More than once in recent weeks, I've found myself subjected to the bonanza of pre-show 'entertainment' at a local multiplex, the arguable best portion of which has been a fake trailer for a new Sprint phone, a spot unabashedly proud of both spoofing the nature of product placement and succumbing to it.

So when I first heard of a film called Text - about killer text messages - I assumed it was likewise a joke, a hoax, a ruse, a cunning attempt to trick me. I mean, doesn't that sound like the one faux trailer that didn't make it into Grindhouse? Alas, if Fangoria is to be believed, it's no joke...

For the last weekend of 2007 National Treasure: Book of Secrets held onto the number one spot for the second week in a row. Juno is quickly proving to be the little film that could. The film expanded into a modest 998 theaters last week (and will venture further into 1,880 theaters this week) and managed to out gross all of last week's new releases, all of which were playing on a considerably greater number of screens and none of which ended up in the top five. Here's the final tally:

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets: $35.6 million.
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: $30 million.
3. I Am Legend: $27.5 million
4. Charlie Wilson's War: $11.8 million.
5. Juno: $10.3 million.

In the wake of the holiday season, Hollywood appears to be taking a breather with only one new film -- a J-horror remake -- going into wide release this Friday.

One Missed Call
What's It All About: Boy, you think your cell phone plan sucks. In this remake of a Takashi Miike's 2003 film Chakushin Ari, college students are dropping left and right after they receive voice mail messages -- seemingly from the future -- in which they hear themselves being murdered.
Why It Might Do Well: This is the only new wide release this week, so if you're dying to see something new, this is pretty much it.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Plot-wise, if you swap a VHS tape for the cell phones this sounds a lot like The Ring.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $8 million

Obviously next week's top five won't be a huge shake up. Taking into consideration the one new release and Juno's expansion into more theaters, I think it will look like this.
1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks
3. Juno
4. I Am Legend
5. One Missed Call

Participation was down last week for our weekly box office prediction competition, though I'm confident our regulars will be returning. Here's how it went:

1. Bubba8193: 13
1. Mjd: 13
2. Anna07: 11
2. Gregory Rubinstein: 11
3. Ray: 6
3. ABIRD0006: 6
4. Matt: 5

This is your big chance. Make it your New Year's resolution to participate in our friendly little competition. Post your predictions in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

Last week's big winner at the box office was Rob Zombie's Halloween, so horror flicks are definitely on my mind. It's Scary Stuff week on Trailer Park.

Hatchet
While this is definitely an old school style horror flick, it's not a remake. In fact the poster proudly proclaims "It's not a remake. It's not a sequel. And it's definitely not based on a Japanese one." If it weren't for the modern production values, you could imagine this one playing drive-in theaters back in the early 80's. A child narrates, telling the story of Victor Crowley, a deformed boy who died in a fire set by a nasty bunch of kids. Now people are disappearing in the local woods, and it looks like Victor is the one doing them in. Kane Hodder, who wore the iconic goalie mask in three of the Friday the 13th films, stars as Victor Crowley, and horror vets Robert Englund and Tony Todd are in there too, as is Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Mercedes McNab. Looks like a decent modern take on the classic slasher formula, with an eye toward casting that will keep horror buffs happy. The movie opens today but only in 78 theaters, so if this movie does manage to find an audience it will be on DVD. Additionally, you can check out Scott's interview with Hatchet director Adam Green.

Saw IV
Like the trailer says, "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw." The franchise rears its gore-spattered head every Halloween with a new installment, with each film raking in some serious cash, so don't expect the trend to end anytime soon. Are there really four of these things now? The teaser trailer shows some brief snippets of the film being projected on what looks like a grimy warehouse wall, with shrieks of agony and people begging for mercy in the background. More of the same, so if you liked the previous installments you'll probably enjoy this one. Have a look for yourself:

I really dig Shannyn Sossamon. At least, I did with her first three features -- she was my kind of alterna-mainstream girl. She hit it out of the park with A Knight's Tale, and then she started moaning from an orchid in 40 Days and 40 Nights before bringing to life Ellis dysfunction with The Rules of Attraction. After that, not so much. I'm still itching to see her in Wristcutters: A Love Story, but I'm not to keen on her turn to horror. The latest is called One Missed Call, and it co-stars Edward Burns (The Holiday). The horror flick is supposed to get released next year, and now we can finally check out the trailer on Yahoo.

At first I was a little intrigued -- Azura Skye kicked arse on her too-short stint on Buffy, as a girl who knew her death was coming, but the scenario just doesn't seem so cool this time around -- probably because it looks like Final Destination with cell phones, not to mention the fact that we're drowning in Asian horror remakes. The trailer covers the basic plot -- with or without batteries, these cell phones keep ringing and letting the person hear the last few moments of their life. They get paranoid and scared, and then succumb to the death the mobile predicted. However, Kevin Kelly saw some clips at ComicCon and said they were "extremely spooky," so maybe it ain't all bad. Heck, I might see it just for Ray Wise, Laura Palmer's troubled pop from Twin Peaks. The movie will hit theaters on January 4, 2008.

I'm ensconced back in the press section in the massive Hall H, giving us flashbacks to yesterday's Paramount panel. However, today I have the benefit of a few hours of sleep, a cinnamon roll, and half a banana. The Comic-Con breakfast of champions.

I'll be doing my best to bring you all the hot Warner Bros. deets as they come out. Will we see anything from The Dark Knight? Speed Racer? Watchmen? Goonies II? (Hey, I can dream). They gave us more swag bags on the way in, which included a t-shirt for The Invasion, a pretty swell Get Smart Control/KAOS shirt, and a bunch of other little things, including a very timely Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix pin. Woot!

Hey, I have a great idea! Let's find a (somewhat) cool Japanese horror movie and then remake it in English! It'll be great, we'll ... What? You say it's been done to freakin' death by now? Well then why are Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon starring in a remake of Takashi Miike's One Missed Call? (Yes, folks, comedy this lame can only be inspired by trends this endless. My apologies.)

Anyway, Miike's film has to do with a young girl whose friends receive some decidedly deadly cell-phone calls, only to wind up (you guessed it) dead. But when Main Girl gets a call of her own, she turns to Detective Guy to help save the day. (I'll leave it to you to decide who plays Main Girl and who plays Detective Guy.) The new version comes from novelist Andrew Klavan (Don't Say a Word) and Eric Valette, a Frenchman making his English-language debut. Production's already underway, Warner Bros. will be distributing, and Miike's version is presently available on DVD.

Notice how you see very few Japanese remakes of American horror films ...