News

Iron Man 2 had a massive start at the foreign box office in its first five days, grossing $100.2 million at 6,845 locations in 53 territories. This was up slightly from Iron Man's 2008 foreign launch of $99.1 million, though in an apples-to-apples territory comparison Iron Man 2 improved on the original by an average of 26 percent (in local currency). Add in its Monday and Tuesday grosses, and Iron Man 2 is at $121.1 million through its first week in foreign theaters. Domestically, Iron Man 2 is set to open in around 4,000 theaters this Friday.

On Friday, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) ripped into the top of the box office with an estimated $15.8 million on approximately 4,700 screens at 3,332 locations (which included a midnight opening of around $1.6 million), but little else transpired: the second-highest movie for the day, How to Train Your Dragon, made an estimated $2.5 million, while the debut of Furry Vengeance drew few viewers.

Jennifer Lopez

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory, Warner Bros. officially set a date this morning for the follow-up to The Dark Knight. Tentatively known as Batman 3, the movie will debut July 20, 2012 in conventional and IMAX theaters, almost exactly four years after The Dark Knight opened to record-breaking numbers.

With Tony Stark looming, Freddy Krueger gets resurrected with A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) this weekend, ripping onto approximately 4,700 screens at 3,332 locations. Another nightmare is inflicted upon Brendan Fraser in kids movie Furry Vengeance, which breaks ground at 2,997 sites. Jackie Earle HaleyMichael Bay

The end of April is typically the calm before the summer storm, but Hollywood has become more and more aggressive with the timeframe as the years have progressed. This year, for instance, with Iron Man 2 set for May 7, high-profile A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) launches at 3,332 theaters on the April 30-May 1 weekend. Vin DieselChris TuckerIce CubeJohn CarpenterQuentin Tarantino

Brendan Fraser has had a bumpy box office track record since he first came to prominence in 1992 with Encino Man. Audiences have most appreciated him in the adventure arena, namely The Mummy movies, with one family-oriented success in George of the Jungle. Other than that, he's never carried a non-adventure hit on his own. This weekend, he's the sole above-the-title-billed star of Furry Vengeance, a family comedy that sees Mr. Fraser mining the territory of some of his worst-performing movies. Matt DamonBen AffleckMadonnaHarrison FordBrendan Fraser

In addition to the massive Universal release schedule announcements from this morning, a wave of other noteworthy changes streamed in this afternoon. Tyler PerrySteven SoderberghKevin JamesKatherine HeiglJosh DuhamelLeonardo DiCaprio

The Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Administration released their weekly ratings bulletin this morning, which included new ratings for Inception, Killers, The Cabin in the Woods and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2. Christopher NolanLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittCillian MurphyMichael CaineRobert LuketicAshton KutcherKatherine HeiglJoss WhedonTyler Perry

Universal Pictures unleashed a wave of release schedule changes this morning, making notable adjustments to their 2010 and 2011 slates. Matt DamonEmily BluntBen AffleckZac EfronVanessa HudgensDavid Gordon GreenJames FrancoNatalie PortmanJames CameronRon HowardVince VaughnKevin JamesTyler PerryM. Night Shyamalan

With no major new releases, Clash of the Titans stayed atop the foreign box office for the fourth weekend in a row, and Alice in Wonderland continued its remarkable run, though comedy Camping 2 had an impressive opening in France.

While It's Complicated is the only recent mainstream hit scheduled for DVD and Blu-ray this week, a number of high-profile older movies, including Out of Africa, Tombstone, Dune and Armageddon, are set to make their Blu-ray debuts. Nancy MeyersMeryl StreepHeath LedgerTerry GilliamLiam NeesonSydney PollackRobert RedfordKurt RussellVal KilmerMichael BaySteven SoderberghBruce WillisRichard Gere

With no significant new entries, holdover The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo led all limited releases for a third straight weekend. Oscar-winner The Secret in Their Eyes and documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop saw minimal second weekend declines, The Joneses and The Perfect Game plummeted, and Paper Man was paper thin in its debut. Ryan ReynoldsEmma StoneLisa Kudrow

How to Train Your Dragon continued to do its thing over the weekend, and that was all it needed to return to the top spot. New releases The Back-Up Plan, The Losers and Oceans generated little interest, while Dragon's photo finish rival from last weekend, Kick-Ass, conked out. Overall business suffered as a result: it was by far the lowest-grossing weekend of 2010 and was down 12 percent from the same timeframe last year when Obsessed grabbed first place. Jennifer Lopez

Thanks to a slew of high-profile releases that includes three big-budget sequels, May 2010 is poised to start the summer with huge box office returns. Last May set the all-time May gross record with $1.02 billion, a number that is well within reach for these potential box office behemoths. Ridley ScottRussell CroweQueen LatifahCommonAmanda SeyfriedJerry Bruckheimer

Though The Back-Up Plan was No. 1 on Friday, How to Train Your Dragon was close enough in second place that it is poised to top the box office in its fifth weekend of release. Other than that, though, it's shaping up to be a rather dull weekend with quiet debuts for The Back-Up Plan, The Losers and Oceans. Jennifer Lopez

Sony officially announced this afternoon that they have moved The Green Hornet from Dec. 22, 2010, to Jan. 14, 2011 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend), and will be converting the movie in to 3-D. As a result of this move, they also needed to transfer Priest, another 3-D release, from Jan. 14 to Mar. 4. Michel GondrySeth RogenCameron DiazChristoph WaltzTyler PerryPaul BettanyCam Gigandet

Traditionally, late April hasn't been the most exciting time at the box office, but Hollywood has been making more and more attempts to capitalize on the days leading up to the summer movie season. Sandra BullockLeonardo DiCaprioAlec BaldwinJennifer Lopez

This weekend, three new movies enter nationwide release, while How to Train Your Dragon and Kick-Ass are still in the mix. The Back-Up Plan arrives on approximately 3,600 screens at 3,280 sites, The Losers hits over 3,300 at 2,936 sites and Oceans flows onto around 1,250 screens at 1,206 sites. Each movie has at least one historical antecedent for the fourth weekend in April, which is typically not one of the busier times of the year. Jennifer Lopez