BEST BET: “Pride and Glory”, but from what I’ve heard… EVERYTHING on this week’s list *except*  is worth a rent, although “The Rocker” disappointed at the box office.  Don’t forget “Fireproof”, the romantic drama surprised critics at the box office and did very well for a small budget Christian movie.

New at Theaters (Friday): “New in Town”, “Taken”, “The Uninvited”

BEST BET: Finally… I hope… “Taken” is scheduled to open this weekend… I say that because after I saw the trailer back in August, the release date moved from September 19th to January 23rd to now this Friday, January 30th !!!  I have a feeling my review will be impacted by this massive delay.

Also new this week the cute and funny date movie “New in Town” with Renee Zellweger and Harry Conick, Jr. and the horror flick “The Uninvited” from the producers of “The Ring”.

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)
“Australia”  (7.9 / 10)
“Bride Wars” (7.5 / 10)
“Marley & Me” (7.5 / 10)
“Four Christmases”  (7.5 / 10)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5 / 10)
“Role Models”  (7.5 / 10)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”  (7.5 / 10)
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (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)
“WALL-E” (9.0)
“Righteous Kill” (8.9 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Get Smart” (7.0 / 10)
“Appaloosa” (6.9 / 10)
“Hellboy II: Golden Army” (6.5 / 10)
“Noise” (6.0 / 10)

- – - 

Next Week at Theaters: “Coraline”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Pink Panther 2″, “Push” 

Next Week on DVD: “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, “The Secret Life of Bees”, “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist”, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, “Bottle Shock”

The previous weekend, 4 movies made more than $10 million, this past weekend, it was just “Tropic Thunder”… but as I mentioned last week… its only dominating the weak August offerings in the wake of “The Dark Knight”’s success…

“Tropic Thunder” was first for the 3rd weekend….  Vin Diesel’s “Babylon A.D.” was 2nd, but had the lowest per screen average of the top 5 movies, so its likely to fall next week… my pick for a possible acting nomination “Traitor” showed up in 5th place… “Disaster Movie” debuted in 7th…  and for the 2nd week in a row, a new movie - “College” – failed to make the top 10 (last week it was “The Rocker” in 13th place).

Top 10 Weekend Box Office list this week (actual results):

1. “Tropic Thunder” - $11.51 million
(3rd week at #1, lost 29% from last week)

2. “Babylon A.D.” - $9.56 million (1st week)

3. “The Dark Knight” – $8.61 million (total gross: $502.28 million)
(7th week, was #4 last week, lost 18% of its audience from last week)

4. “The House Bunny” - $8.30 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

5. “Traitor” - $7.80 million (1st week)

6. “Death Race” - $6.29 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 50% of its audience from last week)

7. “Disaster Movie” - $5.76 million (1st week)

8. “Mamma Mia!” – $4.36 million
(7th week, was #8 last week, gained 1% from last week)

9. “Pineapple Express” - $3.50 million
(4th week, was #6 last week, lost 35% of its audience from last week)

10. “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” - $2.81 million
(3rd week, was #11 last week, lost 6% of its audience from last week)

14. “The Longshots” - $2.31 million
(2nd week, was #10 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

15. “College” - $2.11 million (1st week)

17. “Hamlet 2″ - $1.69 million
(2nd week, was #22 last week, gained 286% of its audience from last week) (playing in 1,494 more theaters from last week)

Chasing History:

“The Dark Knight” continues to try to close the gap between itself ($502.28 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Tropic Thunder” poster courtesy DreamWorks