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With a colorful cartoon leading again, it was a relatively quiet Easter weekend. Tyler Perry garnered another good opening, but little was heard from the other new movies. Angela BassettOwen Wilson

20th Century Fox's computer-animated version of the 1954 children's book, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, is surprisingly good. Rejecting the manic style of the terrible 2003 adaptation of The Cat in the Hat, Blue Sky Animation is more respectful of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) this time out. Seth RogenJim CarreySteve Carell

Burbank, California—One need not be a fan of the literary-themed pictures to enjoy the first two recordings from Tribute Film Classics (TFC), a new label premiering with a couple of definitive compact disc editions of composer Bernard Herrmann's scores for Mysterious Island and Fahrenheit 451. The CDs alone are impressive. Christopher YoungAnthony MinghellaRobert Redford

Sony's generic 21 lacks purpose, subtlety and excitement—all essential elements for a successful gambling thriller. Without a thematic end game, team spirit and a believable bluff, director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) is left to showcase what distinguishes his work: audio-visual energy. Kate BosworthKevin SpaceyLaurence Fishburne

After five down weekends in a row, business perked up slightly with the launch of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, but little else of significance transpired over the weekend. With by far the largest release of the year to date, approximately 6,300 screens at 3,954 theaters, the computer-animated comedy yielded the year's highest grossing opening thus far.

Safe and formulaic, Never Back Down lives up to its title. This straightforward story of a Midwestern kid in transition is a tight action picture with broad characters. Credit goes to Chris Hauty's script.

Burbank, California—The annual Las Vegas exhibition, ShoWest, recently made news on several fronts, including comments from prominent motion picture industry leaders. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Chairman Dan Glickman denounced so-called net neutrality, the latest euphemism for government intervention of the Internet, on the grounds that it infringes on creative freedom. Jeffrey KatzenbergRobert Redford

Although 10,000 B.C. seemed to be the obvious candidate for first place last weekend at the foreign box office, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis once again surprised and led the frame. After breaking the opening weekend record in France a week ago, Bienvenue saw a tiny ten percent drop there. The comedy earned a whopping $30.3 million gross from three territories with $28.7 million coming from France alone. Its $73.5 million French total already eclipses Astérix aux jeux olympiques's $59.3 million six-week haul and puts it en route to pass $100 million, a feat that only Titanic has accomplished there.

Built for economy, intelligence and speed, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a sporty motion picture that, to paraphrase another movie about a handsome London governess, is practically perfect in every way. Frances McDormand

A big budget, prehistoric adventure and a Disney family comedy did not rejuvenate the fossilized box office. After this year's mammoth first month and a half, business has recently slowed, and this weekend was the least attended early March frame since 2001. Martin Lawrence

Living up to its title, Semi-Pro delivered less than half the audience of a major Will Ferrell comedy, though it was enough to win a minor league time at the box office. The weekend was the least attended late February/early March frame in 11 years, due to uninspiring holdovers and Ferrell being off his game.

While Rambo and There Will Be Blood had the most openings, Jumper led the foreign box office again last weekend. Crowding the Top 40 chart, however, were 15 local movies, including four new releases. Turkey's Recep Ivedik had the most powerful launch, grossing $5.2 million from 230 screens, the second highest debut on record there. France's Paris collected a superb $5.4 million from two markets, and Die Wilden Kerle 5 led Germany and took $4.1 million from four territories. Also opening at the top of its local chart was Russia's My iz buduschego (We Are from the Future), making $3.1 million from two countries.

Supplying an audience eager for action, Jumper filled the void with a superb $29.4 million start from 30 markets last weekend, topping the foreign box office. The picture was No. 1 in the United Kingdom with $6 million from 406 screens, 67 percent ahead of the similarly-released Ghost Rider last year. It was also bigger than Ghost Rider in Spain with a fantastic $3.8 million debut from 447 screens and in Australia, beating it by 63 percent, and Ghost Rider was no slouch overseas, grossing $112.9 million overall. One sour note for Jumper was in Hong Kong where the fantastical action picture placed second with $785,954 from 39 screens, below the second weekend of Enchanted though still topping Ghost Rider by 35 percent. Jumper had no awful openings and will be in most of the world by the first week of March.

Though Vantage Point launched successfully, it wasn't enough to assuage the usual post-Presidents Day slump caused by steep drop-offs and weak new releases. Weekend attendance was among the lowest for this frame in recent years.

Burbank, California—As usual, last year's crop of critical favorites are generally dark, cynical or pretentious and, also as usual, the annual Academy Award nominations missed some of 2007's best pictures. Christian BaleRussell CroweTommy Lee JonesBruce WillisJodie FosterRobert BentonHugh GrantDrew BarrymoreSteve CarrHilary SwankGerard Butler

After bustling business from January through early February, the box office softened as less appealing new titles entered the fray. Though satisfactory starts were posted by Jumper, Step Up 2 the Streets and The Spiderwick Chronicles, they did not compare to last year's cumulative President's Day frame, which was led by Ghost Rider's record holiday debut. Matthew McConaugheyKate HudsonMartin Lawrence

Several movies saw huge returns during the Chinese New Year, which started last Thursday, but the French comedy sequel Astérix aux jeux olympiques ruled the international box office once again with $24.3 million from 23 nations for a $72.1 million total. Astérix had impressive openings in Spain (a top-ranked $2.8 million) and Italy ($1.9 million), topping its predecessors, but it suffered some steep drops in holdovers. In France, it fell 58 percent, grossing a still mighty $9.8 million for a $35.2 million total, and it was down 51 percent in Russia ($7.6 million total), but it held well in Germany and Turkey.

Burbank, California—News broke this weekend that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in Hollywood may be headed for a member-supported resolution—with a condition that ought to prompt each member to thoroughly read the agreement. According to the WGA, members will have that opportunity during a ratification process that allows them to consider the three-year tentative contract before a final vote in the next several days. Robert Benton

French family comedy sequel Astérix aux jeux olympiques took the gold last weekend, amassing an impressive $38.7 million from 19 territories. Astérix, based on France's popular comic book series, earned over 60 percent of its weekend gross from its home territory alone. At $23.4 million, its French debut topped all of its predecessors in terms of box office though not necessarily in admissions. It was the largest opening in more than a year there and just marginally less than the combined openings of recent successes La Vie en Rose and Taxi 4. Other territories ranged for small to huge depending on the series' popularity in each market. For instance, in the United Kingdom, Astérix earned a mere $19,585 from 3 screens but, in Greece, claimed an enormous, first-place $1.8 million from 60 screens. Other top-ranked starts were found in Austria ($579,310), Belgium ($1.7 million), Hungary ($267,057) and Portugal ($660,554) among many others. Another solid launch was in Russia, where the picture grossed a healthy $4.4 million, narrowly topping last weekend's hit The Very Best Film, which tumbled 72 percent after its record-breaking debut. Astérix will roll out into a handful markets throughout the rest of February but has few other significant releases.

The latest Martin Lawrence vehicle, the crude and intermittently humorous Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, is like Big Momma's House without the drag. Lawrence has an easy screen presence and his reactive facial expressions can be fun—but only when the material matches and that is rarely the case. Steven Spielberg