On DVD (Tuesday): “Beer for My Horses”, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, “Star Wars The Clone Wars”, “Sukiyaki Western Django”, and “This Christmas.”

In Theaters (Friday): “Quantum of Solace”, “Slumdog Millionaire” (limited), and “A Christmas Tale.”

Courtesy Universal

Courtesy Warner Bros./Lucasfilm

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD:
If you’re like me and waited for “Hellyboy 2″ to come out on DVD, so as not to be so disappointed after the original – this is our week !!!  And if you took my advice back in August to wait and rent “Star Wars Clone Wars” (unless you’re a die-hard fan, or young fan of the new cartoons)… this is the week to consider renting it.

Also out this week, Toby Keith’s song/music video “Beer For My Horses” turned into a feature-length movie, Quentin Tarantino in the Japanese Western “Sukiyaki Western Django” that got decent reviews, and the Christmas drama “This Christmas” about a family’s first holiday together in four years.

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS:
Bond, only Bond… there’s a reason why other movies shuffled their schedules around the opening of the latest 007 movie (the 2nd for title star Daniel Craig)… Bond movies always open big… and this should be no different – it will take in close to one-third of the weekend box office all by itself… some estimates have it as high as $60-70 million this weekend… I’ll be a little more realistic.

Courtesy MGM

MY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTION:

1. “Quantum of Solace” – $50 million
2. “Madagascar 2: Ecsape to Africa” – $31.5 million
3. “Role Models” – $9.6 million
4. “High School Musical 3” – $5.5 million
5. “Changeling” – $5.1 million
6. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” – $3.8 million
7. “Soul Men” – $3.5 million
8. “The Secret Life of Bees” – $2.3 million
9. “Saw V” – $1.6 million
10. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” – $1.5 million
11. “Eagle Eye” – $1.3 million

Next Week on DVD: “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2″, “WALL-E”

Next Week at Theaters: “Bolt”, “Twilight”, “Boy in the Striped Pajamas” (expanded release), “Special” (limited)

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In Theaters (Friday 11/7): “Madagascar 2: Ecsape to Africa”, “Role Models”, “Soul Men”, “House (limited)

On DVD (Tuesday 11/4): “Get Smart”, “Shrek the Halls”, “Transsiberian”,
On DVD (Sunday 11/9): “Kung Fu Panda”
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MY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTION:

1. “Madagascar 2: Ecsape to Africa” – $20.0 million
2. “High School Musical 3” – $9.2 million
3. “Role Models” – $9.0 million
4. “Changeling” – $6.1 million
5. “Soul Men” – $5.5 million
6. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” – $5.0 million
7. “Saw V” – $3.9 million
8. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” – $2.9 million
9. “The Secret Life of Bees” – $2.4 million
10. “Eagle Eye” – $2.4 million

(SEE LAST WEEK’S BOX OFFICE REPORT)

Next Week at Theaters: “Quantum of Solace”, “Slumdog Millionaire” (limited), “This Christmas” (limited)

Next Week on DVD: “Beer for My Horses”, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, “Star Wars The Clone Wars”, “Sukiyaki Western Django”, “This Christmas”

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In Theaters (Friday): “Changeling” (wide release), “RockNRolla” (wide release), “The Haunting of Molly Hartley”, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”

On DVD (Tuesday): “Hell Ride”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (2008), “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”

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MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS:
For those looking for a scare (other than “Saw V”) there’s the thriller “The Haunting of Molly Hartley”….  if you’re looking for a raunchy romantic comedy – there’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, which is more traditional work by director Kevin Smith than 2004’s “Jersey Girl”….
but  MY TOP CHOICES THIS WEEKEND are Academy Award favorite “Changeling” and a well-reviewed “RockNRolla” that critics say is director Guy Ritchie getting back to form.

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MY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTION:
1. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” – $25.0 million
2. “Saw V” – $23.0 million
3. “High School Musical 3” – $20.0 million
4. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” – $18.0 million
5. “RockNRolla” – $5.5 million
6. “Changeling” – $5.0 million
7. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” – $4.0 million
8. “Pride and Glory” – $3.5 million
9. “Max Payne” – $3.0 million
10. “Eagle Eye” – $2.5 million

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New on DVD (Tuesday): “Hell Ride”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (2008), “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD:
“Hell Ride” got mixed reviews…
so MY TOP CHOICES FOR WHAT’S NEW ON DVD are really good family-friendly “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D” and well-reviewed “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”.

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Next Week at Theaters: “Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa”, “Role Models”, ”Soul Men”, “House” (limited), “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”

Next Week on DVD: “Get Smart”, “Kung Fu Panda”, “Shrek The Halls”, “Transsiberian”

In Theaters (Friday): “W.”,  “Max Payne”,  “The Secret Life of Bees”, “Sex Drive”, “Frozen River” (limited)
On DVD (Tuesday): “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “Mongol”, “War, Inc.”, “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”, “Stuck”

My Take on What’s New in Theaters: A wide variety of options at the theater this weekend including the Oliver Stone biopic “W.” about George W. Bush, the video game-turned movie “Max Payne” starring Mark Wahlberg, the drama with Academy Award potential “The Secret Life of Bees”, the teen sex comedy “Sex Drive” about a guy who goes across statelines to hook-up with a girl he met online, and the immigration drama “Frozen River” (limited release).

Although I haven’t seen any of these movies yet – the best bet for the serious is “The Secret Life of Bees” and for the action oriented its “Max Payne”.   “W.” and “Sex Drive” have more narrow appeal.

Box Office Predicitions:
1. “Max Payne” – $18 million
2. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $13 million (down from #1)
3. “W.” – $9 million
4. “Body of Lies” - $8 million (down from #3)
5. “The Secret Life of Bees” – $7 million
6. “Eagle Eye” - $6 million (down from #4)
7. “Quarantine” - $5 million (down from #2)
8. “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” - $4 million (down from #5)
9. “The Duchess” - $3 million
10. “Sex Drive” - $2 million

My Take on What’s New on DVD: For those who followed my advice this summer to wait and rent “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” - now is the time to see it – but you could still be disappointed, the foreign language drama “Mongol” about the life of Genghis Khan got fairly good reviews, “War, Inc.” looks interesting, “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days” is a heavy issue movie about black market abortion, and “Stuck” is reportedly “a darkly humorous pschological thriller” about a nursing assistant that hits a homeless man with her car and he gets stuck in the windshield.

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Next Week at Theaters: “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”, “Saw V”, ”The Passengers“, ”Pride and Glory”

Next Week on DVD: “The Incredible Hulk”, “The Strangers”, “A Threevening with Kevin Smith”

In Theaters (Friday): “Body of Lies”, “City of Ember”, “Quarantine”, “The Duchess” (wider release)

MY TAKE: Look for “Body of Lies” to take over the #1 spot at the box office and “City of Ember” to grab the family $$$… “The Duchess” will now been seen by more audiences as it opens in more theaters nationwide… and “Quarantine” might not do well, it probably would have played better closer to Halloween.

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On DVD (Tuesday): “The Happening”, “Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead”, “Paranoid Park”, “Sleeping Beauty” (Platinum Edition DVD/Blue Ray Platinum), “The Visitor”, “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”

MY TAKE: I know I’m one of a few people who liked “The Happening” but if you stayed away from it because of the reviews or the bad box office… now’s your chance to agree with me (I think its M. Night Shyamalan’s 4th best movie)… or tell me I’m wrong.

“The Visitor” got good reviews for its acting…. and although its now a rental, I’m still waiting a bit to see Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”… or you could go with an underated Disney Classic “Sleeping Beauty” out in new re-released formats.

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Next Week at Theaters: “W.”, “Sex Drive”, ”Max Payne”, “The Secret Life of Bees”

Next Week on DVD: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days”, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “Mongol”, ”War, Inc.”

In Theaters (Friday): “Eagle Eye”, “Miracle at St. Anna”, “Nights in Rodanthe” My Take: There won’t be many moviegoers that can’t find what they’re looking for this weekend… thanks to the 3 new movies debuting this weekend (and the movies already playing in theaters).

You want an Action/Thriller blockbuster this week? You got it! (“Eagle Eye”)

You want a Drama with Academy Award buzz? You got it! (“Miracle at St. Anna”)

You want a Romantic movie? You got it! (“Nights in Rodanthe”)

—- “Eagle Eye” starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan,

Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Ethan Embry, Billy Bob Thorton Genre: Action/Mystery/Thriller
The Plot: Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situation, using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country’s most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening — and more importantly, why. —-“Miracle at St. Anna” starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, John Tutturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington, D.B. Sweeney Directed by: Spike Lee Genre: War Drama/Action/Thriller
The Plot: Set in 1944 Italy, the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII. —-“Nights in Rodanthe” starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis Genre: Drama/Romance
The Plot: A doctor (Gere) who is traveling to see his estranged son sparks with an unhappily married woman (Lane) at a North Carolina inn. —- These solid offerings should do well at the box office this weekend. —- Next Week at Theaters: “Appaloosa”, “Blindness”, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, “Flash of Genius”, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People”, “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”, “An American Carol” (limited release)