Halloween is one week away… there are now 3 movies in wide release that fall in the Halloween genre…  there’s also a family adventure, a drama bio-pic, and some limited releases…..

New at Theaters (Friday): “Amelia”, “Astro Boy”, “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”, “Paranormal Activity” (expansion),  ”Saw VI”, “Good Hair” (limited), “Bright Star” (limited)

Limited Release in Grand Rapids market: 
“Paranormal Activity” (AMC Star Alpine, Celebration! North, Celebration! Muskegon, Celebration! Mt. Pleasant),
“Good Hair” (Celebration! Muskegon, Celebration! South, Celebration! Benton Harbor),
“Tony Manero” (UICA in Grand Rapids 10/23-10/29),
“Bright Star” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon)

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “Up” (3D), “Julie and Julia”, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, “Love Happens”, “My One and Only”

Best Bet(s): If you like scary movies – “Paranormal Activity” is probably your best choice despite two other offerings this weekend… or you could wait another week to see “Paranormal Activity” - I think its one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in years.   If you’d rather go for a drama with possible Oscar nominations – then put “Amelia” or “Bright Star” (at Harbor Theater in Muskegon) on your list. “Astro Boy” is the family friendly entry this week, but I have not yet seen it.

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New on DVD (Tuesday): “Blood: The Last Vampire”, “Cheri”, “Love N’ Dancing”, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, “Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead”

Best Bet(s): I’m still catching some grief for my favorable rating of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - one of two movies I may have rated a little high this summer, but if the other critical reviews and/or controversy kept you away – you can now watch in the comfort of your home… and please tell me what you thought…  ”Cheri” got some good reviews and some bad reviews… the others I have not seen and have not heard much about.

Next Week (more…)

“Inglourious Basterds” beat back “District 9″ at weekend box office, other three new movies barely show up at box office

“Inglourious Basterds” was strong, racking up more than $37 million, about the same amount as last week’s number one “District 9″ in its debut weekend.   The summer movie season is quickly coming to an end as… again… only 4 movies made more than $10 million and … again… the other new movies struggled to make the top ten.  New movie “Shorts” barely beat another family friendly movie “G-Force” (in its 5th week of release).

Overall, the box office was down again… nearly 10%… and it ranks as the lowest total of this summer movie season (one weekend remaining).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Inglourious Basterds” – $37.60 million (1st week)

2. “District 9″ - $18.90 million
(2nd week, was #1 lst week, lost 49% from last week)

3. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $12.50 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 44% from last week)

4. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” – $10.03 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 46% from last week)

5. “Julie & Julia” – $9.00 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 25% from last week)

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“District 9″ pushes “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” out of the top spot at the box office, four other new movies try to compete

“District 9″ was number one, but only 4 movies made more than $10 million and one new movie didn’t even make the top ten.  “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” lost nearly 60% of its audience, but the other 4 new movies of the weekend couldn’t beat it.   “The Time Traveler’s Wife” had a decent 3rd place debut, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” was 6th, “Ponyo” was 9th, and “Bandslam” was a distant 13th, barely ahead of the “The Hangover” in its 11th week.

The diluted weekend led to the 2nd lowest total at the box office this summer with the top 12 movies pulling in $125.37 million (down 5% from last weekend).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “District 9″ - $37.00 million (1st week)

2. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $22.50 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 59% from last week)

3. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” – $19.21 million (1st week)

4. “Julie & Julia” – $12.40 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 38% from last week)

5. ”G-Force” – $6.91 million
(4th week, was #3 last week, lost 30% from last week)

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“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” wins the weekend, but its only half the battle … will it be able to sustain success?

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” dominates the weekend, but has about $120 million to go to match its $175 million budget… “Julie & Julia” cooks up a strong opening weekend in 2nd pace… the weekend’s other new movie “A Perfect Getaway” opened in a disappointing 7th place.   Last week’s #1: “Funny People” fell to 5th place, losing 65% of its audience.

Overall the weekend box office did recover from last weekend’s low, but still ranks as the summer’s 4th lowest weekend… with the top 12 movies pulling in $133.47 million.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $56.20 million (1st week)

2. “Julie & Julia” – $20.10 million (1st week)

3. “G-Force” – $9.80 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 44% from last week)

4. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $8.88 million ($273.8 million total)
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 50% from last week) 

5. “Funny People” – $7.87 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 65% from last week)

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“Funny People” with a more serious movie tone beat ”G-Force” for tops at weekend box office

Not a huge surprise that Adam Sandler’s non-traditional comedy “Funny People” won the weekend box office… the also new “Aliens in the Attic” had to compete with other recent family-friendly flicks (last week’s #1 “G-Force” and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”)… and the horror movie “The Collector” opened in fewer screens than a traditional wide release and debuted at #11 with a decent $3.6 million.

Overall this was the weakest weekend of the summer movie season with the top 12 movies making just barely $112 million – down 20% from last weekend and the lowest figure since April 24-26… the box office is being helped by the comedies “The Hangover” and “The Proposal”. 

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Funny People” – $23.44 million (1st week)

2. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $17.70 million ($255.5 million total)
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 40% from last week) 

3. “G-Force” – $17.06 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 46% from last week)

4. “The Ugly Truth” – $13.00 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% from last week)

5. “Aliens in the Attic” – $7.80 million (1st week)

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Guinea Pigs of “G-Force” beat wizards of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” for weekend box office

Wow america… apparently my illness spilled over the theaters… Disney’s “G-Force” beat ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in the wizard’s 2nd weekend… I have to say, I didn’t see that coming.  But, considering how much money “Potter” made in opening week, there was nobody left to see it over the weekend.   New movies “The Ugly Truth” and “Orphan” were 3rd and 4th respectively.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “G-Force” – $32.15 million (1st week)

2. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $30.00 million ($221.8 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 61% from last week)

3. “The Ugly Truth” – $27.00 million (1st week)

4. “Orphan” – $12.77 million (1st week)

5. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $8.20 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 53% from last week)

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“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” wins weekend

No surprise at all… except maybe how much it made… “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” beat last week’s number one “Bruno” and previous #1’s “Ice Age 3″ and  “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”.

“Half-Blood Prince”, the 6th Potter movie becomes the franchise’s highest grossing movie in its first 5 days with more than $159 million thanks in part to the huge $58 million dollar opening day boost.  Overall, the entire box office was up 15% and ranks as the 7th biggest weekend so far this year.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $79.48 million  (1st week)

2. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $17.70 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 36% from last week)

3. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $13.75 million ($363.87 million total)
(4th week, was #3 last week, lost 43% from last week)

4. “Bruno” – $8.37 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 73% from last week)

5. “The Hangover” - $8.32 million ($235.88 million total)
(7th week, was #6 last week, lost 16% from last week)

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“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” stays just ahead of “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” beat “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” on its opening day last Wednesday, but for the weekend it came up a little short of upsetting last week’s number one. The holiday weekend’s other new movie “Public Enemies” was a strong 3rd.

“Transformers 2″ is quickly closing in on $300 million in just 12 days.  Overall, the entire box office was down 20% from last weekend, but its hard tocompare to the opening weekend of a blockbuster and a holiday weekend that keeps many people out of theaters.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $42.32 million ($293.35 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 61% from last week)

2. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $41.69 million (1st week)

3. “Public Enemies” – $25.27 million (1st week)

4. “The Proposal”  – $12.86 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 31% from last week)

5. “The Hangover” - $11.27 million ($205.04 million total)
(5th week, was #3 last week, lost 34% of audience from last week)

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“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” beats everyone at the weekend box office

There wasn’t really any doubt which movie would be number one during the weekend… it was just a matter of by how much… “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” pulled in $112 million for the weekend and $201 million since its Wednesday opening. “Transformers 2″ set a new high for a June weekend, its also the highest-grossing non-holiday, highest grossing non-Friday opening weekend and becomes the seventh opening weekend overall.   “The Dark Knight” is still the biggest 5-day opening all time ($203.8 million).

“Transformers 2″ boosted the entire box office 35% more than last weekend and at $194.97 million, it marks the biggest weekend of the year.  “Up” has passed “Star Trek” as the biggest movie of 2009 with $250 million so far.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $112.00 million ($201 million total) (1st week)

2. “The Proposal”  – $18.47 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 45% from last week)

3. “The Hangover” - $17.22 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 36% of audience from last week)

4. “Up” – $13.05 million  ($250 million total)
(5th week, was #3 last week, lost 45% from last week)

5. “My Sister’s Keeper” – $12.03 million (1st week)

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New at Theaters (Friday): “Away We Go”, “My Sister’s Keeper”, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”  (Wednesday)

Best Bet(s): 3 very different movie ths weekend: the sci-fi action blockbuster “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, the romantic comedy “Away We Go”, and the heartbreaking drama “My Siser’s Keeper”… so depending on what your in the mood for… this weekend is wide-open.

New on DVD (Tuesday): “Confessions of A Shopaholic”, “Inkheart”, “Pink Panther 2″, “Waltz With Bashir”

Best Bet(s): “Waltz With Bashir” was an Oscar nominated foreign animated drama, the other three had mixed success and reviews

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Next Week at Theaters: “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (Wednesday), “Public Enemies” (Wednesday), “Whatever Works” (might play in Grand Rapids & Lansing)

Next Week on DVD: “12 Rounds”, “The Betrayed”, “The Education of Charlie Banks”, “The Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience”, “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”, “Two Lovers”

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

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