And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – "The Green Hornet" is buzzing away with the top spot at the weekend box office.

The tongue-in-cheek superhero film starring Seth Rogen as a playboy-turned-crimefighter earned $34 million during its opening weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday. Sony Screen Gems' "Green Hornet," which was directed by indie auteur Michel Gondry, shot down Paramount's "True Grit," the Western that reigned supreme the previous weekend.

"As we moved down the road, it got a lot of love, the love that it deserved," said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of worldwide distribution. "I think everything worked really well for the film: the timing, the release date, the marketing, and, most importantly, the film itself. It all gelled in a terrific way. We're very pleased with the results."

The weekend's other major new release, Universal's "The Dilemma," opened in the No. 2 spot. The comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James as partners at an automobile design firm earned $17.4 million. Despite driving away with the top two spots at the box office, Hollywood's first major new releases of the year didn't help to rev up ticket sales.

Hollywood's overall revenues this weekend continued the slump that's persisted through the fall and holiday season. Ticket sales this weekend totaled $115.2 million, down 25 percent compared to the same period last year, when the sci-fi epic "Avatar" continued to dominate at the box office with $42.7 million. Attendance was also down by 27 percent.

Potential Oscar contenders "True Grit," "The King's Speech" and "Black Swan" respectively followed behind "Green Hornet" and "The Dilemma." Both the royal saga "King's Speech" and ballet thriller "Black Swan" are up for several awards, including best drama motion picture and best supporting actress, at Sunday's 68th annual Golden Globes ceremony.

"I think the lack of an 'Avatar' this season has given an opportunity to films like 'True Grit,' 'King's Speech' and 'Black Swan' to draw audiences to the theater who are looking for something that's getting great reviews and who are maybe wanting to watch the Oscars or the Golden Globes with an informed mind," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "The Green Hornet," $34 million.

2. "The Dilemma," $17.4 million.

3. "True Grit," $11.2 million.

4. "The King's Speech," $9 million.

5. "Black Swan," $8.1 million.

6. "Little Fockers," $7.1 million.

7. "Tron: Legacy," $5.6 million.

8. "Yogi Bear," $5.3 million.

9. "The Fighter," $5.1 million.

10. "Season of the Witch," $4.5 million.

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller's "Little Fockers" remained the top draw at the weekend box office with $26.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was closely followed by Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon's Western "True Grit," which was No. 2 for the second-straight weekend with $24.5 million.

"Little Fockers," released by Universal, raised its domestic haul to $103.2 million. Paramount's "True Grit" lifted its total to $86.8 million, becoming the top-grossing film ever from directors Joel and Ethan Coen, whose previous best was $74.3 million for "No Country for Old Men."

With no new wide releases out over New Year's weekend, the Hollywood top-10 lined up largely the same as it did over the Christmas holiday.

Bridges also had the No. 3 film with Disney's sci-fi sequel "Tron: Legacy" at $18.3 million, while Dan Aykroyd's family flick "Yogi Bear," from Warner Bros., was fourth with $13 million.

After a sluggish fall and holiday season, Hollywood is off to a slow start in 2011. Overall revenues came in at $158 million, down 28 percent from New Year's weekend a year ago, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

The holiday season in 2009 was unusually strong, largely because of James Cameron's "Avatar," which was on its way to becoming the biggest modern blockbuster with $2.8 billion worldwide.

A year ago, "Sherlock Holmes" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" also held up well over New Year's weekend.

"What made the difference last year was just that incredible combination of films," said Paul Dergarabedian, Hollywood.com box-office analyst. "That said, I think 2011 is going to be a huge year. If you look at the titles, I think we're going to get our box-office strength back."

The final "Harry Potter" film is among Hollywood's offerings this year, along with the latest in the "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Transformers," "Twilight," "Cars," "Kung Fu Panda," "X-Men" and "The Hangover" franchises.

"Little Fockers" has done good business despite bad reviews for the third installment in De Niro and Stiller's "Meet the Parents" franchise.

"I'm sorry the business isn't better for the industry overall, but having said that, it doesn't make a difference for us. We were the No. 1 film for the holidays," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "Considering it's the third time around, not so bad."

"True Grit" is a rare hit Western — once a Hollywood staple but a genre that has all but vanished. Industry insiders had been skeptical about the film's prospects, especially since the 1969 version of "True Grit" was one of John Wayne's best-known roles from late in his career, earning him the best-actor Academy Award.

But the Coens never considered their version a remake. They did a faithful adaptation of Charles Portis' novel, the source for both movies, and the Coens' version has earned terrific reviews.

"They acted like there'd never been another movie made, that this was the first. You've got to give them credit. It's a stunning achievement," said Don Harris, executive vice president of distribution at Paramount.

While this season's top hits failed to measure up to "Avatar" and other 2009 holiday blockbusters, smaller Oscar contenders continued to score in the top-10.

Paramount's boxing drama "The Fighter," with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, was No. 7 with $10 million, raising its total to $46.4 million; Fox Searchlight's psychosexual thriller "Black Swan," starring Natalie Portman, came in at No. 9 with $8.5 million, raising its haul to $47.4 million; and the Weinstein Co. historical drama "The King's Speech," with Colin Firth, was No. 10 with $7.7 million, pushing its sum to $22.8 million.

Other awards contenders debuted well in limited release. The Weinstein Co. marital drama "Blue Valentine," starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, took in $180,066 in four theaters.

Sony Pictures Classics' British drama "Another Year," from director Mike Leigh and featuring Jim Broadbent, took in $120,390 in six theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Little Fockers," $26.3 million.

2. "True Grit," $24.5 million.

3. "Tron: Legacy," $18.3 million.

4. "Yogi Bear," $13 million.

5. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," $10.5 million.

6. "Tangled," $10.01 million.

7. "The Fighter," $10 million.

8. "Gulliver's Travels," $9.1 million.

9. "Black Swan," $8.5 million.

10. "The King's Speech," $7.6 million.

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

First weekend I've slept past 8 AM in what feels like forever. But this is Hollywood's lone box office break for big movies before the end of the year, and the 2nd slowest grossing weekend of the year (since the Fri-Sat-Sun post-Thanksgiving is usually a turkey). But a lot of specialty films had their debuts or expansions including Fox Searchlight's drama Black Swan from Darren Aronofsky starring Natalie Portman (18 theaters in 8 cities -- NY, LA, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Dallas, Toronto). It had Friday's best per screen average with $23,660, and the studio knew it was over-performing when Friday's matinees were double the per screen average of Aronfsky's previous The Wrestler. Black Swan grossed $1.3M with a gross per theater average of $77,459, setting an all-time record for Fox Searchlight. (More than Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, Sideways, and Little Miss Sunshine all of which were in fewer theaters.) The drama also is the 2nd highest opening of a limited release for 2010, passing The Kids Are All Right and now only behind The King's Speech.

Disney's Tangled finally surged past Warner Bros' Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows which continues to dominate the overseas marketplace, grossing an estimated $54.4M in 62 territories for an international cume to date of now $469.1M and a global cume of $713.3M. Disney's 50th animated toon took in $26M this weekend from 15 territories representing 35% of the international market. With Tangled now hitting a domestic cume of $96.5M and overseas total of $45.8M, the new global cume is $142.3M:

1. Tangled (Disney) Week 2 [3,603 Theaters]
Friday $5.1M, Saturday $9.9M, Weekend $21.5M (-56%), Cume $96.5M

2. Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows (Warner Bros) Week 3 [4,125 Theaters]
Friday $4.8M, Saturday $7.4M, Weekend $16.7M, Cume $244.2M

3. Unstoppable (Fox) Week 4 [3,152 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2.7M, Weekend $6.1M, Cume $68.8M

4. Burlesque (Screen Gems/Sony) Week 2 [3,037 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Saturday $2.5M, Weekend $6.1M (-50%), Cume $26.9M

5. Love And Other Drugs (Fox) Week 2 [2,458 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2.3M, Weekend $5.7M (-41%), Cume $22.6M

6. Megamind (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) Week 5 [3,173 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $2.3M, Weekend $5M, Cume $136.7M

7. Due Date (Warner Bros) Week 5 [2,450 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.8M, Weekend $4.2M, Cume $91M

8. Faster (CBS Films/Sony) Week 2 [2,470 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Saturday $1.6M, Weekend $3.8M (-55%), Cume $18.1M

9. The Warrior's Way (Rogue/Relativity) NEW [1,622 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $3M

10. The Next Three Days (Lionsgate) Week 3 [2,236 Theaters]
Friday $815K, Saturday $M, Weekend $2.6M, Cume $18.4M
---
Specialty Films
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Week 5 [433 Theaters]
Weekend $1.6M, Cume $6.5M

Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) NEW [18 Theaters]
Weekend $1.3M

Fair Game (Summit) Week 5 [436 Theaters]
Weekend $1M, Cume $7.3M

The King's Speech (Weinstein Co) Week 2 [6 Theaters]
Weekend $325K, Cume $808K

I Love You, Phillip Morris (Roadside Attractions) NEW [6 Theaters]
Weekend $113K

Waiting For 'Superman' (Paramount Vantage) Week [85 Theaters]
Weekend $36K, Cume $6.3M

All Good Things (Magnolia) NEW [2 Theaters]
Weekend $40K

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – Will Ferrell's dastardly schemes continue to succeed, with the animated "Megamind" staying at the top of the box office.

The DreamWorks Animation 3-D comedy, featuring Ferrell as the voice of a super villain, made just over $30 million in its second week in theaters, according to Sunday studio estimates. It's now made nearly $90 million total. "Megamind" also features the voices of Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill.

Opening in second place is the 20th Century Fox action thriller "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as railroad workers trying to stop a massive runaway train. It made $23.5 million. The movie is based on a 2001 Ohio incident in which a train carrying hazardous cargo traveled 66 miles without a crew.

Last week's No. 2 film, "Due Date," fell to the third spot with $15.5 million. The Warner Bros. comedy features Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as opposites stuck together on a cross-country road trip. It's now made $59 million in two weeks.

Among the weekend's other new releases, "Skyline" opened in fourth place with $11.7 million. The Universal Pictures sci-fi thriller depicts aliens invading and destroying Los Angeles. And "Morning Glory," a Paramount comedy set in a network morning show starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, opened at No. 5 with about $9.6 million.

Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for DreamWorks Animation, said positive word of mouth helped "Megamind" remain on top.

"It's exciting because audiences are clearly responding very well to the movie," said Globe. "This was a decided No. 1 again. We were only down 35 percent, which is a pretty terrific hold for the movie."

But "Megamind" is the rare family movie in theaters these days, which also helps, said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Next week, the feverishly anticipated first half of the "Harry Potter" finale, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," debuts.

"Up until 'Megamind' the marketplace was virtually devoid of any family films," Dergarabedian said. "The R-rated films were dominating: You had 'Paranormal Activity 2,' 'Saw 3-D,' 'Jackass 3D.' Then there was a plethora of adult-oriented dramas: 'Secretariat,' 'The Social Network,' 'Hereafter,' all those films. Then there were movies for older audiences like 'Red.'"

The fact that "Megamind" is in 3-D is also a draw to younger audiences, he said: "Kids love 3-D. Kids love the gimmicky thing."

"Unstoppable," the fifth film Washington has made with director Tony Scott, debuted slightly better than the $21.4 million average opening of their collaborations. Previously, they'd worked on "Crimson Tide," "Man on Fire," "Deja Vu" and "The Taking of Pelham 123."

The movie had surprisingly good reviews for an action picture — 86 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes — and the audience was evenly divided between men and women, said Bert Livingston, general sales manager for 20th Century Fox

"It doesn't happen very often, but when you get reviews like that and people like the movie so much, and they come out and tell their friends, it's the first weekend but it's just a beginning," Livingston said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Megamind," $30 million.

2. "Unstoppable," $23.5 million.

3. "Due Date," $15.5 million.

4. "Skyline," 11.7 million.

5. "Morning Glory," $9.6 million.

6. "For Colored Girls," $6.75 million.

7. "Red," $5.1 million.

8. "Paranormal Activity 2," $3 million.

9. "Saw 3-D," $2.75 million.

10. "Jackass 3-D," $2.3 million.

Scientists closer on making 3D Holografic TV a reality!

Are 3D holograms in our future? Read on...

NEW YORK – Scientists say they have taken a big step toward displaying live video in three dimensions — a technology far beyond 3-D movies and more like the "Star Wars" scene where a ghostly Princess Leia image pleads, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

In that classic movie, the audience sees her back before a new camera perspective shows her face. Such a wraparound view of a moving image was just movie-trick fantasy in the 1977 film, but now?

"It is actually very, very close to reality. We have demonstrated the concept that it works. It's no longer something that is science fiction," said Nasser Peyghambarian of the University of Arizona.

Actually, the results he and colleagues report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature look more like a slide show than a video. In experiments, the technology displayed a new image only every two seconds. That's only about one-sixtieth as fast as the system would need to produce true video.

In addition, the image allowed only a 45-degree range of viewing angles because of how the experiments were done. The researchers are working toward providing a full, 360-degree view.

In fact, Peyghambarian figures that his team could produce a true 3-D video screen that might reach living rooms in perhaps a decade. And you wouldn't need those funny glasses to enjoy it.

Apart from the possibilities for entertainment, it might allow doctors in multiple places around the world to collaborate on live surgery, he said. If the screen were placed flat on a table, they could get a 360-degree view by walking around, just as if the patient were lying there.

While the 3-D image would not actually be projected into the air, that's how it would appear to a person looking into the screen.

Other possibilities, Peyghambarian said, including eye-catching ads at shopping malls and a technique to enable designers of cars or airplanes to make changes more quickly. Live 3-D video could also help the military train troops, he said.

We see objects by perceiving the light that bounces off them. Peyghambarian's technology uses holograms, two-dimensional images that reconstruct the light that would have bounced off a physical object, making it look 3-D.

In contrast, technology used for 3-D movies like "Avatar" or the election-night "hologram" of a CNN reporter in 2008 produces images that don't show different views from different angles, as a genuine hologram or a real object does, Peyghambarian said.

Many people have seen holograms of still images. The Arizona group is one of maybe half a dozen around the world that are trying to move that technology into 3-D video, said V. Michael Bove Jr. of the MIT Media Lab.

Bove said several groups, including his own, have in fact produced such videos, achieving the magic rate of 30 frames a second. But those displays are only about the size of a postcard or smaller, he said, and one big challenge is how to make the display bigger.

The Arizona group uses a plastic plate that stores and displays an image until another image is "written" electronically on it. That approach might someday allow for much bigger images, said Bove, who is collaborating with the Arizona researchers but did not participate in the new study.

Peyghambarian said he now gets an image every two seconds on a 4-by-4-inch device. His team also has a 1-foot-square plate, but that takes longer to replace images.

He would like to scale up to plates about 6 or 8 feet square to show people at full size, so they could appear at meetings without having to actually show up.

His work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the military.

Bove compared the state of holographic video research to that of developing television about 80 years ago. Different groups are taking different approaches, and it is not clear which technology will prove best, he said.

In any case, he said, the Arizona system "produces bright, sharp holographic images. ... This thing is beautiful."

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – James Cameron's "Avatar" continues to race up the box office charts, remaining No. 1 domestically for the fourth straight weekend with $48.5 million and placing second among all-time top-grossing films worldwide.

The science-fiction saga from 20th Century Fox added $143 million overseas to raise its international haul to $906 million. With $429 million domestically, "Avatar" has pulled in $1.34 billion worldwide, behind only Cameron's "Titanic," which took in $1.8 billion.

In just 24 days, "Avatar" shot past the $402.1 million domestic total of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" to become the No. 1 release of 2009. Cameron's tale of humans and aliens in conflict on a distant world now stands at No. 6 on the all-time domestic chart.

The film has just over $100 million to go to pass the No. 2 domestic hit, "The Dark Knight" at $533.3 million.

"I think we'll get there very soon," said Bert Livingston, 20th Century Fox distribution executive. "I believe anything is possible with this picture. Nothing would surprise me. There's a still a long way to go, and it's going to keep on playing and playing."

The No. 2 and No. 3 box office draws remained unchanged from the previous weekend, with the Warner Bros. hit "Sherlock Holmes" in second place at $16.6 million and 20th Century Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" in third at $16.3 million. "Sherlock Holmes" raised its domestic take to $165.2 million, and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" lifted its total to $178.2 million.

Among new movies, Lionsgate's vampire thriller "Daybreakers" had the best premiere, coming in at No. 4 with $15 million. "Daybreakers" stars Ethan Hawke as a reluctant vampire racing to find a substitute for human blood in a world overrun by the undead in the near future.

Universal's romantic comedy "Leap Year" opened at No. 5 with $9.2 million. The movie stars Amy Adams as a woman who finds love in an unexpected place as she chases across Ireland to propose to her boyfriend.

The Weinstein Co. comedy "Youth in Revolt," debuted at No. 9 with $7 million. The film features Michael Cera as a teen going to extremes to win the heart of his dream girl.

"Avatar" had the best fourth weekend ever for a film, easily surpassing the previous high of $28.7 million for "Titanic," which dominated the box office for nearly four months.

The coming weekend likely will be another big one for "Avatar," with many people off next Monday for Martin Luther King Day.

Hollywood's box office roll has lingered in 2010. Overall domestic revenues came in at $156 million, up 6.6 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Gran Torino" led with $29.5 million, according to box office tracker Hollywood.com.

It was the eight-straight weekend of rising ticket sales.

"The winning streak just continues," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "The momentum of 2009 is just carrying over into 2010."

Hollywood put up record revenue of $10.6 billion domestically in 2009, easily surpassing the previous high of $9.7 billion in 2007.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Avatar," $48.5 million.

2. "Sherlock Holmes," $16.6 million.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $16.3 million.

4. "Daybreakers," $15 million.

5. "It's Complicated," $11 million.

6. "Leap Year," $9.2 million.

7. "The Blind Side," $7.8 million.

8. "Up in the Air," $7.1 million.

9. "Youth in Revolt," $7 million.

10. "The Princess and the Frog," $4.7 million.

And the Box Office Champion this week is..

Sony's 3D animated feature " Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" enjoyed a balmy weekend opening, topping the rankings with an estimated $30.1 million in domestic boxoffice.

Warner Brothers' " The Informant!" -- a Matt Damon-toplined whistleblower thriller -- bowed about as expected with $10.5 million in second place amid lackluster competition. Tyler Perry's " I Can Do Bad All by Myself," from Lionsgate, dropped 57% from its week-earlier tally to register $10.1 million in third place, with a 10-day cume of $37.9 million.

Universal's romantic drama " Love Happens," starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston, debuted with a tepid $8.5 million in fourth. Fox Atomic's horror film " Jennifer's Body" was buried deep in fifth place, as the Megan Fox starrer disappointed with a $6.8 million bow.

Another horror film -- Summit's similarly R-rated "Sorority Row" -- dropped a relatively modest 51% in its sophomore session to register $2.5 million in ninth place, with an $8.9 million cume. Three rungs higher, second-frame holdover "9" -- an animated feature from Focus -- recorded $5.5 million on a 49% slide for a 12-day cume of $22.8 million.

Collectively, the weekend top 10 fetched $83.3 million to mark a 14% uptick from last year's comparable frame, according to Nielsen EDI.

In a limited opening, fledgling indie Apparition launched its first pic -- Jane Campion's romantic drama "Bright Star" -- in 19 locations in six cities to gross $190,343.

That represented a bright $10,018 per site, as cume reached $207,289 since a Wednesday bow in New York. "Star" will shine in a total 32 markets when it expands on Friday.

IFC Films' Juliette Binoche starrer "Paris" arrived in six theaters in New York and L.A. and grossed $46,800, or a pleasing $7,800 per venue. "Paris" broadens into 15 cities on Friday.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, Variance Films' Asian-American dramedy "White on Rice" added two screens for a total four playdates in four West Coast cities and grossed $9,200. The runs cooked up a thin $2,300 per engagement -- or a more acceptable $3,000 after excluding a site programming only early-morning showtimes -- as cume reached $20,170.

Based on a popular children's book, "Meatballs" featured about 1,828 Imax and RealD 3D screens among its 3,119 theaters. Produced for less than $100 million, the film features a voice cast including Anna Faris and Andy Samberg, and was co-directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord.

"The trailer on the film played extremely well," Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. "All of the marketing materials really worked, and the movie delivers on that."

The PG-13 pic drew audiences composed 79% of family patrons, with 52% female support.

"Informant!" -- the exclamation point underscores comedic elements -- was co-financed by Participant Media. It opened to audiences evenly split between males and females, with 72% of patrons aged 30 or older.

"It performed as expected," Warners distribution topper Dan Fellman said.

As a well-reviewed adult pic, the film should have an unusually leggy run, Fellman added.

"Love" played in a relatively modest 1,898 locations. Its opening audiences were composed 78% of females, with 71% of patrons aged 30 and older.

"It was a solid result and in line with our expectations," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said.

Co-financed by Relativity Media, "Love" was produced for an estimated $18 million.

Produced for $16 million, "Body" attracted audiences 51% female, with 70% of patrons under age 25.

"We always want more, but it was a modestly budget project," Fox senior vp distribution Chris Aronson said.

Looking ahead, three wide openers are set for Friday. MGM gets back into the distribution game with the female-targeting musical "Fame," Overture unspools Dennis Quaid starrer "Pandorum" and Disney sends out sci-fi thriller "Surrogates," starring Bruce Willis.

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A trio of animated secret agent guinea pigs broke the spell of the new Harry Potter movie to take the top spot at the North American box office, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.
"G-Force," a Disney live action and computer-generated animation family feature, earned $32.1 million in the United States and Canada, pushing "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" down to second place with $30 million in its second weekend.
The sixth movie in the boy wizard franchise dropped 61 percent from its huge opening last weekend -- a fall-off that was in line with studio expectations -- but is still on course for becoming the second biggest Potter movie so far, distributors Warner Bros said.
Internationally, "Half-Blood Prince" raked in $84.4 million in 64 countries over the weekend to take its worldwide total so far to $627.1 million.
Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros, said the earnings in North America and Canada had been hampered by the movie's small presence so far in IMAX movie houses. IMAX roll-outs will expand in the coming week.
"Our IMAX support will pop in this week and it looks like the movie is headed north of $300 million (in North America) which will be the second biggest Harry Potter of all time on the domestic side," Fellman said. The biggest movie was the first one, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
Delighted Disney executives said "G-Force," which features cute talking guinea pigs as action heroes, played well to family audiences and that more than half the box office had come from 3D showings.
"We are very, very pleased with the results when you are competing with movies like 'Harry Potter' and 'The Ugly Truth,'" said Marc Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group.
Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com said that "G-Force" had benefited from a "great marketing campaign and a premise that had people scratching their heads while simultaneously grabbing the family."
Romantic comedy "The Ugly Truth," starring Katherine Heigl of TV medical show "Grey's Anatomy" and British heart-throb Gerard Butler, brought in a solid $27 million to take third place -- above expectations, distributor Sony Pictures said.
Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said the movie had cost just $38 million to make and had played particularly well to women over the age of 25.
"It all paid off. The chemistry between Heigl and Butler is tremendous," Bruer said.
The weekend's other strongest new showing was horror film "Orphan" which took fourth spot at the box office with $12.7 million.
The glut of new offerings pushed 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" from second place to fifth. The animated movie has brought in $171.3 million domestically in four weeks.
Universal Pictures' "Bruno" tumbled another 67 percent in its third week of release with $2.7 million over the weekend, taking the total for British actor Sacha Baron Cohen's outrageous gay spoof to a modest $56.5 million.
Universal is a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal, and Fox is a unit of News Corp.

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – U.S. box-office leader "Up" dipped its animated toes in international waters during the weekend, but it was "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" that claimed the top spot overseas.
The family comedy from 20th Century fox, a sequel to 2006's "Night at the Museum," reaped $37.2 million from 9,000 screens in 100 markets.
The Ben Stiller-starring movie opened at No. 1 in China, grossing $7.4 million from 818 screens, and finished first in at least 11 other territories, propelling its overseas gross past the $100 million mark to $106 million.
Its worldwide gross to date is $211.3 million.
After two weekends atop the international circuit, Sony's "Angels & Demons" finished a close No. 2 this round, grossing $32.9 million from 10,145 screens in 101 territories.
The follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code" ranked first in at least 14 markets, including Germany, where it tallied $4.8 for the weekend, and Japan ($3.2 million). Its overseas total stands at $251.7 million.
Like DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" before it, "Up," the 10th title from Pixar/Disney, opened in Russia before its domestic bow largely because of piracy concerns. It drew an animated $4.2 million from 560 screens, taking the No. 1 spot and marking the biggest weekend opening of a Pixar/Disney title in the territory.
The 3-D animation saga, centering on a septuagenarian (voiced by Ed Asner) whose house is lifted by multiple balloons to the wilds of South America, premiered May 13 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first animation title to kick off that event.
Opening overseas simultaneously with its domestic release was Mandate Pictures' "Drag Me to Hell." It screamed all the way to $4.4 million from a combined 700 screens in the U.K., Israel and France, said Mandate International, which is sharing overseas distribution with Universal. The tongue-in-cheek horror title from Sam Raimi finished at No. 2 in the U.K. and was No. 1 in the Paris area.
No. 3 for the weekend was "Terminator Salvation," which drew an action-packed $13 million from mostly Middle East and Asian markets. Sony, which is sharing overseas distribution with local distributors, said "Salvation" drew $8.6 million from 673 screens, finishing at No. 1 in the seven markets it handled. The international total so far for the fourth "Terminator" title stands at $23.1 million; its worldwide gross is $113.8 million.
Fourth overall was Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which finished a month on the foreign circuit with an international cume of $170.1 million after an $8.1 million weekend from 5,000 screens in 104 markets. A delayed Mexico opening produced a decisive No. 1 market ranking with $4.4 million from 1,336 screens.
At No. 5 was Paramount's rejuvenated "Star Trek," which rocketed past the $100 million overseas mark ($101.5 million) thanks to an $8 million weekend from 4,869 situations in 59 markets. Its worldwide tally is $311 million.
(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Fast & Furious," the fourth film in Universal Pictures' hot-rodding franchise, raced to the top spot at the worldwide box office as movie fans with a need for speed snapped up an estimated $102.6 million worth of tickets, the studio said on Sunday.
In the United States and Canada, the picture earned $72.5 million during its first three days, smashing "Monsters vs. Aliens'" week-old record for the best opening of the year.
The film already has earned more than the previous installment, 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," which opened with $24 million and ended up making $62.5 million.
While Universal knew the sagging series was destined for a spectacular boost, its forecasts pointed to an opening in the $50 million range. The highly anticipated reunion of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker -- the stars of the 2001 original -- cost about $85 million to make, the studio said.
"We knew there was a great buzz from the get-go," said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution at the General Electric Co-owned studio. "The marketing plan was spot-on about how exciting this rendition was."
Critics thought the film was a wreck, and Diesel and Walker have hardly lit up the box office in recent years. But forgiving audiences gave "Fast & Furious" the green light in post-screening surveys. Not surprisingly, it skewed toward male youngsters. Hispanics accounted for 46 percent of ticket-buyers, followed by whites with 28 percent.
Internationally, "Fast & Furious" earned $30.1 million from 31 markets, opening at No. 1 in most of them, Universal said. Highlights included Germany with $6.5 million, Mexico with $4 million and Spain with $3.6 million. In Thailand, 65 percent of all moviegoers saw the film, which earned $1.2 million.
The film adds 19 markets next weekend, including Britain, France and Russia.
Diesel, 41, and Walker, 35, resurrect their roles as old foes who team up to confront a common enemy. Along the way, there are car chases, convoy heists and burning gas tankers. They launched the franchise with "The Fast and the Furious," which brought in $40.1 million on its opening weekend. It finished with $144.5 million.
Diesel skipped the first sequel, 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious," which debuted with $50.5 million and finished with $127.1 million. "Tokyo Drift" featured a new cast, although Diesel set pulses racing with an uncredited cameo at the end.
Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, two other veterans from the first film, round out the cast. "Fast & Furious" was directed by Justin Lin, who also shot "Tokyo Drift."
"Monsters vs. Aliens" slipped to No. 2 with $33.5 million in its second round. It had held the record for best opening of the year, with a $59.3 million start. The total for DreamWorks Animation SKG's cartoon stands at $105.7 million.
At No. 3, "The Haunting in Connecticut" scared up $9.6 million, taking its 10-day haul to $37.2 million.
The Nicolas Cage action movie "Knowing" followed with $8.1 million, for a three-week tally of $58.2 million. The Paul Rudd comedy "I Love You, Man" was No. 5 with $7.9 million, as its three-week score rose to $49.3 million.
The top 10 boasted two other new entries. The teen comedy "Adventureland" underwhelmed at No. 6 with $6 million, in line with low expectations. "Sunshine Cleaning" rose one to No. 10 with $1.9 million in its fourth week. The total for the crime-scene cleanup comedy rose to $4.8 million.
"The Haunting in Connecticut" was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. "Knowing" was released by Summit Entertainment, which is privately held. "I Love You, Man" was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. "Adventureland" was released by Miramax Films, a unit of Walt Disney Co. "Sunshine Cleaning" was released by Overture Films, which is privately held.

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

The analysts and studio executives who are bullish on the prospects for 3-D over the next few years will point to this past weekend as evidence that they're onto something. Monsters Vs. Aliens, the 3-D release by DreamWorks Animation, topped North American box office results with $58.2 million in sales over the weekend. The movie, distributed by Paramount, opened on Friday on over 7,000 screens, with about 2,000 of them equipped for 3-D broadcast. About 56 percent of total ticket sales were for 3-D tickets, which cost $2 to $4 more than regular tickets.

Piper Jaffray analyst James Marsh believes that 3-D ticket sales in theaters will grow to $3.9 billion in 2011?or about a third of all box-office revenues?from a small base last year; 3-D will increase movie attendance by 20 percent to 25 percent, he says. Monsters Vs. Aliens didn't top DreamWorks Animation's last two releases, Kung Fu Panda and a Madagascar sequel, which brought in $60 million and $63 million respectively at the box office during their opening weekends. Still, 3-D tickets were sold out, and according to The Wall Street Journal , 40 percent of those who bought 2-D tickets said in exit polls that they would have preferred to buy 3-D tickets. In the movie, a meteor turns some humans into monsters who then have to protect the human world from an alien attack.

While 3-D looks has gotten off to a strong start?there have been a smattering of releases until now but studios are ramping up their 3-D production this year?many theater chains have yet to install the technology in their theaters; fewer than 5 percent are equipped with 3-D systems, and the poor economy may further slow that adoption. The next slate of 3-D releases?Disney's Up and Fox's Avatar?will hit theaters over the next few months.