Cinematical

If the past few days have made anything certain, it's that Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker are absolute locks for Golden Globes and Academy Award nominations in the best acting categories. The two respected actors, who each played real-life rulers (Mirren was an eerily dead-on Queen Elizabeth II in 'The Queen' and Whitaker mastered the megalomaniac aura of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 'The Last King of Scotland') in Brit-directed dramas. They've received top honors from the National Board of Review, the L.A. Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle and now the Boston Circle of Critics and the Washington DC critics too.


But let's not forget the honorable mentions on these lists, because they're definitely award contenders as well. My personal faves are Ryan Gosling, who gives a harrowing performance in 'Half Nelson' as an inspiring junior-high teacher who just so happens to be a crack addict and Meryl Streep, who never needs a rabbit's foot to get nominated for anything. As the deliciously wicked editrix in 'The Devil Wears Prada' she is so fabulous, how could she not get a nod?

Other recent critics' list winners include first-time actress Jennifer Hudson, whose standout performance as Effie in 'Dreamgirls' is so amazing you can't help but cry when she belts out 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' And there's Mark Wahlberg, who despite having one of the smaller roles in 'The Departed' is one of the few actors in the ensemble who didn't have to fake his accent and is brutally good as a foulmouthed (is there any other kind) detective.

My pal Angie finally got her wish for Martin Scorsese to make a list, with both New York and Boston giving Marty the nod as best director. Of course, he's THE New York director (well, in addition to Allen and Lee) and he movie is set in Boston, so that had to help. But I echo Angie's sentiments that the man needs his Oscar gold.

In the end, I say critics, schmitics (OK, I already said that in my subject, but it bears repeating). Who do YOU think deserves a Golden Globe/Oscar nomination this year?

Hello box office gamers. Another Monday morning, which means it's Sandie here, bringing you the results of the weekend box office. Let's get started with a little reminder of Patricia's picks. Last Thursday, Patricia predicted the following movies would land in the top five:

1. Apocalypto
2. The Holiday
3. Blood Diamond
4. Happy Feet
5. Casino Royale

And while all those movies did indeed land in the top five, 'Blood Diamond' finished 5th:

1. Apocalypto, $14.2 million
2. The Holiday, $13.5 million
3. Happy Feet, $12.7 million
4. Casino Royale, $8.8 million
5. Blood Diamond, $8.5 million

This week, if my second-grade math skills are up to par, it looks like no one correctly guessed the exact lineup, but five of you did earn 12 points, including bubba8193, who we were beginning to think was a professional box office analyst. The other four top guesses came from nocare4ua, quealynyc, tangoeco and zsxxx03. Congrats to all five of you. And welcome back, dylsan. We hadn't heard from you in a while. Here's where everyone is in the weekly standings:

1. Patricia -- this week: 10 points/total: 96 points (after 9 weeks)
2. zsxxx03 -- 12 points/91 points (8 weeks)
3. chrisnbn -- 10/85 points (8 weeks)
4. crzydcguy84 -- 6 points/75 points (9 weeks)
5. mrheenster -- 7 points/64 points (8 weeks)
6. tangoeco -- 12 points/46 points (5 weeks)
7. bubba8193 -- 12 points/44 points (3 weeks)
8. laraeruiz -- 6 points/38 points (5 weeks)
9. drurd2006 -- no entry/27 points (3 weeks); bostonsleppard -- 9 points/27 points (3 weeks)
10. ajdear -- 5 points/25 points (3 weeks)
11. jecmen24 -- 10 points/17 points (2 weeks)
12. dylsan -- 8 points/14 points (2 weeks)
13. liesse00 -- 10 points/14 points (2 weeks)
14. ardentheater -- no entry/13 points (1 week)
    
15. quealynyc -- 12 points (1 week)
16. brldisteach -- no entry/12 points (1 week)
17. filmman36 -- no entry/12 points (1 week)
18. malc004 -- no entry/12 points (1 week)
19. aargabrite -- no entry/11 points (1 week)
20. ssitalionstallion -- 11 points (1 week)
21. tennesseehearts1 -- 10 points (1 week)
22. zippylizardhead --no entry/10 points (1 week)
23. ethandavid26 -- no entry/ 9 points (1 week)
24. kandaegurl -- no entry/9 points (1 week)
25. linc68503 --- no entry/9 points(1 week)
26. mamasitalinda520 -- no entry/9 points (1 week)
27. sleezye396 -- no entry/9 points (1 week)
28. taltarzac -- no entry/9 points (1 week)
29. pmentslenchanted -- 8 points (1 week)
30. bnfan08 -- no entry/8 points (1 week)
31. epr1202 -- no entry/8 points (1 week)
32. horsegenius88 -- no entry/8 points (1 week)
33. slowriter57 -- no entry/8 points (1 week)
34. swsfamily -- no entry/8 points (1 week)
35. lisalr1 -- 7 points (1 week)
36. reverbzz -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
37. golfman -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
38. cali1184 -- no entry/6 points (1 week)
39. mastermike612 -- no entry/6 points (1 week)
40. ideswe2 -- 5 points (1 week)
41. bonaldduck -- no entry/5 points (1 week)
42. evilone1414 -- no entry/4 points (1 week)
43. lovelymsbond007 -- no entry/4 points (1 week)
44. polyt2ari -- no entry/4 points (1 week)

Most of you just knew that despite his drunken, anti-Semitic tirade, Mel Gibson knows how to please blood thirsty action-adventure lovers. 'Apocalypto' finished No. 1 with a less than remarkable $14.2 million opening, but still, No. 1 is No. 1, and just enough to confirm that Gibson does in fact still have a thriving career in Hollywood. Given that the Maya epic has received mostly positive reviews and reportedly cost $40 million, it looks more than likely that Gibson will recoup his personal investment and Disney won't rue the day it signed on to distribute it. As the Washington Post critic Stephen Hunter sums up in his review, "Gibson may not be much of a deep thinker, but he's a heck of a storyteller." True, true, true.

'The Holiday,' which definitely does not feature any scenes of human sacrifice or ritual decap, opened with a decent $13.5 million. I don't know about you, but I sure would love to be a character in a Nancy Meyers romantic comedy. These folks are all gorgeous (well, OK, maybe not Jack Black, but he's sweet and funny and rich) and live in amazing dwellings (remember Diane Keaton's beach house in 'Something's Gotta Give'?) and "meet-cute" in a way that you just know is gonna work out... in a movie.

As for Leo's second big drama of the season, the African-set political thriller 'Blood Diamond' landed a disappointing No. 5. It's not all that surprising, considering it's a male-skewing film, and apparently most movie-going men were checking out Jaguar Paw's race home in 'Apocalypto.' Overall, it seems, people just stayed home in anticipation of next week's blockbuster-palooza: 'Eragon,' 'Charlotte's Web' and Will Smith, I mean, 'The Pursuit of Happyness.'

And with that, I bid you all farewell and wish you a great week of Christmas parties and holiday shopping! Don't forget to check out our Holiday Gift Guide if you're still not sure what to buy your friends, kids' teachers, Secret-Santa pick, etc.

Hola movie fans, it's Sandie with the weekly box office results. Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to our many first-timers who tried their luck with the weekend predictions. Just a friendly reminder to get your picks in by Saturday night at 11:59PM. We'll let it slide this week, but in the future, "No soup for you!"

Last Thursday, Patricia picked the following as the top five:

1. Happy Feet
2. Casino Royale
3. Deja Vu
4. Turistas
5. The Nativity Story

And for the second week in a row, the No. 4 and 5 spots ended up reversed:

1. Happy Feet, $17.05 million
2. Casino Royale,$15.1 million
3. Deja Vu, $11 million
4. The Nativity Story, $8 million
5. Deck the Halls, $6.6 million

I'm not sure what his magic trick is, but once again the same poster (and this is quite unprecedented) has managed to correctly predict the exact top-five lineup: bubba8193. Bubba, you're only in your second week playing, and you're already in 7th place. Way to go! Box office regular zsxxx03 came in a close second this week with 13 points. If only 'Turistas' had been No. 5, he too would've had a perfect score. Here's where everyone is in the weekly standings:

1. Patricia -- this week: 11 points/total: 86 points (after 8 weeks)
2. zsxxx03 -- 13 points/79 points (7 weeks)
3. chrisnbn -- 10/75 points (7 weeks)
   
4. crzydcguy84 -- 4 points/69 points (8 weeks)
5. mrheenster -- 8 points/57 points (7 weeks)
6. tangoeco -- 9 points/34 points (4 weeks)
7. bubba8193 -- 16 points/32 points (2 weeks) laraeruiz -- 11 points/32 points (4 weeks)
8. drurd2006 -- no entry/27 points (3 weeks)
9. ajdear -- 9 points/20 points (2 weeks)
10. bostonsleppard -- 9 points/18 points (2 weeks)
11. ardentheater -- no entry/13 points (1 week)
12. brldisteach -- no entry/12 points (1 week)
13. filmman36 -- 12 points (1 week)
14. malc004 -- 12 points (1 week)
    
15. aargabrite -- no entry/11 points (1 week)
16. ssitalionstallion -- 11 points (1 week)
    
17. zippylizardhead --no entry/10 points (1 week)
18. ethandavid26 -- no entry/ 9 points (1 week)
19. kandaegurl -- 9 points (1 week)
20. linc68503 --- no entry/9 points(1 week)
21. mamasitalinda520 -- 9 points (1 week)
22. sleezye396 -- 9 points (1 week)
    
23. taltarzac -- 9 points (1 week)
    
24. bnfan08 -- 8 points (1 week)
25. epr1202 -- 8 points (1 week)
26. horsegenius88 -- 8 points (1 week)
27. slowriter57 -- 8 points (1 week)
28. swsfamily -- 8 points (1 week)
    
29. reverbzz -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
30. golfman -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
    
31. jecmen24 -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
32. cali1184 -- no entry/6 points (1 week)
33. dylsan -- 6 points (1 week)
34. mastermike612 -- 6 points (1 week)
    
35. bonaldduck -- 5 points (1 week)
36. evilone1414 -- 4 points (1 week)
37. liesse00 -- 4 points (1 week)
38. lovelymsbond007 -- 4 points (1 week)
    
39. polyt2ari -- 4 points (1 week)
    

Looks like everyone in America is going to same three films. For a third week in a row, 'Happy Feet' and 'Casino Royale' finished one and two, and for the second consecutive week, 'Deja Vu' is third. 'Happy Feet' is only the second film of the year (the first is 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' which coincidentally comes out on DVD this week) to three-peat at No. 1. The animated musical has now made more than $121 million. Who would've thought a tap-dancing penguin could be all the rage this fall?

None of the week's new releases made much of a dent at the box office, although it seems some moviegoers did venture out to see the "reason for the season" drama 'The Nativity Story,' which follows the Biblical 90-mile journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where as we all know, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Sadly, I spent a distracting amount of the time during the film thinking of 16-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes' actual teenage pregnancy. But that's a whole other story.

As for 'Turistas,' it's clear not every horror flick featuring scantily clad women (what other reason is the line "Do you mind if I take my top off?" in the trailer but to attract horndog teen boys) is destined for box-office glory. It made a mere $3.5 million and had to settle for 8th place. Oh, well. At least Josh Duhamel has 'Las Vegas.'

Well, folks, that's it for this week. Good luck with your predictions!

POST: What do you think of the weekend's box office?

Tags: Happy Feet, Casino Royale, Deja Vu, Nativity Story, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Turistas, Josh Duhamel, box office

Hey movie fans, it's Sandie here to bring you the first of many awards-related posts. The nominees for the Spirit Awards -- formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards -- were announced today, and the dysfunctional-family dramedy 'Little Miss Sunshine' and gritty relationship-drama 'Half Nelson' lead with five nominations a piece. This is particularly amusing to our team, because four of us here at Hold the 'Fone have been debating (OK, arguing really) which movie is better since we saw them both at Sundance in January. Two of us are firmly in the 'Sunshine' camp and two in the 'Nelson,' but we haven't gone so far as designing "Team ______" shirts ... yet. Alas, the Spirit Award nominations have done absolutely nothing to settle the score.

As it stands, the nominees for Best Feature are: 'Half Nelson'; 'Little Miss Sunshine'; 'American Gun'; the tale of three communities touched by gun violence; 'The Dead Girl,' a crime drama about the female victims of a serial killer; and 'Pan's Labyrinth,' which truth be told, all of us agree is one of the best movies of the year, so perhaps we should forget the Sundance-flick rivalry and root for Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language fantasy masterpiece instead.

The Best Male Lead category is, in my mind anyway, Ryan Gosling's to lose for his "flawless performance" (Maggie Gyllenhaal's words, not mine) as a junkie junior-high teacher in 'Half Nelson.' His competitors, however, are nearly as impressive: Aaron Eckhart as a fast-talking tobacco lobbyist in 'Thank You for Smoking'; Edward Norton as an uptight scientist in the period drama 'The Painted Veil'; Ahmad Razvi as a Pakistani immigrant in 'Man Push Cart'; and the always amazing Forest Whitaker as a driven inner-city principal in 'American Gun.'

Not only was Gosling recognized, but so was his young co-star, Shareeka Epps, who is a Best Female Lead nominee for her heart-wrenching portrayal of a middle-schooler who gets emotionally attached to her crack-addicted teacher. Her fellow nominees are Catherine O'Hara as an Oscar-obsessed C-lister in 'For Your Consideration'; Elizabeth Reaser as a 1920s immigrant in 'Sweet Land'; Michelle Williams in the Wim Wenders drama 'Land of Plenty' and Robin Wright Penn for her bitter TV exec in 'Sorry, Haters.' Have to admit that I'm a bit dumbstruck that Maggie didn't score a nod for 'Sherrybaby': a. She's the indie "It Girl" b. The film debuted at Sundance and c. It stars Gyllenhaal as a hedonistic ex-convict mama trying to reconnect with her young daughter. If that doesn't merit a Spirit Award, what is the indie world coming to?

The Spirit Awards did manage to acknowledge two of the breakout performances we're thankful for this year in the Best Supporting Male category: Paul Dano, who we loved as the Nietzche-loving brother Dwayne in 'Sunshine' and Channing Tatum as Shia LaBeouf's hot-headed best friend in 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.' Both up-and-comers face 72-year-old Alan Arkin for his role as the foul-mouthed grandpa in 'Sunshine'; Daniel Craig for his very non-Bond role as vulnerable killer Perry Smith in the (other) Capote biopic 'Infamous'; and veteran "That Guy" Raymond J. Barry as an exacting military man in 'Steel City.'

Want to see who else was nominated? Get the complete list of Spirit Award nominees.

And if you're now in the mood for a fix of good indie films, check out our Independent Film Guide, where you'll find reviews of nearly all the nominated actors and films.

Tags: Spirit Awards, Little Miss Sunshine, Half Nelson, American Gun, Ryan Gosling, Paul Dano, Channing Tatum, indie movies, movie awards

Sandie here, bringing you the debut of a new feature on Hold the 'Fone, where we spotlight our favorite "living legends" in the film industry. A select few working in Hollywood qualify for the designation, and we can think of no one better to start off with than Denzel Washington.

Vital Stats:
Age: 51
Family Status: Married with four children
Hometown: Mount Vernon, N.Y.
Breakout Role: Playing South African freedom-fighter Steve Biko in director Richard Attenborough's 1987 docudrama, 'Cry Freedom'
Total Films: 34, including his latest, the time-bending thriller 'Déjà Vu'
Noteworthy Awards: Two Oscars (five nominations), two Golden Globes (five nominations) and 14 Image Awards
Trivia: He has starred in four of director and good friend Spike Lee's films.

The Essential Denzel (it was hard to choose just six):

'Training Day' (2001)

'Remember the Titans' (2000)

'The Hurricane' (1999)

'He Got Game' (1998)

'Malcolm X' (1992)

'Glory'(1989)

Personal Fave: 'Glory'
Even though I've seen and loved most of Washington's filmography, 'Glory' is one of the finest war films ever. And that scene of him raising the flag on the 54th's doomed uphill rush (you know the scene, it's unforgettable) is simply awesome.

Next In: 'Déjà Vu'
I had the chance to interview Denzel via AIM about 'Déjà Vu' and what it was like to make a third movie with director Tony Scott ('Man on Fire' and 'Crimson Tide') and über-producer Jerry Bruckheimer ('Remember the Titans' and 'Crimson Tide') in post-Katrina New Orleans. Here are some highlights of what he had to say:

Moviefone: What made 'Deja Vu' a compelling project for you?
Denzel Washington: An interesting twist on the genre,a love story in reverse and the opportunity to work with Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer again
Moviefone: What was it like to work in New Orleans?
DW: Quite interesting. Educational. Learned much more by being there than what the media and newspapers told you. I didn't realize how big it was, the scope.
Moviefone: Were there locals on the cast & crew?
DW: Absolutely. A lot, actually.
Moviefone: It must've been surreal, especially since the movie portrays a bombing there.
DW: What was surreal was what happened to that city. I mean, a movie is just a movie, you know? It's sad.
Moviefone: I wanted to ask you about Paula Patton. She is a relative newcomer.
DW: She is a star in the making. A wonderful actress and human being.
Moviefone: Is she really that gorgeous in person?
DW: Yes, absolutely.
Moviefone: How did you keep from making her feel intimidated?
DW: I don't know, by being nice.
Moviefone: So you think she's a rising star? That'll make a lot of male fans happy!
DW: Ithink so. I KNOWso. And by the way, she's married!

And on that somber note (sorry guys, Patton's husband is sexy R&B singer-producer Robin Thicke), Denzel had to go. But don't worry, we've got plenty more for you to check out about our first Living Legend and his new film 'Déjà Vu,' which I promise is up-to-par with Washington's previous collaborations with Scott and Bruckheimer (but we won't say too much about it, because we're not in the business of spoilers over here, people). I WILL say that it's the kind of nail-biter you keep thinking about and talking about hours and even days later.

WATCH IT Get a glimpse of the 'Déjà Vu' trailer

MORE: Go behind the scenes of 'Deja Vu'

SEE: More Denzel Washington photos

Tags: Denzel Washington, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott, 'Déjà Vu', Glory, Remember the Titans, Malcolm X, movies

It's Monday morning again, so you know it's me, Sandie, with your weekly box-office results. Is it muggy where you live too? Here in NYC it's muggy and humid and gross. At least the (bare) Christmas tree is up now at Rockefeller Center, so the holiday season is officially upon us. Enough about me, though, and on with the show. Patricia predicted the following movies would take the top five:

1. Borat
2. Stranger Than Fiction
   
3. The Santa Clause 3
4. Flushed Away
5. The Return
   

And here's what the box office acutally looks like:

1. Borat, $29.0 million
   
2. The Santa Clause 3, $16.9 million
   
3. Flushed Away, $16.7 million
   
4. Stranger Than Fiction, $14.1 million
   
5. Saw III, $6.6 million
   

Pretty close, but 'Stranger Than Fiction' didn't open nearly as well as most of you thought. After tallying all of your picks, here's where everyone is in the weekly standings:

1. Patricia -- this week: 7 points/total: 53 points (after 5 weeks)
2. chrisnbn -- no entry/45 points (4 weeks)
3. zsxxx03 -- 7 points/44 points (4weeks)
4. crzydcguy84 -- 3 points/38 points (5 weeks)
5. drurd2006 -- 4 points/27 points (3 weeks)
6. mrheenster -- 6 points/26 points (4 weeks)
7. ardentheater -- 13 points (1 week)
   
8. brldisteach -- no entry/12 points (1 week)
9. aargabrite -- no entry/11 points (1 week)
   
10. zippylizardhead --no entry/10 points (1 week)
11. ethandavid26 -- 9 points (1 week)
12. linc68503 --- 9 points (1 week)
13. reverbzz -- 7 points (1 week)
14. tangoeco -- 7 points (1 week)
    
15. golfman -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
    
16. jecmen24 -- no entry/7 points (1 week)
17. cali1184 -- 6 points (1 week)
    
18. laraeruiz -- 4 points (1 week)
    
19. taltarzac -- 4 points (1 week)
    

If you've been paying attention to the box office, you know that the big news this week is that the top five stayed virtually the same as last week. The only changes are that 'Saw III' got bumped to No. 5 and 'Stranger Than Fiction' debuted a less-than expected (but still decent) No. 4 with $14.1 million.

Clearly America wanted to give Borat a royal high-five. After expanding to 2,566 theaters, the culture-class comedy took the top place once again, earning nearly $30 million this past weekend. I guess Universal looks a little less crazy now for paying $42.5 million for the worldwide rights to Sacha Baron Cohen's next comedy as one of his 'Ali G' alter-egos, 'Bruno.'

But don't cry for Will Ferrell. For one, he's a multi-millionaire comedian, and he doesn't need your tears. And two, 'Stranger' averaged more than $6,200 per theater, and that's a promising start. If you really want to feel sorry for a star, look at Russell Crowe, whose romantic comedy 'A Good Year' premiered with a pitiful $3.8 million in the No. 10 spot. That is Russell's worst opening weekend since 'A Beautiful Mind,' which was only released in 502 theaters, as opposed to 'A Good Year,' which was in a solid 2,066 sites. Ouch!

'Santa Clause 3' and 'Flushed Away' continue to go head-to-head with their numbers. My guess is that whatever family saw one of those films last week decided to see the other this week. But both will face stiff competition from the adorably charming animated comedy 'Happy Feet' this Friday, so I'm predicting this is the last week 'Santa Clause 3' can be called "the No. 1 family film in America" in its TV ads. Feel free to take that into consideration for your predictions next week. Speaking of which, that's it for my wrap-up, so have a good week and good luck with your picks.

Tags: Borat, Santa Clause 3, Saw III, Flushed Away, Stranger Than Fiction, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Russell Crowe, box office

Good morning movie lovers. It's Sandie here with the weekly box office results.This week, Patricia spiced up her predictions by creating a points system for how to score everyone's picks. If you need a full reminder, just scroll down and read her post, but basically you get one point for every pick that's anywhere in the top five, two points if you guessed the exact placement of anything in the top five, and a bonus point for nailing the top movie. Got it? Great! Here's what Patricia predicted would be in the top five:

1. The Prestige
   
2. Flags of Our Fathers
3. Flicka
4. The Departed
   
5. The Grudge 2
   

But the reality is that while all of the above films were in the top five, the box office actually turned out like this:

1. The Prestige, $14.8 million
2. The Departed, $13.7 million
3. Flags of Our Fathers, $10.2 million
4. Open Season, $8 million
5. (tie) Flicka, $7.7 million and The Grudge 2, $7.7 million
   

After several minutes of addition (I confess that this took may way longer than I expected it to), I've determined that the prediction rankings stand as follows:

1. Patricia -- this week: 10 points/total: 23 points (after 2 weeks)
2. chrisnbn -- 8 points/19 points (2 weeks)
3. crzydcguy84 --7 points/15 points (2weeks)
4. zsxxx03 -- 5 points/15 points (2 weeks)
5. zippylizardhead --10 points (1 week)
6. jecmen24 -- 7 points (1 week)
7. mrheenster -- 7 points (1 week)
   

It's not completely surprising that 'The Prestige' conjured a No. 1 finish after opening in approximately 400 more screens than 'Flags of Our Fathers,' but it's still a bit hard to believe that a Clint Eastwood war drama had to settle for third place behind 'The Departed,' which continues to perform incredibly well after three weeks. Not that 'The Departed' isn't deserving, because it is, but I for one was taken aback. It's not all bad news for Eastwood. His WWII drama could catch on with older audiences, who don't tend to see movies their first weekends out, so I expect it to hold up in coming weeks.

As for 'The Prestige,' this is director Christopher Nolan's second No. 1 opening after last year's blockbuster 'Batman Begins,' which went on to earn $205 million. None of us expects that kind of moolah for a twisty period thriller about rival illusionists, but at least this week the movie cast its spell on moviegoers.

The weekend's other new release, 'Flicka,' failed to live up to family film expectations. It looks like kids would rather see 'Open Season' for a second time than the horse drama for the first. That's ok, Alison Lohman, you can now quietly return to maturer fare, like your body-bearing turn in 'Where the Truth Lies.'

In smaller-film news, Sofia Coppola's quirky period drama 'Marie Antoinette' debuted in less than 900 screens but still made $5.3 million. That means each site scored an average of more than $6,000, a killer amount. By comparison, 'Lost in Translation' in 2003 made only $925,087 its first weekend, so 'Marie' is off to a royally good start.

And that's it for this week. Stay tuned for Patricia's weekly predictions on Friday!

Tags: The Prestige, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, The Grudge 2, Flicka, Open Season, Marie Antoinette, box office

Monday, Monday, so good to me. Monday, Monday, it was all I hoped it would be... Oops, sorry, can't get The Mamas and the Papas out of my head today. It's Sandie again with the box office results. I'm pleased to say that after last week's one out of five showing, Patricia is back on top, with a stellar 4 out of 5. Here's what she predicted:

1. The Grudge 2
   
2. The Departed
   
3. Man of the Year
4. Open Season
   
5. The Marine
   

And by now, you probably know that the box office ended up looking like this:

1. The Grudge 2, $22 million
2. The Departed, $18.7 million
3. Man of the Year, $12.5 million
4. Open Season, $11 million
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, $7.8 million

No surprises there. What else are people with dispoable dollars gonna go see on Friday the 13th but a horror sequel? (Well, actually, I was happily watching 'Battlestar Galactica' on SciFi, but then again, I'm a) not a teenager anymore and b) definitely not wasting money on a babysitter to see horror schlock) . Even with 'The Grudge 2' on top, we're really impressed 'The Departed' stayed on top of its game, bringing its two-week total to more than $56 million. Without a doubt, the universally adored (well, by us, anyway) mob drama should easily become Scorsese's biggest movie. As for 'The Marine,' which debuted with $7 million for the No. 6 spot, we were only $750,000 off with our top-5 prediction. John Cena apparently has just enough fans to make sure his revenge flick didn't open out of the top 10.

Oh yeah, and the presidential Robin Williams comedy 'Man of the Year' (wait, is it a comedy or a thriller? I have no idea) had a decent, third-place finish. It was bound to do well, considering there aren't many other non-animated comedies around at the moment. And it looks like parents, finding nothing else even remotely kid friendly in theaters, pushed 'Open Season' to another solid weekend.

Well, that's it folks. Until next week!

Tags: The Departed, The Grudge 2, Man of the Year, Open Season, The Marine, box office

Good morning, movie lovers. It's Sandie again with the scoop on what happened at the box office over the weekend. First, let's take another look at the weekend prediction:

1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
   
2. The Departed
   
3. Employee of the Month
   
4. Open Season
   
5. The Guardian
   

OK, so it looks like Patricia got all the movies in the top five correct, but only 'The Guardian' was in the right spot. Still, we can't forget that she did go five-for-five last week, so we'll just give this weekend's 1/5 result a little pass. Here's how the weekend box office ended up:

1. The Departed, $27 million
   
2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, $19.1 million
   
3. Open Season, $16 million
   
4. Employee of the Month, $11.8 million
   
5. The Guardian, $9.6 million
   

A huge shout-out to crzydcguy84 who called the outcome on Friday afternoon. As Borat (and Tommy) likes to say, Niiiiice. Another reader, zsxxx03, also made the right prediction on Sunday afternoon. Congrats to our two box-office savvy readers.

So here's what happened. Martin Scorsese had the biggest opening of his directorial career with 'The Departed.' At first I was going to credit the magic of Columbus Day on the famous Italian-American director, but the movie's all about Boston's Irish mobsters and cops, so I think I've gotta credit the amazing, award-worthy cast (Leo, Jack and Matt, oh my!), the near-perfect reviews and the heart-pounding, cat-and-mouse plot. In case you're wondering which of Marty's many esteemed films 'The Departed' beat for his highest debut, it's not 'The Aviator,' 'Gangs of New York' or 'Goodfellas.' His last "big" opener was his last remake, 'Cape Fear,' which made a bit more than $10 million back in 1991. It's clear that 'The Departed' is on its way to becoming Scorsese's biggest hit period. With $76 million more -- a reasonable goal considering the film's Oscar buzz -- 'The Departed' will surpass 'The Aviator' haul of $103 million. Go, Marty!

As for the rest of the top five, most horror films these days can scare enough viewers for a terrific first weekend, and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning' was no exception. Its $19 million reportedly recouped the prequel's modest budget, so anything more is just extra blood on the chainsaw. Parents and their animation-addicted children continued to drive 'Open Season' to a solid second weekend, bringing the kiddie flick's grand total to $44.1 million. Despite the fact you can barely pass a newsstand or turn the channel without seeing Jessica Simpson or Dane Cook, their panned comedy underperformed with a fourth-place finish. And last, and in this case least, the Ashton Kutcher-Kevin Costner watery action pic slipped from second to fifthplace, but that was to be expected given the competition.

That's it for the weekend rewind. Good luck to all of you posting predictions next week!

Tags: The Departed, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Employee ofthe Month, Open Season, The Guardian, Martin Scorsese, Jessica Simpson, Dane Cook, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Costner, box office

Hola amigos, it's Sandie again with another installment of the Monday box office roundup. Although last weekend we were only half right with our predictions, this weekend we were five for five. That's right, we (well, ok, technically just Patricia, but she does sorta write on our editorial team's behalf ) batted 1.000 on just our second week of predictions. Let's relive the glory, shall we? Here were P's top-5 picks:

1. 'Open Season'
2. 'The Guardian'
3. Jackass Number Two
4. 'School for Scoundrels'
5. Jet Li's Fearless

And as she has written, so shall it be done:

1. 'Open Season,' $23 million
2. 'The Guardian," $17.7 million
3. 'Jackass Number Two,' $14 million
4. 'School for Scoundrels,' $9.1 million
5. 'Jet Li's Fearless,' $4.7 million

Look closely and you'll notice the top two films star none other than Ashton Kutcher. Yes, Kelso Kutcher's head-to-head openings made more than $40 million. And although it's not his body but that of a one-antlered buck named Elliot you see in the country's No. 1 movie, Kutcher and co-star Martin Lawrence's animal buddy comedy 'Open Season' was just what families wanted after a month of back-to-school stress.

As for 'The Guardian,' it's hard to go wrong when you've got Kutch and his older-but-still-very-handsome fraternity brother (it's true, I looked it up) Kevin Costner in a military action flick. Little tidbit: the $17.7 million opening is actually Costner's best in years -- since 1999's romantic weeper 'Message in a Bottle,' which I was surprised to discover made $18.9 million its first weekend in theaters.

'Napoleon Dynamite' fans apparently forgot to vote for Jon Heder's new lovable-loser comedy, 'School for Scoundrels.' Despite Heder's cult following, the flick made a modest $9 million. But my co-workers swear it's hilarious, so maybe it'll catch on next week. ... or on DVD.

Filed in the 'For Your Consideration' file is news about the weekend's two Oscar-worthy releases: Helen Mirren's turn as Queen Elizabeth II (she already won an Emmy for playing EI in the HBO biopic, so playing a royal comes naturally to the Dame) in 'The Queen' proved powerfully profitable. Showing at only three theaters in New York, Stephen Frears' drama about Her Majesty's response to Princess Diana's death earned $123,000 in just two days (it opened, inexplicably, on Saturday). And Forest Whitaker's rave reviews for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin helped 'The Last King of Scotland' debut with $143,000 at four NYC and LA screens. Both Academy hopefuls expand to a theater near you in the next two weeks. All hail the world leaders!

Tags: Open Season, The Guardian, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Costner, Martin Lawrence, Jon Heder, School for Scoundrels, Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker, The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, box office