eagle Eye” slipped to second place but still went strong, pulling in $5.5 million. D.J Caruso’s Shia LaBeouf action vehicle reached a domestic total of $42.4 million.

Debuting in third place with $4.4 million was Peter Sollett’s “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” a romance in which Michael Cera and Kat Dennings spend a turbulent night together in New York City.

Ed Harris’ western “Appaloosa” expanded over the weekend, climbing all the way to No. 5 with $1.5 million. The film made slightly less than George C. Wolfe’s “Nights in Rodanthe,” which tool home $2.4 million in fourth place.

Four the other three wide releases, it didn’t look that well Friday. “Blindness” ranked 11th with $750,000, while “Flash of Genius” only collected $720,000 at No. 12. The biggest disappointment was Simon Pegg’s new comedy “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People,” which picked up $460,000.

Even Bill Maher’s “Religulous” performed better at only 502 locations, earning $1.1 million in tenth place.

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

'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' web reviews

In Peter Sollett's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," Michael Cera and Kat Dennings team up and spend an incredible night together. But how incredible is it? Let's see what the Web's film critics think (I will post my review in the coming days):

• Ron Henriques at LatinoReview: "There really isn't much to the story of the film, but Dennings and Cera's compatibility is strong enough to overlook that."

• Katey Rich at Cinema Blend: "'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,' based on the popular young adult novel of the same name, is a surprisingly timeless story given its hip trappings, and will enthrall teen viewers who imagine such a adventurous, music-fueled life for themselves."

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Who is Kat Dennings?

If you haven’t seen any of her films yet, I’m sure you’ve at least seen her in the trailer for Peter Sollett's “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” which opens everywhere tomorrow. Of course I’m talking about newcomer Kat Dennings, who is known for her supporting roles in “Raise Your Voice” and “Charlie Bartlett.”

Lisa Rosen over at the Los Angeles Times posted an interesting article about the young actress, who is slowly getting her name out there and celebrates her first lead role alongside Michael Cera in “Playlist.”

Rosen writes, "It is certainly her biggest role to date and one she recognizes as a turning point in her career. But for all that, she felt no pressure taking on one of the title characters and working full time on a 30-day shoot."

Dennings also recently starred alongside Anna Faris in "The House Bunny." One of her upcoming projects is Robert Rodriguez's family film "Shorts."

Click here to learn all about Kat Dennings.

New 'Nick and Norah's Inifinite Playlist' clip

Yahoo! Movies just released a new clip from Peter Sollett's upcoming dramedy "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," in which Michael Cera and Kat Dennings spend an unforgettable night together in the streets of New York City. As a treat, the clip comes with a quick introduction by Cera and Dennings.

The film is based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. "Nick and Nora" will be heading your way Oct. 3, 2008. Enjoy the clip just above. By the way, early reviews are out already. Go here to read one of them.

‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ gets a trailer

MySpace TV today premiered the first trailer for Peter Sollett’s upcoming “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” which is based on a novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. You can check out the preview just above.

Starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, the film centers on two teenagers who accidentally meet and end up spending an unforgettable night in New York City. I haven’t read the book and can’t comment on the story, but I admit I kind of like what I’ve seen in the trailer.

Cera still has the same “Superbad” and “Juno” look on this face, and that’s great. Dennings previously starred in “Raise Your Voice” and “Charlie Bartlett.” She’ll next be seen alongside Anna Faris in “The House Bunny.” “Nick and Norah” opens everywhere Oct. 3, 2008. Feel free to share your thoughts on the trailer below.