Blu-ray 1st November Release

Cars 2 (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

Disney/Buena Vista / 2011 / 106 Minutes / Rated G
Street Date: November 01, 2011 

 

 

 

 

 

Genres: Animation, comedy, family, adventure
Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine
Director: Brad Lewis, John Lasseter
 
Plot Synopsis: Lightning McQueen (voice by Owen Wilson), Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally (Bonnie Hunt), and the rest of the gang from Radiator Springs return to the screen in this sequel to Pixar's Cars (2006). But instead of evoking a nostalgic vision of Route 66 through the American Southwest, director John Lasseter and his artists spoof James Bond films in a fast-paced adventure that mixes espionage and road racing. After a successful season on the track, Lightning is looking forward to some rest at home, but Mater gets him involved in an elaborate three-part international race sponsored by Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) to promote his new synthetic auto fuel. While serving on Lightning's pit crew, Mater inadvertently gets mixed up with two British secret agent cars, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), who are investigating a plot to sabotage the race. Myriad complications ensue before Lightning and Mater get back to the (relative) peace of Radiator Springs. The Pixar artists clearly had a lot of fun spoofing locations in Tokyo, London, Paris, and the Italian Riviera, and creating auto versions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, Queen Elizabeth II, and a doting Italian mother. The use of 3-D adds adrenaline to the racing sequences. Cars 2 lacks the emotional impact of Toy Story 2, Up, and most of the other Pixar features, but that will do little to lessen its appeal to its target audience, boys who love cars, driving games, and car toys. Cars 2 is screening with Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation, a new short with Woody, Buzz, Barbie, Ken, and the rest of the Toy Story gang.

 

Water for Elephants (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

20th Century Fox / 2011 / 120 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 01, 2011

Genres: Drama, romance
Starring: Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon
Director: Francis Lawrence
 
Plot Synopsis: Sara Gruen's bestselling novel comes to glossy life in this period romance. A sparkle-free Robert Pattinson plays Jacob Jankowski, who studies veterinary medicine during the Great Depression. After a family tragedy, he loses everything, including the chance to graduate from prestigious Cornell, so he hops a train, where he finds himself part of the struggling Benzini Brothers Circus. Ringleader August (Christoph Waltz, echoing his Oscar-winning Inglourious Basterds performance) has doubts about the softhearted lad, but a fellow Pole smoothes the way, and Jacob becomes the company vet, which leads him to platinum-blond equestrian Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), August's wife. The two make eyes at each other, but an affair would surely end badly, so they concentrate on their work. When Marlena's prize steed falls ill, August purchases an elephant, hoping Rosie will turn their fortunes around, and enlists Jacob to train her. Unfortunately, she's slow to respond to commands until Jankowski unlocks her secret--and after August has beaten the poor thing into submission. After that, things start to look up until Jacob steals a kiss from his dream girl. As in The Notebook, the film it most closely resembles, an elderly version of the central character (Hal Holbrook, touching) narrates in the present day (screenwriter Richard LaGravenese also adapted The Bridges of Madison County). He tells an interesting tale, so it's too bad the leads strike so few sparks. For those who find big-top classics like Nightmare Alley too dark, however, Francis Lawrence's feel-better variant may be just the ticket.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Writer Richard LaGravensese --
• Robert Pattinson Spotlight (HD, 4 mins)
• Feature Performer Reese Witherspon (HD, 3 mins)
• Traveling Show: Page to Screen (HD, 9 mins)
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 mins).

Crazy, Stupid, Love (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Warner Brothers / 2011 / 118 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 01, 2011

Genres: Comedy, drama, romance
Starring: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei and Emma Stone
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
 
Plot Synopsis: Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling lead an all-star cast in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Fortysomething straight-laced Cal Weaver (Carell) is living the dream—good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart, Emily (Julianne Moore). So when Cal learns that his wife has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his “perfect” life quickly unravels. Cal, who hasn't dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth so handsome player Jacob Palmer (Gosling) takes him on as wingman and protégé, opening Cal’s eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style. Despite Cal's makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can’t be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading Cal back to where he began. Brimming with inspired performances, critics are calling this gem of a romantic comedy “a movie that understands love”

Other releases/ Back catalog releases:

Puss In Boots Conquer Worldwide Box Office Oct.28 - Oct.30

• Release Date:October 28th, 2011
• Starring:
  • Antonio Banderas
  • Salma Hayek
  • Zach Galifianakis
  • Billy Bob Thornton
  • Amy Sedaris
• Director:Chris Miller
• Writer:Charles Perrault, Brian Lynch, David H. Steinberg, Tom Wheeler, Jon Zack
• Studio:DreamWorks Animation
• Genre:Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Fantasy, 3D
• Official Site:pussinbootsthemovie.com
• Rating: PG - for some adventure action and mild rude humor
• Runtime:1 hour 30 minutes

           Last weekend the animated comedy Puss in Boots debuted at number one over the pre-Halloween frame while other new releases failed to generate much excitement averaging under $4,000 a piece. The overall marketplace got hit hard by a double whammy of game seven of the World Series on Friday which attracted over 25 million viewers followed by a powerful winter storm hitting the highly populated northeast region of the country on Saturday affecting tens of millions of people with unusually early snowfalls. Films with better word-of-mouth may grab some of that lost cash in the weeks ahead if good buzz can spread.
          With its second top spot debut from a franchise film in as many weeks, Paramount hit number one with the launch of its Shrek spin-off toon Puss in Boots which debuted to $34.1M according to final studio figures. The figure was one of the lowest debuts for a high-profile 3D toon in recent years and was a far cry from the openings of other DreamWorks titles like last year's triumvirate of Megamind ($46M), the leggy How to Train Your Dragon​ ($43.7M), and Shrek Forever After​ ($70.8M) which was the last installment of this franchise. Even this year's earlier non-sequel animated entries like Fox's 3D Rio and Paramount's 2D Rango debuted higher with $39.2M and $38.1M, respectively. The PG-rated cat pic averaged $8,603 from 3,952 theaters including 2,827 offering 3D.
          However, all indicators point to Puss in Boots having good legs in the weeks ahead despite the slow start. Weather and also pre-Halloween activities for kids helped to softened the bow but audiences and critics alike are giving high marks to the product suggesting good buzz will keep it relevant. Reviews were quite good and an encouraging A- CinemaScore grade bodes well for the weeks ahead. Studios typically pick the first weekend of November as the time to launch the holiday season's first high-profile animated entry or kidpic as it's been for the last ten consecutive years. In fact, Puss was originally slated for November 4 but was moved earlier one week to have a longer run before competitors roll in. Led by the voice of Antonio Banderas​, the toon has clear sailing until Happy Feet Two arrives on November 18.
          Puss in Boots claimed the record for best Halloween weekend opening of all-time. The milestone is not exactly one that comes with much bragging rights since the holiday falls on a different day each year and its activities often cause distractions that reduce box office activity. Horror films typically are the ones that excel with the previous top three best debuts for the holiday being recent installments of the Saw franchise. Studios rarely program big non-horror titles around Halloween.
          Puss in Boots skewed more to moms with females making up 59% of the crowd and 55% being 25 and older. Banderas and co-star Salma Hayek​ helped to mobilize the Latino-American audience which accounted for 35% of business spending nearly $12M this weekend. 3D screens including 270 IMAX locations accounted for 51% of the gross giving the film a higher share than recent animated films like Cars 2, Kung Fu Panda 2​, and The Smurfs​.
          Overseas, Puss in Boots launched to spectacular results in Russia which led the three-market debut of $17M this weekend. $15M came from the increasingly important Russian market making it the second biggest DreamWorks bow ever after the fourth Shrek as well as the third largest debut of 2011 after the latest 3D sequels for Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers which were both monster hits there. With its international cast and setting, Puss in Boots should do robust business overseas where animated films typically perform incredibly well accounting for 70-75% of global box office.
         After scoring the best opening ever during the September-October corridor, the horror threequel Paranormal Activity 3 fell sharply in its second frame dropping 66% to $18.1M. That gave the $5M production a stellar $80.9M after only ten days of release with Monday's Halloween holiday likely to deliver another solid day of business since horror films historically draw big audiences during evening shows on the pumpkin holiday. The Paramount hit has already come close to the $84.8M of the last installment of the lucrative franchise and is headed for a finish in the neighborhood of the $107.9M of the first chapter in the series. Overseas, the third Paranormal grossed an estimated $17M boosting the international tally to $54.2M and the global haul to $135M with top-tier markets Japan and Germany still to open. The trilogy as a whole has now grossed a mammoth $506M worldwide plus tons more on DVD.
          Justin Timberlake​'s sci-fi thriller In Time opened in third place with a mediocre $12.1M averaging a moderate $3,860 from 3,122 theaters. The PG-13 film about a world in the near future when only the wealthy can afford to buy time to extend their own lifespans played evenly across genders and skewed older with 58% being 25 and up. Reviews were more on the negative side and moviegoers were not that much more impressed as the Fox release got a B- CinemaScore. Timberlake has been growing his resume in the world of film with supporting turns in The Social Network and Bad Teacher​ followed by a lead role in the romantic comedy Friends With Benefits which had a nice late summer run grossing $55.8M.
          The dance remake Footloose followed in fourth place with $5.5M, down 47%, giving Paramount $38.5M after 17 days. A final gross near $50M seems likely.
          Johnny Depp​ stumbled into fifth place with his new offering The Rum Diary which bowed to a weak $5.1M. Playing in 2,272 locations, the R-rated drama about a New York journalist relocating to Puerto Rico averaged a poor $2,260 per theater. The older-skewing FilmDistrict release did not wow critics and even ticket buyers were disappointed as the troubling C CinemaScore and tiny 4% Saturday jump indicated large declines ahead. The opening for Rum was reminiscent of the debuts for many of Depp's quirkier dramas prior to Pirates of the Caribbean vaulting him to the level of the top box office draws in the world. Those included $6.6M for The Ninth Gate, $4M for The Astronaut's Wife, $3.3M for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and $4.6M for Don Juan de Marco.
          Two-time chart-topper Real Steel got clobbered in its fourth round falling 56% to $4.8M boosting Disney's cume to $73.9M making it the fourth biggest grosser of the fall after The Lion King 3D ($93.2M), Paranormal Activity 3, and Contagion ($74.1M) which it will surpass later this week. Audiences also fled from The Three Musketeers​ which tumbled 60% in its second frame to $3.5M for a dull ten-day tally of $14.8M for Summit. A $20M final may result.
          Sony filled up the rest of the spots in the top ten with its fall slate. George Clooney​'s Oscar hopeful The Ides of March grossed $2.8M, down 42%, for a $33.6M total. Brad Pitt​'s Moneyball fell 40% to $2.4M while the faith-based hit Courageous dipped only 26% to $1.8M. Totals stand at $67.4M and $27.7M.
          In limited release, Sony's Shakespeare drama Anonymous generated a lukewarm response from American audiences with $1M debut from only 265 theaters for a lackluster $3,856 average. The PG-13 film was originally set for a nationwide bow but the studio shifted gears less than two weeks before opening day to a moderate release instead. Anonymous earned a good A- CinemaScore from those few that did come out and pay to see it, but overall interest domestically had never been high at all. The audience breakdown was 51% female while 65% was 30 and over. Reviews were mixed.
          Doing well in platform release was the award-winning Sundance drama Like Crazy which debuted in just four theaters with $123,140 for a solid $30,785 average. Reviews were generally good for the PG-13 Paramount release which toured a number of film festivals generating buzz before heading into its commercial release.

#	Title	Oct 28 - 30				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Puss in Boots	$ 34,077,439				1		$ 34,077,439	Paramount
2	Paranormal Activity 3	18,144,516				2		80,919,170	Paramount
3	In Time	12,050,368				1		12,050,368	Fox
4	Footloose	5,502,026				3		38,544,825	Paramount
5	The Rum Diary	5,135,369				1		5,135,369	FilmDistrict
6	Real Steel	4,783,149				4		73,941,416	Disney
7	The Three Musketeers	3,507,359				2		14,847,237	Summit
8	The Ides of March	2,804,435				4		33,600,618	Sony
9	Moneyball	2,387,049				6		67,408,099	Sony
10	Courageous	1,838,096				5		27,681,975	Sony
11	Johnny English Reborn	1,693,915				2		6,465,685	Universal
12	R.A. One	1,654,023				1		1,654,023	Eros
13	Dolphin Tale	1,633,429				6		67,035,293	Warner Bros.
14	50/50	1,408,150				5		31,339,863	Summit
15	Anonymous	1,021,768				1		1,021,768	Sony
16	The Thing	857,325				3		16,075,075	Universal
17	Margin Call	721,316				2		1,482,563	Roadside Attr.
18	Dream House	397,815				5		20,834,395	Universal
19	The Help	392,658				12		166,904,059	Disney
20	The Way	358,267				4		1,610,024	PDA

Blu-ray 25th October Release

Captain America: The First Avenger (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Paramount / 2011 / 125 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: October 25, 2011

Genres: Action, fantasy, super-hero
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Joe Johnston
 
Plot Synopsis: The Marvel Comics superhero Captain America was born of World War II, so if you're going to do the origin story in a movie you'd better set it in the 1940s. But how, then, to reconcile that hero with the 21st-century mega-blockbuster The Avengers, a 2012 summit meeting of the Marvel giants, where Captain America joins Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk and other super pals? Stick around, and we'll get to that. In 1943, a sawed-off (but gung-ho) military reject named Steve Rogers is enlisted in a super-secret experiment masterminded by adorable scientist Stanley Tucci and skeptical military bigwig Tommy Lee Jones. Rogers emerges, taller and sporting greatly expanded pectoral muscles, along with a keen ability to bounce back from injury. In both sections Rogers is played by Chris Evans, whose sly humor makes him a good choice for the otherwise stalwart Cap. (Benjamin Button-esque effects create the shrinky Rogers, with Evans's head attached.) The film comes up with a viable explanation for the red-white-and-blue suit 'n' shield--Rogers is initially trotted out as a war bonds fundraiser, in costume--and a rousing first combat mission for our hero, who finally gets fed up with being a poster boy. Director Joe Johnston (The Wolfman) makes a lot of pretty pictures along the way, although the war action goes generic for a while and the climax feels a little rushed. Kudos to Hugo Weaving, who makes his Nazi villain a grand adversary (with, if the ear doesn't lie, an imitation of Werner Herzog's accent). If most of the movie is enjoyable, the final 15 minutes or so reveals a curious weakness in the overall design: because Captain America needs to pop up in The Avengers, the resolution of the 1943 story line must include a bridge to the 21st century, which makes for some tortured (and unsatisfying) plot developments. Nevertheless: that shield is really cool.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary - With Joe Johnston, Shelly Johnson, and Jeffrey Ford.
  
• Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (HD, 4 min) -
  
• Featurettes (HD, 48 min) - Seven spotlights (Outfitting a Hero, Howling Commandos, Heightened Technology, The Transformation, Behind the Skull, Captain America's Origin, and The Assembly Begins), with no play all option.
  
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 5 min) - Four axed scenes, playable individual or all together, with optional commentary by Johnston, Johnson, and Ford, the commentary track's participants.
• Trailers (HD) - Four trailers. Two for the film, one for a video game, and another for an Avengers cartoon.

Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy (Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

Universal Studios / 1993 / 348 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: October 25, 2011

Highly recommended





Genres: Action, family, adventure
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore
Director: Steven Spielberg, Joe Johnston
 
Plot Synopsis: Experience one of the biggest movie trilogies of all time like never before with the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy! “You won’t believe your eyes” (Rolling Stone) when dinosaurs once again roam the Earth in an amazing theme park on a remote island. From Academy Award®-winning directors Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park) and Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III), the action-packed adventures find man up against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking filmmaking that has been hailed as “a triumph of special effects artistry” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times), this epic trilogy is sheer movie-making magic that was 65 million years in the making. “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”

Disc Features:
Disc One

• Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era (HD, 25 min) — The first in a six-part documentary series discusses not only the making of the movie but also gives viewers an inside look at the original direction filmmakers were going to take before realizing CGI was the way to go. Cast & crew interviews are mostly recollections on working with Stan Winston's special effects, surviving a real-life hurricane and working with Spielberg.
• Return to Jurassic Park: Making Prehistory (HD, 20 min) — The second part takes a much closer at the filming itself, particularly the special effects and acting with the animatronics. V
• Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution (HD, 15 min) — As one would suspect by the title, the third segment of the exhaustive documentary gives fans a great discussion on the computer-generated images and the digital composites created by Industrial Light & Magic.
• Archival Featurettes (SD, 66 min) — A few of the supplements from other releases are collected here, which starts with an aged EPK piece on the making of the film and filled with many of the same snippets found on the above segments.
• Behind the Scene (SD, 27 min) — The rest of the bonuses are stored here, like storyboards and a gallery of stills & art concepts from ILM.
• Jurassic Park: Making the Game (1080i/60, 5 min) — A quick glance at the video game with interviews of the creators.
• Trailer (SD) — The original preview brings the first disc to a close.

Disc Two

• Return to Jurassic Park: Finding The Lost World (HD, 28 min) — In the fourth entry to the documentary series, the discussion obviously turns towards filmmakers returning for a sequel, which Spielberg explains was always the plan in the back of his mind. At first, the thought was something different than what was made, but with Crichton already releasing a follow-up book, filmmakers decided to go in that much darker direction.
• Return to Jurassic Park: Something Survived (HD, 17 min) — The fifth segment focuses on the more technical aspects of the production, particularly the film's conclusion and how it was essentially written into the story on a whim.
• Archival Featurettes (SD, 84 min) — As in the first disc, this section gathers together the bonus material from past DVD releases of the sequel. The making-of piece is the standard fare exploring every aspect of the production and followed by basically a shorter version of the same featurette. Then there's an amusing animated short from ILM as a thank you to Spielberg and an interesting conversation with author Michael Crichton on the Jurassic Park novels.
• Behind the Scenes (SD, 21 min) — As before, the remaining bonus features are stored here, which mostly sees a large collection of storyboards and a few still galleries.
• Deleted Scenes (SD)
• Trailer (SD) — The original theatrical previews ends the assortment.

Disc Three

• Return to Jurassic Park: The Third Adventure (HD, 25 min) — The final installment to the six-part documentary features certain members of the cast and crew reminiscing about the production and working with director Joe Johnston. Viewers can enjoy lots of good BTS footage while everyone talks about practical effects, set design, shooting on location as well as in a soundstage and the choice of the Spinosaurus as the new villain. Really interesting stuff, especially if you're a fan of the movie.
• Audio Commentary — The conversation features the special F/X team Stan Winston, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Michael Lantieri, providing an enjoyably detailed technical look at the film.
• Archival Featurettes (SD, 78 min) — Once again, this section brings together various supplements from past home video releases, such as the original making-of piece with cast & crew interviews and lots of BTS footage on the visual effects. This is followed by a brief overview on the dinosaurs featured in the movie and another slightly longer look at the same creatures and the special effects used to bring them to life by touring Stan Winston's workshop. The remaining featurettes focus on the film's sound effects, a look at the storyboard artwork of Ed Verreaux and finally, we spend a few minutes digging up dinosaurs with renowned paleontologist Jack Horner.
• Behind the Scenes (SD, 29 min) — The next assortment of short featurettes has viewers tour Stan Winston's studios, followed by three segments of the animatronics at work on the set and compared to the finished product. The visit to ILM studios shows the process of creating CGI creatures with specific lifelike details and making it all work with the live action sequences. Another piece allows fans a 360-degree view of the dinosaurs featured in the film. Storyboard comparison and a still gallery complete this section.
• Trailer (SD) — Also included is the original theatrical preview of the movie.

Winnie the Pooh (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Disney/Buena Vista / 2011 / 69 Minutes / Rated G
Street Date: October 25, 2011

Highly recommended





Genres: Animation, family, adventure
Starring: Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, Peter Cullen and John Cleese
Director: Don Hall, Stephen J.Anderson
 
Plot Synopsis: Author A.A. Milne's beloved bear, Winnie the Pooh, joins forces with his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood to help two of their own in Disney's hand-drawn charmer. Though he describes himself as a "bear of very little brain," Pooh (Jim Cummings) proves he's all heart when sad-sack Eeyore's tail goes missing and a terrible creature called the "Backson" abducts Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter), their human protector (the schoolboy actually leaves a note saying he will be "back soon"). Granted, our hero spends the entire journey dreaming about glorious pots of "hunny," but when push comes to shove, he prioritizes his pals over his tummy, which rumbles and expands as his hunger pangs increase. Wisely, co-directors Don Hall and Stephen J. Anderson avoid the distraction of instantly recognizable actors in favor of animation veterans, like Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), who voices the resourceful Rabbit. While Sebastian Cabot narrated the Winnie featurettes of yore, comedian John Cleese, who sometimes speaks directly to Pooh, ably steps into his shoes, and talk-show host Craig Ferguson also makes a mark as the know-it-all Owl. At 68 minutes, not including short film "The Ballad of Nessie," this John Lasseter-produced feature should captivate most young viewers, even those accustomed to faster-paced, computer-animated features, like Lasseter's directorial efforts for Pixar. Musician M. Ward and singer/actress Zooey Deschanel of the band She & Him add to the old-fashioned charm with their retro-sounding songs. And be sure to stay through the closing credits for the funny surprise at the end.

Other releases/ Back catalog releases:

"Paranormal 3" Breaks Records At Weekend Box Office Oct.21 - Oct.23

• Release Date:October 21st, 2011
• Starring:
  • Katie Featherston
  • Sprague Grayden
  • Lauren Bittner
  • Chloe Csengery
  • Christopher Nicholas Smith
• Director:Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
• Writer:Christopher B. Landon, Oren Peli
• Studio:Paramount PIctures
• Genre:Horror

          Last weekend, horror movie "Paranormal Activity 3" jolted awake a sleepy movie box office with an estimated $80 million in global ticket sales over the weekend.
          The third installment of the low-budget haunted house movies topped domestic charts with $54 million from U.S. and Canadian theaters, the highest-grossing domestic debut for a horror film and a record for an October release.
          The movie added $26 million from international markets over the weekend, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.
          Like the first two films in the series, "Paranormal 3" was released just before Halloween and produced on a budget tiny by Hollywood standards. The latest movie, the most expensive of the trio, cost $5 million to make.
          The film opened with after-midnight showings on Thursday night and easily beat the studio's forecast for a domestic debut of around $35 million. The movie is a prequel about two young sisters and their creepy encounters with an invisible presence in their home, all recorded by surveillance cameras.
A largely positive response from critics helped bring in an older-than-25 crowd in addition to the teenagers and young adults who usually flock to horror flicks, said Don Harris, Paramount's president of domestic distribution.
          "This is the best of the series. It was well-reviewed," Harris said, adding that "people like to be scared in a Hitchcock-ian way. This isn't a bloody franchise."
           The film's strong performance boosted a sluggish box office that has limped along sharply below last year for several weekends this fall following a record summer. This weekend's top 12 films grossed 45 percent more than last weekend's, although 6 percent less than the same weekend a year ago, according to figures from Hollywood.com Box Office.
           Robot boxing movie "Real Steel," the domestic box-office champ the past two weekends, slipped to second place with $11.3 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters. The film, starring Hugh Jackman as a father who bonds with his son as they restore a battle-ready robot, has earned $153.3 million globally through its first three weekends of release.
          A remake of 1980s dance classic "Footloose" finished third on the domestic charts with $10.9 million, dropping just 30 percent from its debut weekend and earning a total of $30.9 million to date.
'MUSKETEERS' STRUGGLE
          New release "The Three Musketeers," a 3D action version of the classic novel about a sword-fighting trio, finished in fourth place with a weaker-than-expected $8.8 million. Critics were not enthused with the film, with just 28 percent giving a positive review on movie website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences polled by survey firm CinemaScore gave the film a B rating on average.
          Overseas, the movie has grossed $64.4 million for a combined global total standing at $73.2 million.
Comedy "Johnny English Reborn" debuted in the North American market at eighth place with a dismal $3.8 million. But the film starring British "Mr. Bean" actor Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling secret agent has already chalked up success overseas, pulling in $104.5 million in international markets since its release five weeks ago.
Fifth place domestically went to George Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March," which brought in $4.9 million during its third weekend of release. Clooney has directed, co-written and co-starred in the film about a primary fight between two presidential candidates.
            Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released "Paranormal Activity 3" and "Footloose." Summit Entertainment distributed "The Three Musketeers." Walt Disney Co released "Real Steel," which was produced by DreamWorks. "Johnny English Reborn" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, and Sony Corp unit Columbia Pictures released "The Ides of March." [source from: www.reuters.com]

#	Title	Oct 21 - 23				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Paranormal Activity 3	$ 52,568,183				1		$ 52,568,183	Paramount
2	Real Steel	10,824,512				3		66,732,152	Disney
3	Footloose	10,351,207				2		30,364,238	Paramount
4	The Three Musketeers	8,674,452				1		8,674,452	Summit
5	The Ides of March	4,853,051				3		29,112,377	Sony
6	Dolphin Tale	4,217,260				5		64,407,935	Warner Bros.
7	Moneyball	3,981,852				5		63,640,746	Sony
8	Johnny English Reborn	3,833,300				1		3,833,300	Universal
9	The Thing	3,069,875				2		14,049,220	Universal
10	50/50	2,835,208				4		28,820,748	Summit
11	Courageous	2,494,020				4		24,975,186	Sony
12	The Big Year	1,681,040				2		6,000,418	Fox
13	The Lion King 3D	1,254,237				6		92,608,537	Disney
14	Dream House	1,132,170				4		20,179,850	Universal
15	The Mighty Macs	963,221				1		963,221	Quaker Media
16	Contagion	853,062				7		73,474,354	Warner Bros.
17	The Help	713,429				11		166,190,265	Disney
18	Drive	608,534				6		33,188,983	FilmDistrict
19	Abduction	581,021				5		26,792,620	Lionsgate
20	Margin Call	561,904				1		561,904	Roadside Attr.