After weeks of sub-par offerings at the box office, it looks like 2010 is finally getting its act together.  Three high-profile releases are entering theaters this Friday, and they should each find varying degrees of success.  Valentine's Day will be huge.  Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief will probably perform solidly.  The Wolfman might not do so well.  All told, the new movies should inject some much needed life into the film industry, which has been living off of 2009's leftovers for the last few weeks.  Click on inside for a quick preview of those films, as well as a whole lot of news about potential sequels for Fast And Furious, Kill Bill, and Enchanted, a Daredevil reboot, and a great documentary about The Princess And The Frog. This is Monday, and this is New And News.

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Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) - 3,300 theaters - Reviews

I had never heard of the Percy Jackson novels until my most recent summer as a camp counselor.  A few of my campers were reading the final installment (which had just hit shelves) in the apparently super-popular series, and they were enthralled.  They told me all about the young Percy Jackson, and his adventures with the mythic Greek gods of Mount Olympus in the middle of New York City.  They told me how he discovers his status as a demi-god and finds himself in the center of a battle between the gods.  They told me they loved the books and couldn't wait for the movies.  Fox is hoping to capture some of that magic in The Lightning Thief, which could launch a major franchise if it succeeds.  Unfortunately, I don't know that it will be able to do so.  To me, Percy Jackson falls into the same category as movies like Eragon and The Spiderwick Chronicles: potential fantasy franchises that rely too much upon a built-in audience of readers to support the film.  Advertising hasn't been especially strong, and though early reviews are positive, Fox hasn't showcased this film as an event enough.  Personally, I'd love to see this inventive story succeed, because, believe it or not, we're just one year away from living in a post-Potter world.

Valentine's Day (Warner Bros) - 3,600 theaters - Reviews

Last year, He's Just Not That Into You earned $94 million after a February release.  The romantic comedy featured about half of Hollywood's A-list in a dozen miniature story lines about falling in love.  It was a strategy popularized by sleeper-hit-turned-into-everyone's-favorite-holiday-movie Love, Actually, and Valentine's Day has made its resemblance to that movie very clear.  With a star studded cast featuring Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, and Jessica Alba (and that's seriously only naming a few), you can expect this to be the number one choice this Valentine's Day weekend.  I think this is going to be huge- I've honestly heard just as many guys talking about this as girls, and the widely appealing premise will lead to major success.  Plus, Taylor Lautner will draw in the legion of Twi-hards and Taylor Swift will pull in everyone else.

The Wolfman (Universal) - 3,100 theaters - Reviews

A remake of the classic 1941 film that launched the werewolf genre in the film industry, 2010's The Wolfman looks like a dark take on the shape shifting story, and it features a rockin' cast with Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, and Emily Blunt.  With a hefty $85 million price tag, The Wolfman will have to work very hard to earn back its negative cost, and Universal's advertising hasn't done much to draw in the casual moviegoer.  With dark (literally, not in tone), confusing commercials, and no real box office draws,  I don't see many people choosing The Wolfman over the breezier offerings this weekend.  Maybe it should have waited until a full moon to debut- Valentine's Day is a New Moon!

News:

Sequels, Sequels, And More Sequels...

Looks like we're getting a Fast And Furious sequel called Fast Five, another installment of Disney's Enchanted franchise, and possibly a final Kill Bill film.  You know what?  I honestly wouldn't mind any of those!

Daredevil Is Getting Rebooted

ow can you tell that studio's are scared to risk too much money during the recession? They're determined to produce sequels and reboots of existing franchises before investing a penny in any new idea.  In step with the current trend of rebooting unsuccessful superhero movies (see Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman), Fox is looking to bring Daredevil back to the silver screen after the critically and financially disappointing 2003 treatment.

The Return Of Disney's 2D Animation Department

/Film is doing an absolutely fantastic series about the revival of Disney's classic 2D animation.  The video series chronicles the elaborate process of creating The Princess And The Frog, as well as the larger scope of animation at the Walt Disney Company.  The series is absolutely fascinating and chalk full of insightful interviews with passionate animators.  Part one is right here, but be sure to check out the rest of the Frogumentary on /Film.

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It has finally happened.  After seven weeks on top of the chart, Avatar has been knocked down!  You might think that another big-budget special effects feature would be the one to dethrone the proverbial king of the box office world, but no, it was the romantic drama Dear John that knocked the Na'vi off the podium.  With a superb marketing campaign that targeted young females, Dear John, grossed $32.4 million this weekend.  Fans of Amanda Seyfried, Channing Tatum, and the Nicholas Sparks source material came out to the box office in droves, pushing the military romance to fantastic numbers.  Still, let's not discount Avatar.  Now in its eighth weekend of release, Avatar had its highest drop this weekend, and it only fell by 25% to $23.6 million!  It's earned $630.1 million overall.  From Paris With Love, meanwhile, would kill for those kinds of numbers in its first weekend, for the John Travolta action movie flopped with a sad $8.1 million debut.  Last weekend's releases, Edge Of Darkness and When In Rome, both fell hard this week, by 59% and 55%, respectively.  Oscar-bait Crazy Heart did fairly well in its expansion into 819 theaters, grossing $3.6 million this weekend, giving the film an $11.2 million total.  Overall, the Top 12 films were down a big 21% from the same weekend last year, though much of that drop can probably be attributed to the fact that the Super Bowl was a week earlier last year.  Things should pick up next week with the release of Valentine's Day, The Wolf Man, and Percy Jackson And The Olympians.  Watch the video above for my thoughts on the weekend box office, and then check below for a full chart of this week's box office results.

Top 12 Box Office Hits For February 5-7, 2010

Rank	Movie	Studio	Theaters	Weekend Gross	Chg	AVG.	Total
1	Dear John	Sony	2969	$32,400,000	New	$10,913	$32,400,000
2	Avatar	Fox	3000	$23,600,000	-25%	$7,867	$630,093,323
3	From Paris With Love	Lionsgate	2722	$8,120,000	New	$2,983	$8,120,000
4	Edge Of Darkness	Warner Bros	3066	$7,005,000	-59%	$2,285	$29,097,000
5	Tooth Fairy	Fox	3218	$6,500,000	-35%	$2,020	$34,332,973
6	When In Rome	Disney	2456	$5,504,000	-55%	$2,241	$20,899,000
7	The Book Of Eli	Warner Bros	2820	$4,835,000	-46%	$1,715	$82,163,000
8	Crazy Heart	Fox Search	819	$3,650,000	58%	$4,457	$11,187,730
9	Legion	Sony	2339	$3,400,000	-53%	$1,454	$34,600,000
10	Sherlock Holmes	Warner Bros	1805	$2,630,000	-42%	$1,457	$201,579,000
11	The Blind Side	Warner Bros	1740	$2,600,000	-14%	$1,494	$241,626,000
12	Up In The Air	Paramount	1547	$2,350,000	-16%	$1,519	$76,681,000

All Numbers Provided By Exhibitor Relations Co.

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Remember how I mentioned in yesterday's video that I wouldn't be totally surprised if Dear John managed to win the weekend?  Well, after a fantastic Friday, it looks like the romantic drama is going to! Dear John earned a tremendous $13.8 million yesterday, and where it heads from here is an interesting question.  I'm guessing Channing Tatum has a substantial number of teen fangirls, who rushed out on Friday to see this film, so it will be fairly frontloaded.  That being said, Dear John should hold better than most every other movie on Super Bowl Sunday.  All told, an awesome $31 million weekend is in store for Dear John.  Avatar came in second with $6.2 million, and while the sci-fi epic will finally give up the top spot, it will still only fall about 25% from last weekend to $23 million, lifting its total to $629 million.  From Paris With Love couldn't even live up to lowered expectations, and the John Travolta shoot-em-up only grossed $3 million on Friday.  This should lead to a weak $8 million weekend, only slightly more than what Edge Of Darkness will earn in its second weekend.  Otherwise, there's not too much to report, as things are performing pretty much as expected.  Crazy Heart broke into the Top 10 with $1.1 million on Friday, and the Oscar-nominated release might see a $3.3 million weekend.  Check below for full Friday box office estimates:

Friday Estimates For February 5, 2010
1. Dear John - $13.8 million
2. Avatar - $6.2 million
3. From Paris With Love - $3 million
4. Edge Of Darkness - $2.3 million
5. When In Rome - $2 million
6. Tooth Fairy - $1.7 million
7. The Book Of Eli - $1.5 million
8. Crazy Heart - $1.1 million
9. Legion - $1.1 million
10. Sherlock Holmes - $785,000

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Could this finally be the week that Avatar rescinds the top spot on the chart?  I know I've asked that for the last few weeks, but the planets (Pandorum excluded) may be aligned in just the right way to push Avatar down to second place this frame.  The Super Bowl will draw males away from the theaters, and it may leave the romantic, female-targeting Dear John to take the box office by storm.  Still, Avatar hasn't gone down yet, and there's a good chance it will win the weekend again, so it's going to be a fun, close one to watch!  The other newcomer, From Paris With Love, probably won't have as much success, and the John Travolta action film will have a mid-level debut.  To hear my predictions of those new films, watch the video above.  As far as the holdovers go, drops are usually pretty small at this time of the year, though the Super Bowl will subtract a huge portion of audiences on Sunday.  It is also important to note that a massive snowstorm is expected on the East Coast this weekend (an estimated 28" where I am!), which may also dampen grosses substantially.  Despite those forces working against the box office, though, the Oscar nominations and consequent expansions of many well-reviewed films should lead to some sturdy grosses in the lower rungs of the chart, especially from the Jeff Bridges showcase, Crazy Heart.  After you've watched the video above, check below for my full weekend prediction chart!

Box Office Predictions for February 5-7, 2010

Rank	Movie	Theaters	Predicted Gross
1	Avatar	3,000	$25 million
2	Dear John	3,066	$22.5 million
3	From Paris With Love	2,722	$15 million
4	Edge Of Darkness	3,066	$10 million
5	When In Rome	2,456	$7.5 million
6	Tooth Fairy	3,218	$7.2 million
7	The Book Of Eli	2,820	$4.6 million
8	Crazy Heart	819	$4 million
9	Legion	2,339	$3.4 million
10	Sherlock Holmes	1,805	$2.8 million

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Hey everyone, this is just a quick update! So I know that it's Thursday, and I usually do a box office analysis article, but things have been very hectic this week. Between scrambling to get a passport, participating in my fraternity's rush process, getting my tux dry cleaned for a debutante ball next weekend, trying to finish my schoolwork, and putting the finishing touches on my Entertainment Weekly application, I just needed a day to get really things done. I'm sure you all understand, because you all are the best readers in the world. Anyway, if you know anyone up at EW, be sure to put in a good word for me! And don't worry, the blog is still on normal operating schedule for the weekend. I've already shot the predictions video!

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From Paris With Love comes out in theaters this Friday, and with reviews looking pretty wretched at this point, the most notable thing I can say about this movie is that John Travolta's hairstyle (or lack thereof) isn't looking too great.  I know the aging actor is trying to stay fresh and unpredictable, and I hate to be shallow, but this style just doesn't make the cut.  (By the way, I was bald once when I used to be swimmer, and it was not fun.) Inspired by Travolta's heinousness, I thought a look at some of the worst hair ever rocked by actors might be a fun theme for this List Wednesday.  Thus, allow me to present you these 7 actors, with horrible movie hair:

7. Seth Green (Austin Powers In Goldmember)

At least this was intentionally bad.

6. Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episode I-III)

Not even a light saber could tear through this mullet.

5. Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)

Kudos to the Coen Brothers for accentuating this sociopath's creepiness with a buffoonish haircut.

4. Tom Hanks (The Da Vanci Code)

Possibly the most talked about male hairstyle in film history.  It is pretty bad.

3. Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man 3)

Ugh. Emo-Spider-Man. He's so dark and edgy! Not only does he wear guyliner, but he presses his bangs onto the front of his face! Real subtle, guys.

2. John Travolta (Battlefield Earth)

Which is worse, Travolta with no hair, or with way, way, way too much?

1. Nicholas Cage (Adaptation)

Well, this is just embarrassing. Cage may never find a hairstyle that suits him.

Finally, a note: I haven't posted DVD Sales for the past two weeks, because I'm waiting for the database to get caught up.  When it gets back to speed, so will I!

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