CARS 2 EXPECTED TO NAB CHECKERED FLAG

Critics may have made a wreckage out of Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, but that probably won’t dissuade moviegoers from rubbernecking to see it this weekend, analysts say. While Toy Story 3 opened last year with $110 million, most forecasters suggest that Cars 2 will wind up with a little more than half that amount — $55-60 […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: BAD TEACHER

Justin Timberlake may decide to reconsider his reported decision to switch careers from singing to acting after he reads the reviews for Bad Teacher, in which he stars with Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal. Actually Timberlake himself is getting OK notices — critics particularly like a scene in which he sings an awful song off […]

BOX OFFICE TURNS INTO “TOY” BOX

Toy Story 3 continued to draw hordes of families to theaters over the weekend, as it generated an estimated $59 million in ticket sales, bringing its total after just ten days to a superb $226.6 million. A family of four that paid 3D surcharges and convenience fees for ordering online would have had to shell […]

FOX WORKING TO OVERCOME SOFT TRACKING FOR “KNIGHT AND DAY”

Twentieth Century Fox has acknowledged that its decision to preview the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz comedy thriller Knight and Day last Saturday and at midnight screenings last night was aimed at offsetting negative tracking with positive word-of-mouth. “The best tool we had was the movie itself,” Fox distribution chief Bruce Snyder told today’s (Wednesday) Daily Variety. […]

“SCREAM” PRODUCER SUES WEINSTEINS FOR DROPPING HER

Cathy Konrad, who produced the first three Scream movies is suing The Weinstein Co. because she was cut out of the upcoming fourth. In her lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Konrad said that her contract with the Weinsteins requires them to give her “first opportunity” to produce any sequel on the same terms as Scream 3. She […]