Horror flick Evil Dead was the top movie at the box office this past weekend.  It’s strong debut was enough to knock G.I. Joe: Retaliation out of the top spot. Third place went to animated flick The Croods.

1. Evil Dead – $25.8 million ($25.8 million)
2. G.I. Joe Retaliation – $20.9 million ($86.4 million)
3. The Croods – $20.7 million ($125.4 million)
4. Jurassic Park 3D – $18.6 million ($18.6 million)
5. Olympus Has Fallen – $10.2 million ($71.2 million)

[source: Box Office Mojo]

Walt Disney Studios has started work on a new Mary Poppins movie.

The film won’t be a remake of the original Mary Poppins but instead will be based on Saving Mr. Banks.

Saving Mr. Banks is ‘a behind the scenes look at how the popular Disney film ‘Mary Poppins’ came to be,’ according to IMDB.

The film will star Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Emma Thompson, and is being directed by John Lee Hancock.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 continues to dominate the box office, taking home $42 million over the weekend to bring the total gross to date to $221,300,000.  The Muppets had a very solid opening holiday weekend bringing home $42,000,000.

1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – $42,000,000 ($221,300,000)
2. The Muppets – $29,500,00  ($42,000,000)
3. Happy Feet Two – $13,400,00  ($43,773,000)
4. Arthur Christmas – $12,700,00  ($17,000,000)
5. Hugo – $11,350,000  ($15,380,000)

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is dead, but he is about to be resurrected on film by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.  The film, like both of Cohen’s blockbusters, will be directed by Larry Charles.

Paramount jokingly stated in a press release today:

“The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”

The movie is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2012 and is based on the dead dictator’s novel Zabibah and The King.

Cohen is best known for his characters Borat and Bruno from the films of the same name.

[image:  Kazakhstan Passport Office]

Here is a look at the 10 highest grossing domestic films of 2010.  The first number is the box office total for 2010 followed by the amount it did on it’s opening weekend.

1. Toy Story 3 – $415,004,880 ($110,307,189)
2. Alice in Wonderland (2010) – $334,191,110 ($116,101,023)
3. Iron Man 2 – $312,128,345 ($128,122,480)
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $300,531,751 ($64,832,191)
5. Inception – $292,525,041 ($62,785,337)
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – $272,972,000 ($125,017,372)
7. Despicable Me – $250,791,650 ($56,397,125)
8. Shrek Forever After – $238,395,990 ($70,838,207)
9. How to Train Your Dragon – $217,581,231 ($43,732,319)
10. The Karate Kid – $176,591,618 ($55,665,805)

Biggest Disappointment: Shrek Forever After

Best Word of Mouth: How to Train Your Dragon

Most Surprising: The Karate Kid

Number of Adult Films in Top 10: 2 (Iron Man 2 and Inception) – Iron Man 2 can be argued to be a teen movie as well.

Number of Sequels/Remakes in Top 10: 7

Most Expensive Movie to Make in Top 10: $200 million – Toy Story 3, Alice In Wonderland, Iron Man 2

Cheapest Movie to Make in Top 10: $48 million – The Karate Kid

Biggest Flops to Not Make Top 10: Sex and the City 2 and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Number of Rated R Films in Top 10: ZERO

Most Original Film in Top 10: Inception

total followed by (opening weekend)

No date this Valentine’s Day? Spend it with Justin Bieber! In 3D, no less!

In addition to his memoir, the teen heartthrob will star in a 3D movie about his life– coming to a theater near you around Valentine’s Day 2011.

Bieber dropped the big news on Monday, via his Twitter:

“This is so sick!! Gonna come out in theatres Worldwide Valentine’s 2011!!! I’m taking this thing worldwide thanks to u all!! Hyped!!”

The currently untitled film will incorporate footage from his current tour, a Paramount rep reportedly told Us Magazine.

The Biebs added:

“When the idea for a movie first came to us, we knew immediately this was our chance to give something very special back to the all fans who have been a huge source of inspiration and support throughout my entire career thus far. They simply make my dreams come true everyday. I cannot wait to share all the great experiences I’ve had over the last few years with them.”

I, for one, am incredibly excited to learn about everything Justin has gone through in his lengthy career. And to have it come to life in front of my face? I can’t imagine anything better. Yay!

[image: WENN.com]

Lindsay Lohan’s attorney Shawn Chapman Holley told Los Angeles County Superior Judge Marsha Revel that her client had to re-shoot part of the film Machete next month in Texas so that her client wouldn’t have to wear an alcohol-detecting bracelet.  It turns out that is not exactly true.  20th Century Fox, which is making the film, says that is not true and that the film is already wrapped and is in post production.

… a spokesman for 20th Century Fox told CNN Tuesday that “Machete” is well into post-production already and no reshoots are scheduled.

Counselor Holley had no problem throwing her client under the bus to CNN.

“Miss Lohan has indicated to me that she has been told that there are scenes she must reshoot for the ‘Machete’ film,” Holley told CNN Tuesday. “I believe her and, for that reason, I mentioned it to the judge.”

Lohan made it clear she didn’t want to wear the bracelet in court.  The judge held firm and ordered Lohan to wear the bracelet and submit to random drug testing until her hearing for violating probation early next month.

The alcohol-detecting bracelet, SCRAM, can detect if the wearer has been drinking by sampling perspiration from the skin every hour.

However, IMDB is reporting that country music legend Willie Nelson and Kerry Wallum have created a production film to produce 3-5 movies and in one of them, The Dry Gulch Kid, the pair plans to cast Lohan alongside Nelson in the film if the negotiations work out.

The country legend has set up his own production company with actor pal Kerry Wallum and the pair plans to cast the Mean Girls star in the firm’s first film, The Dry Gulch Kid.

Wallum tells WENN, “We are in negotiations with Lindsay and look forward to possibly working with her. The Dry Gulch Kid is a really good story and the film will feature myself, Willie Nelsonand a host of other well-known names.”

But that is probably not true as Wallum went on to say, “I hope she was referring to our movie.”

[image: wenn.com]

Scarlett Johansson is putting forth her best asset to help promote the upcoming Iron Man 2 film starring herself alongside Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, and Sam Rockwell.

Johannson, who plays Natalie Rushman in the film, is causing quite the stir with the IM2 movie posters that are flaunting her perfect body in a denim-like tight catsuit.

The film opens nationwide on May 7th, 2010.

More Movie Poster Photos Below go on reading »

Disney’s planned prequel to The Wizard of Oz tentatively titled The Great Powerful will be in 3D according to the L.A. Times.  When you think of all of the visual candy, literally, from the original Oz, then you know it will parlay wonderfully into the extra dimension.

The project is aiming to shoot in 3-D, with the idea that plenty of Oz set-pieces could benefit from the z-axis treatment, just as they did in “Alice.”

The film doesn’t quite yet have a director but Disney execs are honing in on Sam Mendes who has directed Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, and American Beauty among others.

The Great Powerful will center around ‘The Wizard’ and his life and story before The Wizard of Oz.  Disney is trying to talk Robert Downey Jr. into playing the title role.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Hurt Locker – WINNER

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart – WINNER

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side – WINNER

Achievement in directing

The Hurt Locker - Katherine Bigelow – WINNER

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds - WINNER

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Mo’Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire - WINNER

Original screenplay

The Hurt Locker – Written by Mark Boal - WINNER

Adapted screenplay

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher -WINNER

Best animated feature film of the year

Up – Pete Docter - WINNER

Best foreign language film of the year

El Secreto de Sus Ojos – Argentina – WINNER

Best documentary feature

The Cove – WINNER

Best documentary short subject

Music by Prudence – Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett - WINNER

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

Up – Michael Glacchino - WINNER

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Crazy Heart – “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart” – Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett - WINNER

Achievement in art direction

Avatar – Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg. Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair -WINNER

Achievement in cinematography

Avatar – Mauro Fiore - WINNER

Achievement in costume design

The Young Victoria – Sandy Powell - WINNER

Achievement in film editing

The Hurt Locker – Bob Murawski and Chris Innis – WINNER

Achievement in makeup

Star Trek – Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow - WINNER

Best animated short film

Logorama – Micolas Schmerkin - WINNER

Best live action short film

The New Tenants – Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson - WINNER

Achievement in sound editing

The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson - WINNER

Achievement in sound mixing

The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett - WINNER

Achievement in visual effects

Avatar – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones – WINNER

[source: Backseat Cuddler]

Singer/Actor Justin Timberlake photographed here on the set of Social Network - that he is currently filming in Los Angeles.  The film is about the founders of Facebook.  Justin plays Sean Parker.

Besides being the founding president of Facebook, Parker also co-founded Napster, Plaxo, and Causes.

Social Network is suppose to be released on October 15, 2010.

The photos of Justin were taken on January 30th, 2010 in Los Angeles.

More Photos of Timberlake on ‘Social Network’ Set

[images: wenn.com]

Last year, 2009, provided us with some really good films for the first time in several years.  So which one was your favorite out of the Ten Highest Grossing Films of 2009?  Vote below!

Thanks!!!