(June 7) Early Sunday box office reports said that Disney Pixar's "Up" had soared above its new comedy competition this weekend, but a strong Sunday recovery boosted "The Hangover" to the top spot.
The Warner Bros. bachelor-bash comedy "The Hangover" came in first with a $45 million debut. Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up" reeled in $44.2 million for an impressive second weekend.
Will Ferrell's action comedy for Universal, "Land of the Lost," had to settle for a distant third with a $19.5 million opening.
Overall revenues fell for the second weekend in a row, putting the brakes on what has been shaping up as a record revenue year for the movie business.
The top 12 movies took in $164 million, down 6 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Kung Fu Panda" opened on top with $60.2 million, according to box-office figures compiled by Hollywood.com.
For the year, Hollywood has taken in $4.3 billion, up 12.5 percent from 2008 revenues. But studios have been unable to maintain the red-hot pace of the year's first four months.
Mickey Rourke has signed on to star in a remake of the 1986 Brit gangster flick 'Mona Lisa,' Variety reports. He'll star as an ex-con who butts heads with a powerful crime boss after he falls for the high-end escort he's been hired to chauffeur. 'Casino Royale' starlet Eva Green is in negotiations to play the escort. Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine starred in the original. (May 15)
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Westwick, Arterton Reach for 'Wuthering Heights'
'Gossip Girl' badboy Ed Westwick and 'Quantum of Solace' good girl Gemma Arterton have signed on to play star-crossed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy in the latest big-screen incarnation of Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights,' according to the Hollywood Reporter. 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' helmer Peter Webber has been tapped to direct. (May 15)
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Statham Joins 'The Killer Elite'
Jason Statham has signed on to headline the British action thriller 'The Killer Elite,' Variety confirms. Based on real events, the story centers on a group of former British special forces members being targeted by assassins. Statham will play a ex-Navy SEAL forced out of retirement to save his close friend, most likely while not wearing a shirt. (May 15)
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Cyrus Gets a New Love Interest
Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth has been cast as Miley Cyrus' love interest in the Disney adaptation of Nicolas Sparks' upcoming novel 'The Last Song,' the Hollywood Reporter has learned. The story follows a rebellious teen forced to spend the summer with the father who abandoned her four years earlier. Hemsworth, who made his U.S. debut in 'Knowing,' will play a cool kid -- and killer beach volleyball player -- who catches Miley's eye. (May 15)
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Scorsese to Direct 'Sinatra'
Martin Scorsese is bringing legendary crooner Frank Sinatra back to the big screen. Variety reports that the 'Departed' director has signed on to helm 'Sinatra,' a biopic that will cover Ol' Blue Eyes' storied career, tumultuous love affairs, high-profile friendships with the likes of President Kennedy and his possible Mafia ties. Though no actor has been set to play the iconic entertainer, producer Cathy Schulman says that Leonardo DiCaprio, who has starred in Scorsese's last four features, is an obvious candidate. Luckily, he does have blue eyes. (May 14)
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Lohan Turns to 'Other Side'
With her latest flick 'Labor Pains' going straight to TV, Lindsay Lohan is moving to 'The Other Side.' Variety has learned that LiLo will join musicians-turned-actors Dave Matthews and Alanis Morisette, as well as Woody Harrelson and Giovanni Ribisi, in the indie fantasy comedy -- which centers on a grad student (Lohan) moves to a remote island for the summer and, while there, encounters a quirky community hiding the secret of a long-ago tragedy. (May 14)
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Ruffalo, Kunis, Liotta Join 'Date Night'
The Steve Carell-Tina Fey comedy 'Date Night' continues to rack up big names. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis and Ray Liotta have joined an all-star cast of supporting players that includes Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Kristen Wiig. Ruffalo will play Wiig's husband and Carell's best friend, Kunis the low-rent criminal wife of Franco's character and Liotta a "villain of peace" in the flick, which stars Fey and Carell as a longtime couple on a date gone horribly awry. (May 14)
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Whitaker and Jackson Are 'Jekyll and Hyde'
Forrest Whitaker and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson will star as the title characters in 'Jekyll and Hyde,' Variety confirms. A modern-day reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' the film will put a contemporary spin on the story of a scientist who invents a potion that unleashes his violent alter ego. (May 14)
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Jackman, Weisz, Pattinson Are 'Captives'
Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson have signed on to star in 'Unbound Captives,' a film which will mark Madeline Stowe's directorial debut, Variety confirms. Stowe also co-wrote the script, which follows a 19th century frontiersman (Jackman) who rescues a mother and son (Weisz and Pattinson) from a Comanche war party. He does not make use of retractable adamantium claws in the process. (May 13)
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Kidman Bails on Woody Allen Film
Nicole Kidman has dropped out of the untitled Woody Allen film she was supposed to film in London this summer, Variety reports. There is no word yet on why Kidman bolted or who her replacement will be. She was set to play a princess en route to India in the flick, which co-stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts and Freida Pinto. Get more on PopEater. (May 13)
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"Definitely, things have slowed," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "But there are some potential saviors on the horizon."
Three big sequels ? "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ? open within three weeks of one another starting June 24.
"The Hangover" features Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis as pals on a wild Las Vegas bachelor party, during which they misplace the groom (Justin Bartha) and run into all manner of misadventures.
Warner Bros. had expected "The Hangover" to finish at No. 3 behind "Up" and "Land of the Lost." But the movie found a broad audience split almost evenly between men and women and those over and under 25, said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.
"Sunday's always good for a hangover," Fellman said.
"The Hangover" was directed by Todd Phillips, whose 2003 comedy "Old School" featured a breakout role for Ferrell.
With $137.3 million in the bank after just 10 days, "Up" is streaking toward the $200 million mark achieved by such previous Pixar hits as "WALL-E," "Ratatouille," "Cars" and "Toy Story 2."
Revenues for most big movies typically drop 50 percent or more in the second weekend, but the audience for "Up" was down only 35 percent from its opening. That puts it in line with "Finding Nemo," the top-grossing Disney-Pixar animated tale, said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney.
"Up" likely will finish in the top three among Pixar flicks, Viane said. Leading the Pixar slate now are "Finding Nemo" with $339.7 million, "The Incredibles" with $261.4 million and "Monsters, Inc." with $255.8 million.
Yet Ferrell had one of his weaker openings with "Land of the Lost," inspired by the 1970s children's TV show about adventurers hurled back to an age of dinosaurs. Ferrell's new twist generally was trashed by critics as a crude update.
Sony's "Angels & Demons" took in $6.5 million domestically and $22.3 million overseas to hit $409 million overall, the first 2009 release to cross the $400 million mark worldwide.
In narrower release, Fox Searchlight's romantic comedy "My Life in Ruins" had a so-so debut of $3.2 million, coming in at No. 9. The movie stars Nia Vardalos ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") as a discontented tour guide in Greece who unexpectedly finds love.
Focus Features' road-trip romp "Away We Go" had a strong opening in limited release, pulling in $143,260 in four theaters for a healthy average of $35,815 a cinema.
That compares to an average of $11,588 in 3,818 theaters for "Up," $13,238 in 3,269 cinemas for "The Hangover," $5,545 in 3,521 locations for "Land of the Lost" and $2,771 in 1,164 theaters for "My Life in Ruins."
"Away We Go," starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a couple searching out the best place in North America to raise a family, was directed by Sam Mendes ("American Beauty"). The film expands to more theaters Friday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Hangover," $45 million.
2. "Up," $44.3 million.
3. "Land of the Lost," $19.5 million.
4. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $14.7 million.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is owned by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.
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