Variety reports that the ABC Family network has made a deal for two of this year’s Disney movies: Jerry Bruckheimer’s guinea pig action movie “G-Force” and Robert Zemeckis’ animated version of “A Christmas Carol” starring Jim Carrey.

The five-film deal also includes “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “Bedtime Stories” and “Race to Witch Mountain”.

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is expected to air on ABC Family next year, “G-Force” will air in 2011, while “A Christmas Carol”, “Bedtime Stories”, and “Race to Witch Mountain” will be on the cable network in 2012.   

Carrey’s “A Christmas Carol” is expected to be part of ABC Family’s increasingly popular “25 Days of Christmas” December programming block, like Zemeckis’ “The Polar Express” has the past few holiday seasons.

BEST BET: See the epic drama/romance “Australia” that I liked or the drama with early oscar buzz “I’ve Loved You So Long” (Kristin Scott Thomas).

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New at Theaters (Friday): “Watchmen” (midnight showings, also in IMAX), “Fanboys” (in Grand Rapids at Celebration! Rivertown)

 Watch the trailer for “Watchmen”

 Watch the trailer for “Fanboys”

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

BEST BET: You’ll have to wait until Friday for my complete review, but if you’re a “Watchmen” fan or really looking forward to this movie see it… if you’re a Star Wars fans, you might like the long awaited comedy “Fanboys”… or you might want to get caught up on any movies you may have missed in theaters or coming out on DVD.

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT: 

Playing at West Michigan movie theaters:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5 / 10)
“Changeling”  (9.5 / 10)
“The Wrestler” (8.9 / 10)
“Defiance” (8.0 / 10)
“Revolutionary Road” (7.9 / 10)
“New in Town” (7.9 / 10)
“Taken” (7.5 / 10)
“Fanboys” (8.5 for me, adjusted to 7.5 for most)
“He’s Just Not That Into You” (7.5 / 10)
“Bride Wars” (7.5 / 10)
“Marley & Me” (7.5 / 10)
“Four Christmases”  (7.5 / 10)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5 / 10)
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (7.0 / 10)
“Watchmen” (7.0 / 10)
“Bedtime Stories” (7.0 / 10)
“Hotel for Dogs” (7.0 / 10)
“Twilight”  (7.0 / 10)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5 / 10)

- – -

Available to rent or buy:
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Changeling”  (9.5 / 10)
“WALL-E” (9.0)
“Pride and Glory” (9.0 / 10)
“Righteous Kill” (8.9 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“The Visitor” (8.0 / 10)
“Australia”  (7.9 / 10)
“Frozen River” (7.9 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Get Smart” (7.0 / 10)
“Appaloosa” (6.9 / 10)
“Lakeview Terrace” (6.5 / 10)
“Hellboy II: Golden Army” (6.5 / 10)
“Noise” (6.0 / 10)

- – - 

Next Week at Theaters: “The Last House on the Left (2009)”, “Miss March”, ”Race to Witch Mountain”

Next Week on DVD: “Battle in Seattle”, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, “Cadillac Records”, “Happy-Go-Lucky”, “Let The Right One In”, “Milk”, “Pinocchio” (anniversary edition), “Rachel Getting Married”, “Role Models”, “Synecdoche, New York”, “Transporter 3″

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The #1 movie – “Madagascar 2″ wasn’t just #1, it was a smash hit with $63 million – that’s a bigger opening than these other family movies: “High School Musical 3″ ($42 million)… more than “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” ($29 million)… “Horton Hears a Who!” ($45 million)… …only “WALL-E” ($63 million) and “Kung Fu Panda” ($60 million) had opening weekends as big !!!!   Its actually the 5th biggest opening of the year!

The weekend’s #2 movie “Role Models” cruised in with a solid showing of nearly $20 million… as the alternative choice to “Madagascar 2″.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (ACTUAL results):

1. “Madagascar 2: Ecsape to Africa” – $63.11 million (1st week)

2. “Role Models” – $19.17 million (1st week)

3. “High School Musical 3” - $9.16 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 40% of its audience from last week)

4. “Changeling” - $7.25 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 22% of its audience from last week)

5. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” - $6.27 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 37% of its audience from last week)

6. “Soul Men” – $5.40 million (1st week)

7. “Saw V” - $4.07 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 58% of its audience from last week)

8. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” - $3.32 million
(2nd week, was #5 last week, lost 39% of its audience from last week)

9. “The Secret Life of Bees” - $3.09 million
(4th week, was #7 last week, lost 23% of its audience from last week)

10. “Eagle Eye” - $2.54 million
(7th week, was #9 last week, lost 27% of its audience from last week)

11. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $2.49 million
(6th week, was #6 last week, lost 49% of its audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Madagascar Escape 2 Africa” poster courtesy Paramount-DreamWorks

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “High School Musical 3” - $15.31 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 64% of its audience from last week)

2. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” - $10.07 million (1st week)

3. “Saw V” - $9.74 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 68% of its audience from last week)

4. “Changeling” - $9.35 million (1st week of wide release)
(2nd week, was #20 last week, gained 1800% of its audience from last week)

5. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” - $5.42 million (1st week)

6. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $4.86 million
(5th week, was #4 last week, lost 29% of its audience from last week)

7. “The Secret Life of Bees” - $4.01 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 34% of its audience from last week)

8. “Max Payne” - $3.69 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% of its audience from last week)

9. “Eagle Eye” - $3.48 million
(6th week, was #8 last week, lost 31% of its audience from last week)

10. “Pride and Glory” - $3.36 million
(2nd week, was #5 last week, lost 46% of its audience from last week

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“High School Musical 3″ poster courtesy Disney

New movies last Friday: “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”, “Saw V”, ”Pride and Glory”

This was a REALLY GOOD WEEKEND for theaters and studios, the total grosses were up 40% from last weekend…. the top 12 grossed more than $100 million ($119.84 million) for the first time since the weekend of August 15-17 (opening weekend for “Tropic Thunder”/5th week for “Dark Knight”)… its also about 40% higher than this time last year !!!

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “High School Musical 3” - $42.03 million (1st week)

2. “Saw V” - $30.05 million (1st week)

3. “Max Payne” - $7.60 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 57% of its audience from last week)

4. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $6.88 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 40% of its audience from last week)

5. “Pride and Glory” - $6.26 million (1st week)

6. “The Secret Life of Bees” - $6.05 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

7. “W.” - $5.09 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 52% of its audience from last week)

8. “Eagle Eye” - $5.05 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 28% of its audience from last week)

9. “Body of Lies” - $4.06 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 40% of its audience from last week)

10. “Quarantine” - $2.58 million
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 58% of its audience from last week)

My Box Office Predicitions were 7 out of 10, mostly because I thought ”Pride and Glory” would do better than 5th place… I was also close on the $$ amounts for all but ”Pride and Glory”.

NOT “KING OF THE WORLD”… YET:

20. “The Dark Knight” – $0.30 million (total gross: $527.82 million)
(15th week, was #20 last week, lost 28% of its audience from last week)

“The Dark Knight” isn’t going to catch “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. right now, but it might after the planned re-release in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“High School Musical 3″ poster courtesy Disney

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

New movies last Friday: “Max Payne”, “W.”, “The Secret Life of Bees”, “Sex Drive”

The total box office of $84.76 million is down 2% from last weekend… marking two weeks of decline, but it is $6 million more than this time last year ($78.48 million) !!!

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “Max Payne” - $17.64 million (1st week)

2. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $11.42 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 35% of its audience from last week)

3. “The Secret Life of Bees” - $10.53 million (1st week)

4. “W.” - $10.51 million (1st week)

5. “Eagle Eye” - $7.03 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 36% of its audience from last week)

6. “Body of Lies” - $6.82 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 47% of its audience from last week)

7. “Quarantine” - $6.08 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 57% of its audience from last week)

8. “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” - $3.69 million
(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

9. “Sex Drive” - $3.61 million (1st week)

10. “Nights in Rodanthe” - $2.66 million
(4th week, was #7 last week, lost 42% of its audience from last week)

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S BOX OFFICE REPORT (10/14/08) 

20. “The Dark Knight” – $0.41 million (total gross: $527.36 million)
(14th week, was #19 last week, lost 22% of its audience from last week)

CHASING HISTORY:

“The Dark Knight” still has a long way to go to close the gap between itself ($527.36 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Max Payne” poster courtesy 20th Century Fox

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

New movies last Friday: “Body of Lies”, “City of Ember”, “Quarantine”, “The Duchess” (wider release)

“Quarantine” was 2nd – more than making up its entire $12 million budget in one weekend… which is good because it was disappointing to a lot of viewers, so its numbers ARE GOING TO DROP NEXT WEEKEND… 
“Body of Lies” (15 to see this Fall/Holiday Season) should have opened stronger given the cast of Crowe and DiCaprio, but the subject matter may have kept some away…
“The Express” was 6th – perhaps because the general public didn’t realize it was about more than just college football… 
“City of Ember” made about what I thought it would when I first saw the trailer, but I thought last week’s success of another family movie (”Chihuahua”) would have helped it to higher than 11th place…. 
“The Duchess” move into wide release moved it up from #20 to #9.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $17.50 million
(2nd week, 2nd week at #1, lost 40% of its audience from last week)

2. “Quarantine” - $14.21 million (1st week)

3. “Body of Lies” - $12.88 million (1st week)

4. “Eagle Eye” - $10.91 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 38% of its audience from last week)

5. “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” - $6.42 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

6. “The Express” - $4.56 million (1st week)

7. “Nights in Rodanthe” - $4.54 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 38% of its audience from last week)

5. “Appaloosa” - $3.32 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 34% of its audience from last week)

9. “The Duchess” - $3.30 million (1st week in wide release)

10. “Fireproof” - $3.14 million
(3rd week, was #8 last week, lost 21% of its audience from last week)

– — –

11. “City of Ember” - $3.13 million (1st week)

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S BOX OFFICE REPORT – 10/6/08

19. “The Dark Knight” – $0.53 million (total gross: $526.69 million)
(13th week, was #21 last week, lost 36% of its audience from last week)

CHASING HISTORY:

“The Dark Knight” has a long way to go to close the gap between itself ($526.69 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” poster courtesy Walt Disney

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

New movies last Friday: “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”, “Appaloosa” (limited), “An American Carol” (limited), ”Flash of Genius” (limited), “Blindness” (limited)

I didn’t make a prediction going into last weekend, but if I did, I can honestly say that I didn’t think “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” would be your number one movie this week… c’mon people… I know its a fun family movie from the folks over at Disney… and the other good looking movies were in limited release…. but it was #1 by more than $11 million dollars… yikes… at least I know it will get bumped by “Body of Lies” or “City of Ember” this coming weekend.

So make that back to back weeks with a surprise, last week’s surprise #4 – the Christian themed “Fireproof” starring Kirk Cameron was #8 this week… I was hoping for better numbers for 2 of my 15 to see this Fall/Holiday Season:“Appaloosa” and “Blindness” BUT THEY are not in wide release *yet*.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $29.30 million (1st week)

2. “Eagle Eye” - $29.20 million

(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 39% of its audience from last week)

3. “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” - $11.31 million (1st week)

4. “Nights in Rodanthe” - $7.37 million

(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 45% of its audience from last week)

5. “Appaloosa” - $5.05 million (1st week - wider, but limited release)

6. “Lakeview Terrace” - $4.56 million

(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 35% of its audience from last week)

7. “Burn After Reading” - $4.12 million

(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 34% of its audience from last week)

8. “Fireproof” - $3.99 million

(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 41% of its audience from last week)

9. “An American Carol” - $3.66 million (1st week) (limited release)

10. “Religulous” - $3.41 million (1st week) (limited release)

——–

11. “Flash of Genius” - $2.25 million (1st week) (limited release)

12. “Blindness” - $1.95 million (1st week) (limited release)

19. “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” - $1.43 million (1st week) (limited release)

21. “The Dark Knight” – $0.83 million (total gross: $525.83 million)
(12th week, was #13 last week, lost 50% of its audience from last week)

CHASING HISTORY:

“The Dark Knight” has a long way to go to close the gap between itself ($525.83 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” poster courtesy Walt Disney

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty