News

Liam Neeson flexed his box office muscle this week, driving Unknown to a first place finish ahead of the over-hyped I Am Number Four. The bigger story, though, was Gnomeo and Juliet's incredible hold, as the movie was less than a half-million dollars away from grabbing the top spot. The week was technically up 20 percent over the same period last year, but the inclusion of President's Day this year skewed the comparison. Justin BieberMiley CyrusColin FirthGeoffrey Rush

Black Swan extended its impressive foreign run with another first place finish this weekend, trumping chart regulars The King's Speech and Tangled. Paramount movies No Strings Attached and True Grit had their highest-grossing weekends so far, though their respective genres held them back a bit. Paul got off to a strong start in the United Kingdom thanks at least in part to the presence of popular British actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Darren AronofskyNatalie PortmanAshton Kutcher

The Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Administration released ratings for Real Steel, One For the Money and more in their weekly bulletin this afternoon.Paul RuddJennifer AnistonKatherine HeiglAlexander PayneGeorge Clooney

Moviegoers were numb to Number Four after its marketing blitz. The wannabe franchise starter disappointed in third place. Instead, the top spot was taken by the less-hyped Unknown, which edged out Gnomeo and Juliet in one of the tightest photo finishes ever. Overall business was down 28 percent from last Presidents' Day weekend. Liam NeesonAdam Sandler

I Am Number Four went No. 2 on Friday as the top spot was taken by the less-hyped Unknown. Liam NeesonAdam SandlerJustin Bieber

This Presidents' Day weekend, three movies enter the nationwide fray: I Am Number Four beams into 3,154 locations (including 230 IMAX sites), Unknown wakes up at 3,043 locations, and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son bounces into 2,821 locations. Dianna AgronAlex PettyferLiam NeesonMartin LawrenceBrandon T. Jackson

Just Go With It, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Gnomeo and Juliet all had openings north of $30 million, which led to 2011's highest-grossing week so far. Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly enough to bring an end to the year's negative trend: overall box office was off a sizable 29 percent from the same period last year, when Valentine's Day led with $70.3 million and Percy Jackson and The Wolfman each debuted to over $40 million. Adam Sandler

Black Swan is proving to not only be a surprise hit domestically, but also a major draw overseas as well: the Darren Aronofsky-directed ballet drama inched ahead of chart regulars The Green Hornet and Tangled to take the top spot at the foreign box office over the weekend. French comedy Rien a Declarer (Nothing to Declare) was once again a strong presence, while The King's Speech reached a few milestones on its already-impressive run. Jay Chou

The Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Administration announced new ratings for Rio, Hall Pass and Battle: Los Angeles in their weekly bulletin this afternoon. Jesse EisenbergAnne HathawayNeil Patrick HarrisOwen WilsonZack SnyderJulian SchnabelJustin Bieber

Blue Valentine and Biutiful effectively tied over the weekend to lead all limited releases, though Biutiful played at far fewer locations and therefore had a much stronger average. New comedy Cedar Rapids had a solid debut further down the chart, while the 2011 Oscar Shorts feature lived up to historical standards. Javier BardemBen AffleckTommy Lee JonesMike LeighSylvain ChometEd Helms

Justin Bieber came on strong on Friday, but didn't have the stamina to take the weekend from defending champ Adam Sandler. Nipping on both Bieber and Sandler's heels were some hefty garden gnomes. Jennifer Aniston

Justin Bieber's fan base translated to a big opening day for the 16-year-old's biography/3D concert movie, and thanks to Bieber, Just Go With It and Gnomeo and Juliet, 2011 saw its first $40-million-plus Friday, proving yet again how product-driven the industry is. Overall business, though, was still down from the same Friday last year, which boasted the triple play of Valentine's Day, The Wolfman and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Adam SandlerJennifer Aniston

2011 sees its first truly competitive weekend. Four pictures enter nationwide release: Just Go With It strikes approximately 4,900 screens at 3,548 locations, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never marches onto around 4,200 screens at 3,105 locations, Gnomeo and Juliet stands at 2,994 locations, and The Eagle invades 2,296 locations. Adam SandlerJennifer AnistonBrooklyn Decker

The Roommate finished on top in its opening week, followed further down the chart by fellow newcomer Sanctum. However, one wouldn't know this from looking at the results from Wednesday and Thursday: both movies faded quickly and were replaced by holdovers The King's Speech and No Strings Attached. All of this amounted to another pitiful time at the box office, as it was the lowest-grossing week taking place exclusively in February since 2000. Down 24 percent, overall business was off again from last year when Dear John dethroned Avatar with $37.9 million. James CameronAshton KutcherNatalie PortmanSeth RogenAnthony Hopkins

With one of its best weekends so far, Tangled placed first at the foreign box office for the fourth time in the past month. The big story, though, occurred in France, where local comedy Rien a Declarer (Nothing to Declare) dominated with one of the top openings ever there. The Green Hornet, The King's Speech and Black Swan expanded to new locations and held their ground. For the first weekend in a long time, it appears that the box office was nearly on par with last year, when Avatar led with $79.4 million. James Cameron

The January box office tallied $754 million, which paled compared to January 2010's record $1.06 billion gross. The January-to-January drop was the steepest on the books at 29 percent, and the gross was the lowest since 2007.

It's shaping up to be Snow White versus Snow White in 2012. Relativity Media just announced a June 29, 2012 release date for their Untitled Snow White Movie. They also revealed that Julia Roberts has been cast as the evil queen in the Tarsem-directed adaptation, which is the second Snow White project officially announced for next year. Ryan KavanaughTucker TooleyBrett RatnerViggo MortensenKristen StewartCharlize TheronDavid R. Ellis

After last week's report featured no major titles, the Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Administration was back this week with a lengthy list of new ratings for movies like Red Riding Hood, Larry Crowne and The Lincoln Lawyer. Amanda SeyfriedTom HanksJulia RobertsMatthew McConaugheyRyan PhillippeMickey RourkeMegan FoxMichelle Williams

Blue Valentine led limited releases for the fifth straight weekend, though it seems to be on the verge of yielding the top spot to surging Oscar hopeful Biutiful. Without any other significant new releases or notably successful expansions, the arthouse scene was pretty quiet, though this was generally in line with past Super Bowl weekends. Michelle WilliamsMike LeighRachel BilsonNatalie Portman

Super Bowl weekend's top two movies explored the dark recesses of caves and dorm rooms, and one (The Roommate) saw the faint glimmer of the top spot, while the other (Sanctum) sank to new depths for a modern 3D action movie. Overall business continued to be rather miserable, off over 23 percent from the same weekend last year, when Dear John led, marking the 13th down weekend in a row. It was also the least-attended Super Bowl weekend in 16 years. James CameronNatalie PortmanAshton KutcherJason Statham