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The tense psychological thriller The Brave One neatly exploits Jodie Foster's unique screen persona, leaving recently overplayed departures (Flightplan, Inside Man) in the dust and reclaiming her status as a reality-based protagonist.

Zombie video game franchise Resident Evil remained lively as its third outing easily led the weekend box office. Resident Evil: Extinction posted $23.7 million on approximately 3,500 screens at 2,828 theaters, the highest-grossing opening of the series though it sold slightly fewer tickets than the last picture. Jessica AlbaViggo MortensenAmanda Bynes

The Bourne Ultimatum led the foreign box office again over the weekend with $20.8 million, a 32 percent boost over the previous weekend due to nine new markets. South Korea was the action thriller's biggest splash with a top-ranked $3.5 million start from 276 screens, beating four local wide releases. In France, the picture nabbed $4 million from 469 screens while, in neighboring Belgium, it earned $860,743 from 58 screens. Debuts in Norway ($789,483 from 73 screens), the Netherlands ($1 million from 93) and Sweden ($712,335 from 67) were outstanding. All of Ultimatum's openings exceeded its predecessors by 50 percent or more, and it now stands as the series' highest overall grosser at $125.1 million.

It was a subdued weekend at the box office by mid-September standards as new releases generated little excitement. Topping the chart, The Brave One mustered $13.5 million on approximately 3,300 screens at 2,755 theaters, while Mr. Woodcock and Dragon Wars landed with $8.8 million at 2,231 locations and $5 million at 2,275 sites, respectively. Jodie FosterBilly Bob Thornton

Burbank, California—With the upcoming 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD of The Jungle Book around the bend—it's scheduled for an Oct. 2 release—Disney is wrapping up an 18-day engagement at its El Capitan movie palace in Hollywood. The 1967 animated feature, the last personally supervised by Walt Disney, remains a treat for all ages.

Last weekend's foreign leader Shrek the Third tumbled a steep 55 percent this weekend, and The Bourne Ultimatum reclaimed the top spot. The action thriller garnered $15.8 million from 38 markets for a $98.2 million total and looked good in its openings. In Germany, it started with $4.6 million, topping predecessor The Bourne Supremacy by 24 percent, and did just as well in Austria ($772,608 from 122 screens) and Poland ($357,852 from 57). Bourne beat out Stardust in a head-to-head duel in Mexico, nabbing $1.4 million, while its holdover markets were solid, including Australia (38 percent drop) and Brazil (25 percent drop). Adam SandlerKeira Knightley

3:10 to Yuma moseyed to the top of a typically quiet early September weekend box office. Lionsgate's $55 million remake of the 1957 Western of the same name loaded a passable $14 million on approximately 3,100 screens at 2,652 theaters. To illustrate the historic softness of the weekend after Labor Day, the movie posted the highest-grossing non-horror opening on record for the frame. Russell Crowe

With a role in one of the year's top-grossing movies, Transformers, a Christmastime National Treasure sequel opposite Helen Mirren and a villainous part in September Dawn, the controversial movie about a radical religious attack on innocent travelers, Best Actor Oscar-winning Jon Voight is among Hollywood's most in demand—and bankable—actors. Angelina JolieEdward NortonDustin HoffmanMike NicholsKevin CostnerTom CruiseShia LaBeoufJerry BruckheimerJon TurteltaubNicolas CageMichael MannColin FarrellMichael Bay

Reclaiming the top spot after an eight week absence, Shrek the Third grabbed $17.9 million from 23 territories over the weekend, lifting its total to $436.5 million. The animated comedy had fantastic debuts across the board with its largest sum arising from Italy. Grossing $10.8 million from 305 screens there, it more than doubled Shrek 2. Shrek the Third also bested the openings of its predecessors in Norway ($2 million from 104), Sweden ($1.5 million from 144), Denmark ($2 million from 86) and Finland ($596,945 from 55) and, in Bulgaria, it more than tripled its predecessors with $62,487 from 12 screens. With Greece still ahead, Shrek the Third has an excellent chance as exceeding Shrek 2's $478.6 million final gross.

Burbank, California—Cruising, more famous for being contentious than for being commercially viable and scheduled to premiere on DVD Sept. 18, opened in 1980. The movie, which instigated street protests in major U.S. cities, conjures an image of Al Pacino in leather. Too young to see the adult motion picture at the time, I recall that it sparked intense debate among Chicago newspaper movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on their public television show, Sneak Previews. Years passed and I neither saw it nor knew why it was vilified. William FriedkinSherry LansingSteven SpielbergRichard Gere

Halloween was celebrated over the four-day Labor Day weekend to the tune of $30.6 million on approximately 4,100 screens at 3,472 theaters. MGM and The Weinstein Company's remake of the seminal 1978 slasher claimed the highest-grossing Labor Day weekend opening ever, topping Transporter 2's $20.1 million. Additionally, it posted the biggest pure horror or thriller opening of the year, ahead of Disturbia and 1408.

Burbank, California—Multiple dirty bombs exploding in a coordinated attack on Los Angeles is the subject of the low-budget, independent Right at Your Door, a plodding affair despite the powerful premise. First-time director Chris Gorak, who also wrote the high-stakes marital drama—a husband and wife are separated during the attack—spins a story about how an emergency tests one's values. Owen WilsonSamuel L. Jackson

While the foreign box office cooled a considerable 24 percent over the weekend, The Bourne Ultimatum remained the champion with $15.2 million from 24 territories for a $52.6 million total. The action thriller's most prominent opening was in Russia, where it grabbed $2.6 million from 392 screens. That was bigger than the combined final grosses of its two predecessors. The picture also opened to a decent $1.1 million from 179 screens in Brazil and $604,810 from 55 screens in New Zealand. Among holdovers, its third weekend drop-off rates were steep in Asia, including 73 percent drops in Hong Kong and Indonesia, while in the United Kingdom it was down 40 percent in its second weekend to $5.7 million for a $28.4 million total. This weekend, Bourne hits Argentina and Australia.

True to late August's reputation as a dumping ground, five lackluster wide releases entered the fray, leading to an unexciting weekend at the box office. Superbad ranked first again, though it did not hold well. Off 45 percent to $18 million, the raunchy comedy fell harder than Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin among others but, with $68.6 million in ten days, it has accumulated more than those pictures through the same point. Jet LiJason Statham

One hundred forty-four years to the day before religious fundamentalists went throat-slitting through passenger jets screaming "God is great!" in a diabolical attack, faith-based radicals slit throats in a covered wagon massacre at Mountain Meadows, Utah, the subject of the independent movie, September Dawn. It is an engrossing dramatization of one of history's countless religious acts of war. Jon Voight

Burbank, California—Superbad director Greg Mottola gives an interesting, revealing interview to Joshuah Bearman at L.A. Weekly, in which Mottola discusses the week's number one picture and its increasingly popular brand of humor. Though he admits trying to infuse the thin story of adolescent male friendship with emotion strictly in order to tell jokes, Mottola provides a thorough explanation of the latest crude comedy with a supposedly emotional factor. Matt Damon

Flawed in its conception and distracted by stylistic flourishes, The Invasion relies on the strength of its science fiction horror premise to deliver some solid thrills. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers storyline, in which humans are replaced by alien replicas, has worked to varying degree in 1956, 1978 and 1994 adaptations, but The Invasion doesn't rate as highly as those previous efforts. The new picture drops the plant pods and alien shrieks in favor of a transformative infection, though the aliens still get you in your sleep and many of the same story beats are followed. Nicole KidmanDaniel Craig

It was another close call at the foreign box office over the weekend as The Bourne Ultimatum narrowly edged out The Simpsons Movie. Bourne added eight nations, ballooning its gross to $22.6 million for a $33.5 million total. Jackie Chan

Superbad grossed $33.1 million on approximately 3,500 screens at 2,948 theaters, handily topping the weekend box office. Sony's $20 million teen comedy was promoted as being from the makers of Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which debuted to $21.4 million on the same weekend in 2005, and it opened at about the same level that Knocked Up did earlier this summer.

Burbank, California—The great Alfred Hitchcock's (1899-1980) motion pictures are part of an ongoing retrospective presented by American Cinematheque at its Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, beginning with a new 35 millimeter print of Hitch's classic philosophical thriller Rope (1948, Universal, 80 min.) tonight. The program runs through Aug. 25 but, for those unable to attend, most movies are available on DVD. All are well worth watching.