sorry for the delay, I should have done this abbreviated version Friday night or Saturday morning, but here it is with one day left in the weekend…

New at Theaters: “17 Again”, “Crank: High Voltage”, “State of Play”

New on DVD: “The Reader”, “The Spirit”, “Dark Matter”

BEST BETs: “17 Again” will be number one at the box office, but the best movie of the weeekend (”State of Play”), might not even make the top 2… and Jason Statham’s “Crank High Voltage” might struggle to make the top 5.  Kate Winslet’s Oscar winning performance in “The Reader” might be enough of a reason to rent the holocaust-era drama about a woman and her unusual facination with a much younger guy.  “The Spirit” didn’t do as well at the box office, but might be worth a look now if your looking for a “Sin City”-esque movie.

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Next Week at Theaters: “earth” (Wednesday), “Fighting”, “Obsessed”, “The Soloist”, “The Informers” (limited release)

Next Week on DVD: “Battlestar Galactica: Caprica”, “Frost/Nixon”, “Into the Blue 2: The Reef”, “The Last Word”, “Notorius”, “The Wrestler”

“Marley & Me” holds on to number one, “Doubt” moves into 8th place, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” moves down one spot to 9th place, and one of my favorite movies of the year: “Slumdog Millionaire” moves into to the top 10 for the first time.  

“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)

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4 new movies top the box office… but “The Spirit” was almost invisible in its opening weekend.

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)

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Well, Merry Christmas… there are a sleigh load of options at theaters this week and one very good option out on DVD…. but if you’re like me and the weather has you behind the times, then there are a ton of options out there!!! 

If you can’t get to the theaters during this week, there’s always next week, so with no new movies in wide release, we can all try to catch up…

New on DVD: “Burn After Reading” (Sunday), “Savage Grace”, “Pulse 3″, “Beethoven’s Big Break”

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD: There’s only one movie to recommend here, UNLESS your rental audience includes kids, then “Burn After Reading” - one of my favorite comedies of the year – is NOT for you, otherwise, I highly recommend this quirky Comedy/Drama from the Coen Brothers with a great cast of characters.

There are nearly a dozen movies out new in theaters this week, including 3 with possible Academy Award chances for Best Picture, so be sure to read the releases for both Thursday (12/25) and Friday (12/26)…

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