Best Bet(s): There’s no confusion here, “Star Trek” (read my review) is the best bet this weekend, I would argue this is now second best movie in this long running franchise (after “Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn”), and it may turn out to be the “Iron Man” of this summer with its wide-ranging appeal and positive reviews.

New on DVD (Tuesday): “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, ”Last Chance Harvey”, “Wendy and Lucy”

Best Bet(s): If the 13 oscar nominations aren’t enough for you, read my review of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, this was one of the best movies of 2008, and if you haven’t seen it yet, now is the time!  Plus, there’s plenty of DVD extras like the makeup process and how they pulled off all those special effects.  For more, check out my interview with actress Taraji P. Henson about her role in the movie.

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

Next Week at Theaters: “Angels & Demons”, ”The Chaos Experiment” (May 15-21 limited run at Celebration! Lansing only)

Next Week on DVD: “The Grudge 3″, “Passengers”, “Personal Effects”, “Taken”, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

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

Playing at West Michigan movie theaters:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“Star Trek” (8.5 / 10)
“Defiance” (8.0 / 10)
“I Love You, Man” (8.0/ 10)
“State of Play” (8.0)
“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)
“Four Christmases”  (7.5 / 10)
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (7.0 / 10)
“Knowing” (7.0 / 10)
“Watchmen” (7.0 / 10)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5 / 10)
“Monsters Vs. Aliens” (6.0 / 10)
“Confessions of A Shopaholic” (5.5 / 10)

- – -

Available to rent or buy:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5 / 10)
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Changeling”  (9.5 / 10)
“WALL-E” (9.0)
“Pride and Glory” (9.0 / 10)
“The Wrestler” (8.9 / 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)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Marley & Me” (7.5 / 10)
“Bride Wars” (7.5 / 10)
“Rachel Getting Married” (7.0)
“Get Smart” (7.0 / 10)
“Bedtime Stories” (7.0 / 10)
“Twilight”  (7.0 / 10)
“Hotel for Dogs” (7.0 / 10)
“Appaloosa” (6.9 / 10)
“Lakeview Terrace” (6.5 / 10)
“Hellboy II: Golden Army” (6.5 / 10)
“Body of Lies” (6.0)
“Noise” (6.0 / 10) 

– 

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And it wasn’t even close… with the remake “Friday the 13th” taking in more ($42 million) than the second and third place movies combined, the slasher movie also becomes the biggest opening of the year, passing “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”’s $31 million opening in January. 

Last week’s number one “He’s Just Not That Into You” slipped to second and new movies “Confessions of A Shopaholic” and “The International” opened in fourth and seventh place.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Friday the 13th” (2009) – $42.25 million (1st week)

2. “He’s Just Not That Into You” – $19.61 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 29% from last week)

3. “Taken” – $19.25 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 6% from last week)

4. “Confessions of A Shopaholic” – $15.41 million (1st week)

5. “Coraline” – $15.32 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 9% from last week)

6. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $11.70 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, gained 7% more than last week)

7. “The International” – $10.00 million (1st week)

8. “The Pink Panther 2″ - $9.00 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 22% from last week)

9. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $7.15 million
(14th week, was #8 last week, lost 0.5% from last week)

10. “Push” – $6.93 million
(2nd week, was #6 last week, lost 31% from last week)

- – -

11. “Gran Torino” – $6.75 million
(10th week, was #7 last week, lost 6% from last week)

13. “Hotel for Dogs” – $4.23 million
(5th week, was #10 last week, lost 26% from last week)

17. ”The Wrestler” – $1.80 million
(4th week of wide release, was #15 last week, lost 19% from last week)

18. “New in Town” - $1.72 million
(3rd week, was #12 last week, lost 47% from last week)

19. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $1.60 million
(8th week, was #13 last week, lost 30% from last week)

20. “Revolutionary Road” – $0.98 million
(8th week, was #17 last week, lost 42% from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “He’s Just Not That Into You” – $27.47 million (1st week)

2. “Taken” – $24.63 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 18% from last week)

3. “Coraline” – $16.34 million (1st week)

4. “The Pink Panther 2″ - $12.00 million (1st week)

5. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $11.00 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 21% from last week)

6. “Push” – $10.20 million (1st week)

7. “Gran Torino” – $7.42 million
(9th week, was #5 last week, lost 10% from last week)

8. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $7.40 million
(13th week, was #6 last week, lost 3% from last week)

9. “The Uninvited” - $6.40 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 38% from last week)

10. “Hotel for Dogs” – $5.82 million
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 33% from last week)

- – -

11. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” – $3.90 million
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 49% from last week)

12. “New in Town” - $3.30 million
(2nd week, was #8 last week, lost 51% from last week)

13. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $2.40 million
(7th week, was #11 last week, lost 32% from last week)

15. ”The Wrestler” – $2.23 million
(3rd week of wide release, was #16 last week, lost 4% from last week)

17. “Revolutionary Road” – $1.67 million
(7th week, was #13 last week, lost 38% from last week)

18. “Bride Wars” - $1.50 million
(5th week, was #12 last week, lost 57% from last week)

19. “Defiance” - $1.42 million
(4th week of wide release, was #14 last week, lost 43% from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Taken” – $24.63 million (1st week)

2. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $14.00 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 35% from last week)

3. “The Uninvited” - $10.51 million (1st week)

4. “Hotel for Dogs” – $8.71 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 32% from last week)

5. “Gran Torino” – $8.60 million
(4th week of wide release, was #3 last week, lost 47% from last week)

6. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $7.68 million
(12th week, was #5 last week, lost 28% from last week)

7. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” – $7.20 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 65% from last week)

8. “New in Town” - $6.75 million (1st week)

9. “My Bloody Valentine” – $4.26 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 58% from last week)

10. “Inkheart” – $3.70 million
(2nd week, was #7 last week, lost 51% from last week)

- – -

11. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $3.61 million
(6th week, was #9 last week, lost 41% from last week)

12. “Bride Wars” - $3.57 million
(4th week, was #8 last week, lost 48% from last week)

14. “Defiance” - $2.53 million
(3rd week of wide release, was #11 last week, lost 55% from last week)

16. ”The Wrestler” – $2.35 million
(2nd week of wide release, was #14 last week, lost 37% from last week)

22. “Marley & Me” – $0.95 million
(6th week, was #15 last week, lost 69% of audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

I’ve been telling people to see “Slumdog Millionaire” ever since it was released in West Michigan, now it seems that the Golden Globes wins, the Oscar nominations, and national advertising is working.  The movie saw an 83% increase in ticket sales from last weekend, which was already up 55%  than the weekend previous.

Also seeing a Golden Globes/Oscar bounce, the audience for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” grew 9% from last week.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $21.62 million
(2nd week at #1, lost 32% from last week)

2. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” – $20.82 million (1st week)

3. “Gran Torino” – $16.24 million
(3rd week of wide release, was #2 last week, lost 26% from last week)

4. “Hotel for Dogs” – $12.86 million
(2nd week, was #5 last week, lost 24% from last week)

5. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $10.70 million
(11th week, was #10 last week, gained 83% more audience from last week)

6. “My Bloody Valentine” – $10.01 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% from last week)

7. “Inkheart” – $7.60 million (1st week)

8. “Bride Wars” - $6.87 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 41% from last week)

9. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $6.09 million
(5th week, was #11 last week, gained 9% more audience from last week)

10. “Notorious” – $5.78 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 72% from last week)

–

11. “Defiance” - $5.67 million
(2nd week of wide release, was #8 last week, lost 36% from last week)

12. “Revolutionary Road” – $5.19 million (1st week of wide release)

13. “The Unborn” – $4.36 million
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 53% from last week)

14. ”The Wrestler” – $3.75 (1st week of wide release)

15. “Marley & Me” – $3.03 million
(5th week, was #9 last week, lost 50% of audience from last week)

18. “Bedtime Stories” – $1.95 million
(5th week, was #12 last week, lost 59% of audience from last week)

26. “The Dark Knight” – $0.67 million
(IMAX re-issue, total gross now $531.71 million, still $69 million behind “Titanic”, the #1 domestic movie of all time)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

.

The nominees have been announced for The Academy Awards, and the movies nominated for best picture are: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Frost/Nixon”, “Milk”, “The Reader”, and “Slumdog Millionaire”.

The movies with the most overall nominations are “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (13), “Slumdog Millionaire” (10), “Milk” (8), and “The Dark Knight” (8).

I’ll update later with my picks in each category.

Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 81st Annual Academy Awards on February 22, 2009….

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction
“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography
“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design
“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject
“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam                  

Best motion picture of the year
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film
“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
“Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay
“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

The 81st Annual Academy Awards will be presented February 22, 2009 on ABC.

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was number one… by more than $10 million dollars over second place “Gran Torino”.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $31.83 million (1st week)

2. “Gran Torino” – $21.98 million
(2nd week of wide release, was #1 last week, lost 26% from last week)

3. “My Bloody Valentine” – $21.24 million (1st week)

4. “Notorious” – $20.50 million (1st week)

5. “Hotel for Dogs” – $17.01 million (1st week)

6. “Bride Wars” - $11.65 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 45% from last week)

7. “The Unborn” – $9.34 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% from last week)

8. “Defiance” - $8.91 million (1st week of wide release)

9. “Marley & Me” – $6.14 million
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 46% of audience from last week)

10. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $5.85 million
(10th week, was #11 last week, gained 55% more audience from last week)

- – -

11. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $5.78 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 39% of audience from last week)

12. “Bedtime Stories” – $4.73 million
(4th week, was #6 last week, lost 46% of audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Bride Wars” and “The Unborn” also pushed “Marley & Me” out of its two weeks at number one.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Gran Torino” – $29.48 million (1st week of wide release)

2. “Bride Wars” - $21.06 million (1st week)

3. “The Unborn” – $19.81 million (1st week)

4. “Marley & Me” – $11.39 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 53% of audience from last week)

5. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $9.21 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 49% of audience from last week)

6. “Bedtime Stories” – $8.80 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 58% of audience from last week)

7. “Valkyrie” – $6.62 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 53% of audience from last week)

8. “Yes Man” – $6.03 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 56% of audience from last week)

9. “Not Easily Broken” – $5.31 million (1st week)

10. “Seven Pounds” – $3.82 million
(4th week, was #6 last week, lost 61% of audience from last week)

—-

11. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $3.78 million (limited release: just 601 theaters)
(9th week, was #10 last week, lost 21% of audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“The Spirit” followed up its poor opening weekend by dropping to 13th (losing 49% of its audience) during a weekend with no wide releases (that’s a red flag movie go-ers !!!).

There were 27% fewer people ($130 million) at the movies over the New Year’s weekend compared to the big Christmas weekend ($179 million).

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated): 
1. “Marley & Me” – $24.05 million
(2nd week at #1, lost 34% of audience from last week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $20.32 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 26% of audience from last week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $18.40 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 32% of audience from last week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $14.04 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 33% of audience from last week)

5. “Yes Man” – $13.85 million  
(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 17% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $10.00 million 
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 24% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $7.02 million 
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 21% of audience from last week)

8. ”Doubt″ – $5.03 million
(4th week, was #10 last week, lost 6% from last week)

9. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $4.85 million
(4th week, was #8 last week, lost 37% of audience from last week)

10. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.77 million (limited release: just 612 theaters)
(8th week, was #13 last week, 11% more audience than last week)

- – -

11. “Twilight”  – $4.53 million
(7th week, was #12 last week, lost 5% from last week)

13. “The Spirit” – $3.27 million
(2nd week, was #9 last week, lost 49% from last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.82 million (limited release: just 84 theaters)
(4th week, was #15 last week, 21% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

The life story of a dog “Marley & Me” and the life story of a man who ages backwards “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” take first and third place, while Adam Sandler’s family movie was second and Tom Cruise’s nazi-era drama was fourth.

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 
1. “Marley & Me” – $37.00 million  (1st week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $28.07 million  (1st week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $27.00 million  (1st week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $21.53 million  (1st week)

5. “Yes Man” – $16.45 million  
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $13.40 million 
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $9.37 million 
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 7% of audience from last week)

8. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $7.90 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 20% of audience from last week)

9. “The Spirit” – $6.51 million (1st week)

10. ”Doubt″ – $5.68 million
(3rd week, was #15 last week, gained 733% more audience than last week, added 1,228 theaters)

- – -

11.  “Four Christmases”  – $5.05 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, lost 35% from last week)

12. “Twilight”  – $4.52 million
(6th week, was #6 last week, lost 13% from last week)

13. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.45 million (limited release: added 25 theaters)
(7th week, was #8 last week, 45% more audience than last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.44 million (limited release: added 65 theaters)
(3rd week, was #18 last week, 421% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo