'Treasure' Finds $45M In Box Office Gold
Nicolas Cage followed his secret treasure map to another fortune at movie theaters. Cage’s “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” the Disney sequel to its 2004 hit, opened as the weekend’s No. 1 movie with $45.5 million as Hollywood continued a holiday spree at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
With Cage reprising his role as a history buff on the hunt for a vanished fortune, the “National Treasure” sequel outdid the original, which debuted with $35.1 million on its way to a $173 million total.
The previous weekend’s top flick, Will Smith’s “I Am Legend,” slipped to second place with $34.2 million, the Warner Bros. hit raising its 10-day total to $137.5 million.
The two action films led a crowded market filled with new releases, among them Universal’s foreign-policy satire “Charlie Wilson’s War,” starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Directed by Mike Nichols, “Charlie Wilson’s War” debuted at No. 4 with $9.6 million. The absurdist romp follows an unlikely trio a congressman, a socialite and a scruffy CIA man who shaped the United States’ covert response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Playing in just 1,249 theaters, about half as many as “Charlie Wilson’s War,” the DreamWorks-Paramount musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” did almost as much business, coming in at No. 5 with $9.35 million.
Warner Bros. produced a dud in “P.S. I Love You,” which had a so-so No. 6 opening with $6.5 million. The movie stars Hilary Swank as a widow whose husband arranged to send letters after his death to inspire her to go on living.
The latest from the Judd Apatow comedy machine, Sony’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” was a surprise bomb, taking in just $4.1 million despite good reviews praising its no-holds-barred humor and John C. Reilly’s giddy performance.
Produced and co-written by Apatow (“Knocked Up“), the spoof of music biopics stars Reilly as a country rocker who shoots to stardom and lives the ultimate artist’s life of excess and self-indulgence.
With five new wide releases this weekend and two more opening Christmas Day the action-horror sequel “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” and the family flick “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” Hollywood is banking on the holiday week to provide a big finish for 2007.
After a sluggish fall, Hollywood business soared for the second-straight weekend. The top 12 movies took in $153.5 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“The variety of films is really bringing out the audience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “People are looking for all different types of movies, and everything is represented here.”
Along with its domestic haul, the “National Treasure” sequel pulled in $22.3 million overseas, mostly in Asia.
The movie does not open in Europe until February, but with London and Paris locations, it should take in more overseas than the $173 million the first installment did, said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney’s motion-picture group.
The movie follows Cage’s character as he races to clear the name of an ancestor implicated in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, a trail that leads to a legendary city of gold.
Four-fifths of viewers for “Charlie Wilson’s War” were 30 and older, an audience that does not necessarily rush out to catch films in the first few days. Universal is counting on the film’s good reviews and word-of-mouth to gradually build the audience.
“Everyone knew going in this was a genre that doesn’t pop big numbers on opening weekend,” said Universal marketing and distribution executive Adam Fogelson. “We wanted to be the sophisticated commercial option for grown-ups.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Wednesday.
1. “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” $45.5 million.
2. “I Am Legend,” $34.2 million.
3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” $29 million.
4. “Charlie Wilson’s War,” $9.6 million.
5. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $9.35 million.
6. “P.S. I Love You,” $6.5 million.
7. “Enchanted,” $4.15 million.
8. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” $4.1 million.
9. “The Golden Compass,” $4 million.
10. “Juno,” $3.4 million.
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source: Access Hollywood.com
Related: National Treasure: Book of Secrets
New Couple Dax Shepard And Kristen Bell Out And About
Heroes newest hottie Kristen Bell and ex Punk’d trickster Dax Shepard were spotted leaving her car at a shop to be serviced on Friday. After dropping it off the two jumped into Dax’s truck and headed off to grab a bite to eat.
Dax was most recently linked to Kate Hudson while Kristen recently broke up with her film producer boyfriend Kevin Mann not too long ago. She did an interview not too long ago with PEOPLE talking about how “dating is scary.” She must be over it
Source: dailystab.comRelated: kristen bell, Dax Shepard
Britney Spears Spends Night at Hotel With a Paparazzo
Britney Spears is taking her love for paparazzi attention to a new level!
Spears reportedly spent early Sunday morning in a Beverly Hills hotel room with a paparazzi photographer who regularly covers the troubled pop star.
According to reports, the pair was holed up in Spears' room at the Peninsula Hotel until the wee hours of Sunday. The photographer, whose first name is Adnan, departed the hotel at 6 a.m. Sources say Spears left at around 9 a.m. and returned to her nearby home off Mulholland Drive.
But when contacted by Us, the photographer denied any romance, saying, "We are just friends. She was just a little upset, pretty much about everything."
According to Splash News Online, Spears' "wild date" began Saturday night with the photographer, who works for the Finalpixx photo agency, handing Spears his business card at a gas station after he heard she "liked" him. Soon after getting his card, Spears contacted him and, after meeting up, the pair was later spotted holding hands at a supermarket.
"After discussing the possibility of him coming into her house she said that her house was too dirty and that she would rather go to a hotel," Splash reports. "So they changed cars and she went back to her house to freshen up while Adnan parked down the road and waited for her. She then came out in her car and they both drove to an L.A. hotel."
As of Sunday afternoon, a source says Spears was at her Beverly Hills home with her two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James.
Source: Usmagazine.com
Related: britney spears
Singer Arrested After His Engagement Party
Austin Winkler, the lead singer of the rock group Hinder, was arrested late Saturday night in Jonesboro, Ark. on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Winkler told police he had a few glasses of wine at his engagement party.
Police administered a breathalyzer test at the scene, where he allegedly blew a 0.16 -- twice the legal limit in Arkansas. According to the Jonesboro Sun, an officer conducted the traffic stop after spotting an SUV traveling without headlights on.
The singer was taken to the Craighead County Detention Center, where he was given a blood alcohol content test and those results showed a 0.15, according to police.
Winkler was cited and scheduled to appear in Craighead County District Court on Jan. 2.
Source: TMZ
Amy Winehouse In Kidnapping Plot
British junkie Amy Winehouse may have been the target of a kidnapping plot by British criminals. The plot was said to be organized by London Pentonville Prisoners in a bid to get $200,000 from her husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Doesn't it sound like a soap opera?
A source tells British newspaper the News Of The World, "Blake's petrified. He's living in fear for Amy's life and his own. At first he thought the guys in here were just trying their luck but the threats have got really bad. He's now under no illusions and convinced they'll go through with what they say.
"They've ordered Blake to pay the 100 grand ($200,000) into a secret bank account within the next few days or else... and Amy will be snatched and harmed. She's at her weakest right now, and what with her wandering the streets in the dead of night she's at a massive risk."
Amy Winehouse needs to seriously pack up her bags and go to rehab for like 6 months! If her dad is as concerned as he tells the media he is, he should hold an intervention for her.
Source: Hollyscoop
Related: Amy Winehouse
48 people paid to see Jessica Simpson Movie.
Jessica Simpson’s new movie Blonde Ambition was released on 8 screens this weekend in Jessica’s home state of Texas, before it gets dumped on DVD next month (January 22nd 2008 to be exact). /Film correspondent Steve Mason sent us this hilarious report:
Blonde Ambition averaged $48 per screen on Friday for a total box office of $384. Based on an $8 ticket price, that means that 6 people paid to see the movie at each of those theaters, and only 48 people went to see the movie! That’s amazing! One of the worst performances a movie has ever had.
I am projecting that Jessica’s “star vehicle” will gross just $1,190 this weekend or $149 per location.
Source: ICYDK
Related: Jessica Simpson
Jessica: No-Show at Cowboys Game
Jessica Simpson knows when she's not wanted.
The starlet was an apparent no-show at Saturday's Dallas Cowboys game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C. – a week after fans criticized her presence as a distraction to her boyfriend and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Romo, 27, had a great game this time, rebounding from his Dec. 16 performance, when Simpson, in a pink Cowboys jersey, watched from a luxury box.
After the 20-13 win over the Panthers, Romo told reporters that Simpson, 27, was indeed watching the game – and even hinted that she may have been in attendance.
"I know she saw all of that tonight," Romo said after the game, when asked if Simpson had seen fans wearing masks of her face. "She was at the game tonight, so I don't know."
He added, "I don't talk about my personal life."
After Romo endured the worst game of his professional career last week, fans of opposing teams started the Web site RuinRomo.com, which offers a Simpson mask that visitors can download, print and wear to games in an effort to jinx the star quarterback.
This week, Romo told the NFL Network that Simpson was bothered by the negative attention.
"I don't care how the perception is of me," Romo said. "But it hurts me when it hurts people that are close to me . . . That's part of being in the public eye Source: People.com
Related: Jessica Simpson, TONY ROMO
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