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Packed with star power in a dialog-driven drama about the most urgent issue of our time—the Bush administration's undeclared, unsuccessful so-called war on terror—Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs roars. Tom CruiseMeryl StreepDerek Luke

While the domestic box office continued to disappoint, Ratatouille saw its biggest weekend yet overseas, topping the foreign chart for the third consecutive frame with $30.1 million from 29 nations. Growing to $310.1 million overall, the animated comedy, which has remained in the Top Ten since its June 28 opening, received a boost from one of its final markets: Italy. It opened to $7.3 million from 658 screens, besting the past debuts of Cars by 38 percent and The Incredibles by 46 percent. Meanwhile, it held firmly atop the charts in Germany (down one percent), the United Kingdom (off 31 percent) and Denmark (up 41 percent). Further adding to its outstanding box office were excellent starts in Finland ($675,471 from 66 screens), Poland ($1.5 million from 130) and Sweden ($2 million from 183 screens). Ang Lee

The box office fell under 30 Days of Night, literally and figuratively. While the horror movie was the sole title to show bite among a record number of new nationwide releases, darkness has prevailed this Fall with a mostly dour, lifeless lot of dramas and thrillers leading to five down weekends in a row. Quantity in the form of the weekend's eight wide launches wasn't the cure, and holdovers Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married and The Game Plan, the only two pictures offering some sunshine, were unfazed by the onslaught. Tyler Perry

Burbank, California—With changing colors and falling leaves—and cold Santa Ana winds kicking up in L.A.—fall offers its annual pause to reflect on the loss that precedes the gain. The new Halle Berry vehicle, Things We Lost in the Fire, taps the autumn season and stokes the spirit of renewal. Morgan Freeman

Q. Eight movies hit nationwide release on October 19. What are the most crowded weekends on record for new wide releases?

Ratatouille led the international box office again over the weekend, amassing $21.1 million from 39 territories for a $271.8 million total. The animated comedy dominated the United Kingdom with a $9 million opening from 503 screens. Compared to the debuts of similar previous movies, it beat Cars by more than 50 percent but was less than half of The Incredibles and about a quarter of Shrek the Third. Elsewhere, it deflated 45 percent in Germany to $6.5 million for a $20.5 million total, though in neighboring Austria it was down only ten percent for a $2.8 million total.

A single missed cellular telephone call causes a heap of trouble in Rendition, falsely advertised as a Reese Witherspoon vehicle (she's hardly in it). There is more to the story, including a major twist, which is really a trick. The circuitous plot is another one of those anti-mysteries; the riddle cannot be solved by observing depicted events. Jake GyllenhaalPeter SarsgaardMeryl Streep

Like a gaudy German opera stocked with rich costumes, the overpowering sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age thunders and trembles, gasping for air and running out of breath. When the usually dependable Cate Blanchett, one of the screen's best actresses, starts spewing catty one-liners from the throne, you know you're in for a bumpy ride. Clive OwenGeoffrey Rush

Six pictures reached nationwide release over the weekend, and only the lightest one, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, had heft. Overall business continued to be affected by the preponderance of dull movies as weekend attendance was on the low end for the time of year. Mark WahlbergGeorge ClooneyDwayne JohnsonWes Anderson

One nation was all Ratatouille needed to unseat The Bourne Ultimatum from the foreign top spot, which the action thriller had held for the past four weeks. Debuting in Germany, Ratatouille raked in $11.8 million over five days, and that alone was greater than the overall weekend tally of any other movie in the international market. Add in holdovers and a $673,539 opening in Denmark, and Pixar's computer-animated comedy's weekend came to $19.3 million for a $245.8 million total. Its German start more than tripled Cars' 2006 opening and more than doubled The Incedibles' 2004 launch. Ratatouille opens in the United Kingdom this weekend and in Italy the next. Ben Stiller

Illustrating how indifference-inspiring the current crop of movies is, weekend attendance was the slowest early October has seen in more than a decade. Overall box office added up to $84.6 million, down 24 percent from the same period last year when The Departed debuted. While The Game Plan held well and remained in first place, the deficit was partly attributed to the disappointing start of The Heartbreak Kid. Ben Stiller

At a coastal hotel lobby during a recent visit to southern California, writer and director Robert Benton (Kramer Vs. Kramer, Nobody's Fool, The Human Stain) talked with Box Office Mojo about his new picture, the romantic ensemble piece Feast of Love, featuring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Jane Alexander. Paul NewmanRobert AltmanRadha MitchellSam RaimiRobert DuvallCate BlanchettReese WitherspoonRachel Portman

In his directorial debut, The Bourne Identity writer Tony Gilroy lifts Michael Clayton slightly higher than other recent big-budget thrillers—Breach, The Good Shepherd, Mr. Brooks—for a mildly interesting character drama. George ClooneyTom WilkinsonSydney Pollack

The Bourne Ultimatum led the international box office again over the weekend with $9.6 million from 47 markets for a $162.8 million total. The action thriller's only opening was in Cyprus, so its gross was carried by holdover markets, now in their third or more weekends. South Korea was the picture's stand-out market with a $1.6 million third weekend from 228 screens for an impressive $12.4 million total. Adam Sandler

Walt Disney's The Jungle Book, an animated musical loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's stories, is a benevolent outing. The 1967 movie follows a child named Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) from infancy through boyhood. John Wayne

It wasn't quite the next Pacifier, but The Game Plan posted a solid opening, hitting the weekend top spot and packing more juice than fellow starter The Kingdom. Walt Disney Pictures' family comedy raised $23 million on approximately 3,700 screens at 3,103 theaters, exceeding industry expectations that pegged it for second place with less than $18 million, according to the studio. Vin DieselDwayne Johnson

Burbank, California—Producer and director John Boorman's Deliverance (1972; 109 minutes) was recently released on a Deluxe Edition on DVD by Warner Bros. Besides Mr. Boorman's crisp, intricate work in prefacing the fable—four men canoe through hillbilly country and all hell breaks loose—and the movie itself, the remastered version is worth a look for several reasons. Jon Voight

Abating 32 percent, The Bourne Ultimatum remained atop the foreign box office over the weekend with $14.2 million from 49 nations for a $145.6 million total. The action thriller had two No. 1 debuts in Portugal ($375,110 from 55 screens) and in Serbia & Montenegro ($$15,754 from 7) as well as a good start in India ($280,247 from 40), but holdovers provided the bulk of its gross. Aside from several smaller markets, Bourne has yet to open in China, Italy and Japan, all of which are scheduled for November. Adam Sandler

Count The Kingdom among those post-9/11 motion pictures that cashes in on that particularly vicious act of war—the worst attack on America as of this writing—while reducing it to nothing more than formulaic cops-and-robbers fare with dialog straight out of a bitchy cable comedy. Director Peter Berg's voyage to religious dictatorship Saudi Arabia goes further than its perceptual-bound predecessors (United 93, World Trade Center). Berg (Friday Night Lights) suggests that Islamic terrorists are right: America caused and deserves mass murder. Jamie FoxxJennifer Garner

Blending realistic romanticism with a shot of fatalism, the engaging Feast of Love is perfect for adults of all ages. This interlocking character picture is threaded through an idea, not driven by demographics, and the result is a poignant look at how people live and love, at their worst and at their best. Morgan FreemanGreg KinnearRadha Mitchell