In Theaters This Week 1st May

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Copyright © 2009 20th Century Fox

Leading up to the events of "X-Men," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

	May 1st, 2009
	Gavin Hood
	David Benioff
	Hugh Jackman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan, Daniel Henney
	20th Century Fox
	Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
	x-menorigins.com
	PG-13 intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity
	1 hour 47 minutes

Ghost of Girlfriends Past
Copyright © 2009 New Line Cinema

Matthew McConaughey stars as a freewheeling libertine who's haunted by the spirits of girlfriends of the present, past, and beyond at his brother's wedding, awakening long-lost feelings for his first love. Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer, and Robert Forster co-star in this feature helmed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls) and scripted by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Breckin Meyer and Lacey Chabert round out the cast of the New Line production.

	May 1st, 2009
	Mark S. Waters
	Scott Moore, John Lucas
	Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Anne Archer, Amanda Walsh, Emma Stone, Michael Douglas, Robert Forster, Noureen DeWulf, Christa B. Allen
	New Line Cinema
	Comedy, Romance
	ghostsofgirlfriendspastmovie.com
	PG-13 sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference
	1 hour 40 minutes

Battle For Terra
Copyright © 2009 Lionsgate Pictures

A peaceful alien planet faces annihilation, as the homeless remainder of the human race sets its eyes on Terra. Mala, a rebellious Terrian teenager, will do everything she can to stop it.

	May 1st, 2009
	Aristomenis Tsirbas
	Evan Spiliotopoulos
	Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson, David Cross, Justin Long, Amanda Peet, Dennis Quaid, Chris Evans, James Garner, Rosanna Arquette, Chad Allen, Danny Glover
	Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions
	Adventure, Animation
	battleforterra.com
	PG sequences of sci-fi action violence and some thematic elements
	1 hour 40 minutes

Blu-ray Chart 25th April

Top Blu-ray Sales 25th April 2009

**All previous top sales will be announce on every Thursday
Please visit http://astore.amazon.com/screamvideobl-20

The Wrestler [Blu-ray]

RANK	TITLE (LABEL/DISTRIBUTOR, SRP)
1	THE WRESTLER (FOX, $39.99)
2	NOTORIOUS (FOX, $39.99)
3	SIN CITY (DIS, $35.99)
4	X-MEN TRILOGY (FOX, $79.98)
5	THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008, FOX, $29.99)
6	THE SPIRIT (LG, $39.99)
7	QUANTUM OF SOLACE (MGM/FOX, $39.99)
8	FROST/NIXON (UNI, $39.98)
9	BEDTIME STORIES (DIS, $29.99)
10	MARLEY & ME (FOX, $39.99)

DVD Chart 25th April

Top DVD Sales 25th April 2009
**All previous top sales will be announce on every Thursday
Please visit http://astore.amazon.com/screamvideobl-20


Notorious (Single-Disc Edition)

THIS WEEK			TITLE (LABEL/DISTRIBUTOR)			RATING	BOX OFFICE*
1			NOTORIOUS (FOX)			R	36.8
2			THE WRESTLER (FOX)			R	26.2
3			TWILIGHT (SUMMIT)			PG-13	191.4
4			THE SPIRIT (LG)			PG-13	19.8
5			THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (FOX)			PG-13	79.4
6			BOLT (DIS)			PG	114.1
7			BEDTIME STORIES (DIS)			PG	110.1
8			YES MAN (WB)			PG-13	97.7
9			MARLEY & ME (FOX)			PG	143.1
10			FROST/NIXON (UNI)			R	18.6
11			THE READER (WEINSTEIN/GENIUS)			R	34.1
12			CAPRICA (UNI)			NR	-
13			SEVEN POUNDS (SONY)			PG-13	70.0
14			THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (UNI)			G	50.9
15			SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (FOX)			R	140.2
16			QUANTUM OF SOLACE (MGM/FOX)			PG-13	168.4
17			BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA (DIS)			PG	94.5
18			DOUBT (DIS)			PG-13	33.4
19			NOT EASILY BROKEN (SONY)			PG-13	10.6
20			RON WHITE: BEHAVORIAL PROBLEMS (PAR)			NR	-

Hugh Jackman slashes his way back in "Wolverine"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hugh Jackman on Friday slashes his way back to his starmaking role as a razor-clawed mutant in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" after his glitzy turn hosting the Oscars and starring in romance "Australia" that flopped at U.S. box offices.

The change is good for the Aussie star because of the exposure it brings, but despite the box office appeal of the "X-Men" movies, Jackman said these days he leans more toward starring on Broadway, where he won a Tony.

It's Jackman's fourth turn as tough-talking Wolverine, a role he won in the 2000 film "X-Men," fresh from starring in a London stage production of the musical "Oklahoma!"

"There's no doubt that as soon as this movie came out, that my career was like a Great Dane dragging me down the street," Jackman told Reuters about the last nine years of his career.

The 2000 "X-Men" made $296 million at worldwide box offices and helped usher in the latest wave of comic book movies. The 2003 "X2" topped that with $408 million, and the 2006 "X-Men: The Last Stand" burst past it at $459 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media by Numbers reckons "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" could fetch from $85 million to $100 million at U.S. box offices on its debut weekend -- the first weekend of Hollywood's summer season.

Jackman, 40, said playing Wolverine has been a challenge because of the "sustained energy" he needs while shooting.

"Underneath you've got to feel he's ready to explode all the time," he said of the character.

BACK TO ITS ROOTS

True to its title, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" focuses on the early years of Jackman's character, leaping back to his childhood discovery of claws that spring from his knuckles.

The film introduces moviegoers to the Wolverine that comic book readers know best, when the U.S. government grafts the indestructible metal Adamantium onto his skeleton giving him the razor sharp weapons he wields naturally from his arms.

Wolverine believes his brother Sabertooth killed Wolverine's girlfriend and vows to hunt him down. But along the way, he gets caught in a secret U.S. program and eventually faces a twisted enemy to super-powered mutants like himself.

Jackman said that to get in shape for the movie, he worked out, drank protein shakes and ate meat at every meal, chowing down every three hours and waking up at 3:30 a.m. for more.

He did all that during the shoot for 2008 epic "Australia," which got director Baz Luhrmann worried as his star actor started looked bulkier from one scene to the next.

"Baz came to me and said, 'Mate, I need you to kind of back off a little bit. I'm struggling to edit the movie,'" Jackman said with a chuckle, chewing on a toothpick.

"Australia" was a hit internationally, making $162 million in that market and only $50 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Jackman splits his time between Australia and New York, each one a "base" for him, his wife and two children.

The actor said he wants to do a movie musical, and he expects to soon star on Broadway after his role in stage musical "The Boy from Oz," about gay singer Peter Allen, earned Jackman Broadway's top honor, a Tony.

But would Jackman consider melding his love of musicals with his biggest role in the movies: a Wolverine musical?

"There's a couple of outtakes that exist which, if they ever got out, I'd be absolutely killed," he joked. But as any fan of Wolverine will tell you, that's not easy to do. [Source from: reuters.com]

Blu-ray 28th April Release

The Reader [Blu-ray]

Weinstein Co. / 2008 / 124 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: April 28, 2009

Genres: Drama

Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Habich
Director: Stephen Daldry

Disc Features:

• Featurettes (56 minutes)
  
• Deleted Scenes (41 minutes)
  

• Theatrical Trailer

The Uninvited [Blu-ray]

Paramount Home Entertainment / 2009 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: April 28, 2009

Genres: Horror

Starring: Kevin McNulty, David Strathairn, Emily Browning
Director: Charles & Thomas Guard

Plot Synopsis: The china-doll features of Emily Browning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) are the eerie center of The Uninvited, an American remake of the wildly popular Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters. Browning stars as Anna, a young girl being released from a mental hospital following the harrowing death of her mother. But when she returns home, she discovers her father (David Strathairn) has fallen under the sexual spell of her mother's former nurse, Rachael (Elizabeth Banks, Zack and Miri Make a Porno), despite the open hostility of Anna's sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel, John Tucker Must Die). When Anna sees the ghost of her mother point at Rachael and scream "Murder!", Anna and Alex begin to investigate Rachael's past and make some unsettling discoveries. The Uninvited combines two horror trends: Twist endings (in this case, more than one) and recycling Asian horror images (particularly wet, crawling corpses). There's nothing particularly outstanding about The Uninvited, but it's superior to more lackluster Asian horror remakes like One Missed Call. The three lead actresses all have strangely glossy faces that look molded out of plastic, which adds a perhaps unintentional layer of creepiness.

Disc Features:
• Featurette: "Unlocking the Uninvited"
• Deleted scenes and alternate ending

Bride Wars [Blu-ray]

Fox Home Entertainment / 2009 / 89 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: April 28, 2009

Genres: Comedy, family

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson
Director: Gary Winick

Plot Synopsis: How important is the perfect wedding? Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson) have been best friends since childhood and each has always dreamed of an extravagant wedding at the Plaza hotel. When both friends get engaged in the same week, they rush to the exclusive wedding planner Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen) to book the perfect weddings at the Plaza hotel. The reservations get mixed up and both weddings end up scheduled on the same day and, since there are no other suitable openings available at the Plaza, the friends find themselves in the impossible situation of having to decide who will sacrifice her long-held dream and change venues. It turns out that neither woman is willing to give up her plans for a perfect wedding and the friends turn against one another in a hilarious battle that results in everything from blue hair to rumors of pregnancy and embarrassing home videos accompanying one bride's walk down the aisle. Can even a life-long friendship survive the emotional turmoil of two weddings gone wrong? Bride Wars is an amusing look at the trials of friendship and love that's sure to inspire laughter and perhaps even a tear or two.


Hotel for Dogs [Blu-ray]

DreamWorks Home Entertainment / 2009 / 100 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: April 28, 2009

Genres: Comedy, family

Starring: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Lisa Kudrow, and Don Cheadle
Director: Thor Freudenthal

Plot Synopsis: Everyone deserves a loving family, but foster kids Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin) have been placed with a flaky couple who care more for their aspiring rock careers than their foster children. Even though Andi and Bruce's mischievous tendencies repeatedly get them into trouble, the siblings are essentially good kids who care deeply for one another and their secretly adopted dog Friday. After a close call with the local pound, the kids end up searching for Friday in an abandoned old hotel where they find several stray dogs seeking shelter. The kids' compassion for the homeless dogs compels them to begin caring for the strays and they soon join forces with three other local kids to take in strays from across the city. Bruce is a clever inventor whose innovative gadgets ensure top-notch care and constant entertainment for all the dogs (as well as a multitude of laughs from the audience). Unfortunately, Bruce's and Andi's devotion to the dogs eventually causes them to pass up what may be their last chance for a better foster home. When the police storm the hotel and take all the dogs to the pound, the kids make a daring attempt to rescue the dogs that will likely land them in separate group homes. Can social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) somehow convince the authorities, and perhaps a loving family, that the children were just doing what was right? Hotel for Dogs is a funny family film based on Lois Duncan's book of the same name and is appropriate for most ages 5 and older in spite of its PG rating for mild thematic elements, language, and some crude humor.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary - The fun kicks off with this group chat, with director Thor Freudenthal and producer Ewan Leslie, and young cast members Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin. This is actually better than most group tracks, were the participants talk over each other or just make jokes. All four have something to offer, with nice coverage of the production side, as well as the character and stories. It's also fun to hear Roberts and Austin, who are full of the enthusiasm typical of young actors. A fun commentary.
  
• Featurette: "The Making of 'Hotel for Dogs'" (HD, 19 minutes) - The main featurette, all the commentary participants return for the usual on-set interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, but it's the dogs that are the real star of this show. And the stars behind them are the trainers, who here have to work with the actors to get all the action to line up (as surprisingly little CGI was used).
  
• Featurette: "K-9 Casting" (HD, 6 minutes) - A closer look at assembling the dogs for the film, which required carefully selecting size, breed, and ability.
  
• Featurette: "Bark On Cue" (HD, 5 minutes) - Another cute featurette on dogs, this time looking at the often-elaborate training methods required to get all the dogs to work together in a shot.
  
• Featurette: " That's the Coolest Thing I've Ever Seen" (HD, 6 minutes) - Finally, we take a break from the canines to check out the production design of the hotel itself, particularly the various contraptions seen throughout the movie.
  
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 11 minutes) - Next up are eight deleted scenes. Nothing here is exceptional, though there is some nice interaction between Roberts and Austin. Quality is strong, with most of the scenes looking close-to-final cut quality.
  
• Still Galleries (HD) - There are three in all: "On-Set Action," "Puppy Love" and "Dog People."
  
• Theatrical Trailer (HD) - Finally, we have the film's original theatrical trailer in full HD.

What Doesn't Kill You [Blu-ray]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2008 / 100 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: April 28, 2009

Genres: Thriller, drama.

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, Amanda Peet, and Donnie Wahlberg
Director: Brian Goodman

Plot Synopsis: Brian (Mark Ruffalo) and Paulie (Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke, Best Actor In a Supporting Role for Training Day, 2001) are two lifelong friends who grew up like brothers on the gritty streets of south Boston. They started early as street thugs living by the criminal code, doing petty crimes and misdemeanors that grew increasingly more serious. Eventually they fall under the sway of organized crime boss Pat Kelly (Brian Goodman). As Brian becomes increasingly lost in a haze of drugs and 'jobs,' he consistently disappoints his loyal wife (Amanda Peet) and their two sons. Torn between the desire to be a good husband and the lure of easy money, Brian must make the hardest choice of his life.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary - This thoughtful track allows writer-director-actor Brian Goodman and writer-actor Donnie Wahlberg, who was instrumental in getting the project off the ground, the chance to get under the skin of this very personal movie.
  
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (SD, 16 minutes) – Thirteen deleted and alternate scenes give us additional glimpses of character.

• Featurette: "'What Doesn't Kill You': Makes You Stronger" (SD, 19 minutes) – A study in how not to produce a making-of featurette.
  
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) – Previews for 'The International,' 'Waltz with Bashir,' 'Damages,' 'Casino Royale: Collector's Edition,' 'Resident Evil: Degeneration,' 'Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,' and 'The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut.'

Back Catalogue Blu-ray:

Moviegoers Obsessed with Interracial Catfight

MovieWeb - Movie Photos, Videos & More

LAST WEEKEND Singer-actress Beyoncé Knowles crushed the competition with a sizzling opening for her new romantic thriller Obsessed which powered well past expectations to lead the North American box office over the final weekend before the much-anticipated start of the summer movie season. Also performing well were two other new releases - the Channing Tatum drama Fighting and the animal documentary Earth. Not drawing big crowds was the star-combo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in The Soloist which bowed in fourth place. Most holdovers fell sharply losing 50% or more of their business, but the top ten hit the $100M mark surging more than 30% ahead of last year's levels ending a record April and a busy spring with a bang.

Sony's Screen Gems unit tempted audiences with a well-marketed thriller and got off to an explosive start with Obsessed which grossed an estimated $28.5M in its first weekend in theaters. Busting into 2,514 locations, the PG-13 pic averaged a steamy $11,337 per site and shot higher than pre-release forecasts. The hit film stars Knowles and Idris Elba as a happily married couple until a sexy young office worker (Ali Larter) begins to stalk the husband. The prospect of a woman-on-woman fight piqued the interest of moviegoers and the collision of a black couple and a white seductress also gave the film a must-see edge.

Obsessed scored the seventh largest opening ever for the month of April and was a new career high for Knowles when in a lead role. It was also the second best in company history for Screen Gems behind the $30.1M of 2005's The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Females drove the business for Obsessed making up 58% of the crowd, according to studio research, while the age range was broad with 51% being over 25. A modest $20M budget means Sony has yet another profitable hit on its hands.

Obsessed also gave the film industry its eighth consecutive weekend with a $20M+ opening capping off a stellar four-month start to 2009. Over the first 17 weeks of the year, the number of movies opening in wide release dropped 9% (51 vs. 56 last year). However, studios were able to reduce the clutter that often causes many pics to fail allowing for more marketing focus on each title. As a result, box office is up 16% and admissions are up 14%. Plus the number of $20M+ openers rose from 11 last year to 18 this year while the amount of films crossing the $100M mark skyrocketed from just one in 2008 to six in the current year. The summer box office could not have asked for more momentum as it gets underway especially since the massive April crowds have been treated to trailers and posters for the upcoming season's big crop of blockbusters.

Zac Efron's high school comedy 17 Again dropped from first to second place and fell by an understandable 51% to an estimated $11.7M. With a solid $40M in ten days, the PG-13 hit looks headed for a finish of $65-70M proving that the teen heartthrob of the small screen can draw paying crowds to the multiplexes even outside of a franchise.

Debuting in third was Channing Tatum's young adult drama Fighting which punched up an estimated $11.4M in its opening weekend. The Rogue Pictures film was released by Universal and averaged a solid $4,955 from 2,309 venues. Tatum rose to fame in 2006 with the dance drama Step Up but has been mostly absent from the box office since then, a risky move considering the rapidly shifting tastes of young people. Rated PG-13, Fighting catered to teens and young adults with males excited by the fights and females coming in for the hunky lead actor. Studio research showed that males made up 58% of the audience while 66% were under 25.

Faring worst among the weekend's three new fictional wide releases was the violinist drama The Soloist which debuted to an estimated $9.7M from 2,024 theaters. The Paramount release did average a respectable $4,800 per theater, but the PG-13 pic starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx failed to make much of a dent in the overall marketplace. Reviews were mixed which may have sent moviegoers elsewhere and the story of a journalist who bonds with a genius magician who happens to be homeless did little to excite the public. Even the casting of two popular Oscar-caliber actors couldn't push the pic into double-digit territory. The Soloist reportedly cost $60M to produce, a tough number to recoup especially given the film's limited appeal abroad.

The animal documentary Earth enjoyed a robust debut grossing an estimated $8.6M in its first weekend of play. The G-rated tale following the stories of three sets of God's creatures averaged a healthy $4,742 from 1,804 locations. Rarely are documentaries given a nationwide release in the first weekend but Disney used Wednesday's Earth Day as a launching pad midweek and wound up with a stellar $14.2M over the five-day debut period. James Earl Jones narrated the film which earned glowing reviews. With the summer movie season unleashing a string of violent action films, Earth could enjoy a promising road ahead if it can connect with parents of smaller children looking for fun and peaceful entertainment. Hollywood has little to offer that lucrative segment of the audience until late May when Fox unleashes Night at the Museum 2 and Disney offers up Pixar's Up.

In its fifth weekend, the animated smash Monsters vs. Aliens slipped 36% to an estimated $8.5M boosting the total to $174.8M to date. The year's top-grossing film is from DreamWorks and Paramount. Universal's conspiracy thriller State of Play dropped a troubling 51% in its second weekend to an estimated $6.9M bringing the ten-day total to a mere $25.1M. Budgeted at $60M, the Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck starrer should finish up with a disappointing domestic take of around $40M despite positive reviews from critics. State joins Soloist as the latest star-driven dramas targeting mature adults that are failing to find big audiences this year following The International and Duplicity. All will end up in the $25-45M range which is not what studios were hoping for when those large star salaries were negotiated.

#	Title	Apr 24 - 26				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Obsessed	$ 28,500,000				1		$ 28,500,000	Sony
2	17 Again	11,665,000				2		39,970,000	Warner Bros.
3	Fighting	11,441,000				1		11,441,000	Universal
4	The Soloist	9,715,000				1		9,715,000	Paramount
5	Earth	8,554,000				1		14,201,000	Buena Vista
6	Monsters vs. Aliens	8,524,000				5		174,817,000	Paramount
7	State of Play	6,891,000				2		25,124,000	Universal
8	Hannah Montana The Movie	6,372,000				3		65,590,000	Buena Vista
9	Fast & Furious	6,062,000				4		145,224,000	Universal
10	Crank High Voltage	2,400,000				2		11,518,000	Lionsgate

In Theaters This Week 24th April

The Soloist
Copyright © 2009 DreamWorks Pictures

In "The Soloist," an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music, journalist Steve Lopez (Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. "The Soloist" is directed by Joe Wright (Golden Globe winner for Best Drama and Oscar® nominee for Best Picture "Atonement").

	April 24th, 2009
	Joe Wright
	Susannah Grant
	Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton
	DreamWorks Pictures
	Drama
	soloistmovie.com
	PG-13 for thematic elements, some drug use and language
	1 hour 45 minutes

Fighting
Copyright © 2009 Rogue Pictures

Small-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling counterfeit goods on the streets, his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for streetfighting. When Harvey offers Shawn help at making the real cash, the two form an uneasy partnership.

	April 24th, 2009
	Dito Montiel
	Dito Montiel, Robert Munich
	Terrence Howard, Channing Tatum, Zulay Henao, Luis Guzman, Cung Le
	Rogue Pictures
	Action
	fightingmovie.net
	PG-13 intense fight sequences, some sexuality and brief strong language
	1 hour 45 minutes

Obsessed
Copyright © 2009 Screen Gems [Sony]

A successful, happily married executive (Idris Elba) becomes the object of unwanted affection from a temp worker (Ali Larter) at his company.

	April 24th, 2009
	Steve Shill
	David Loughery
	Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles, Ali Larter, Bruce McGill, Jerry O'Connell, Christine Lahti
	Screen Gems (Sony)
	Horror
	areyouobsessed.com
	PG-13 sexual material including some suggestive dialogue, some violence and thematic content
	1 hour 31 minutes