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Not surprisingly, a woman-in-jeopardy thriller out-gunned a necrophilic animated feature in a September showdown. Both pictures' solid bows, though, contributed to the fourth up weekend in a row over 2004—all tracked movies out-grossed last year's crop by 40 percent. Jodie FosterTim BurtonJohnny Depp

Burbank, California—See why all the fuss over the silver screen's luminous Greta Garbo (who would have turned 100 on Sept. 18) on Warner Home Video's generously boxed set, Garbo: The Signature Collection, a feast of Miss Garbo's greatest movies. Her transformation from sexless communist to an exalted woman in love in director Ernst Lubitsch's splendid Ninotchka (later remade into a Fred Astaire musical called Silk Stockings) leaves a lasting impression about the Silent Film star's hypnotic allure. Rachel PortmanJulianne Moore

The upshot of Jodie Foster's newest damsel-in-distress thriller, Flightplan, is that virtually nothing about it works—not the damsel, not the distress, not the thrills. It's a fully loaded vehicle for Miss Foster that quickly runs out of steam.

With a lack of wide release competition and strong debuts in Norway and South Korea, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remained the top foreign draw over the weekend, grossing $12.8 million from 53 markets for a $176.3 million total. Tim BurtonRussell CroweTerry GilliamJennifer Lopez

Just Like Heaven couldn't lift the box office out of the usual September limbo, but overall business was ahead of the comparable frame in 2004 for the third weekend in a row. Reese WitherspoonNicolas CageAndrew NiccolJim CarreyLasse HallströmRobert RedfordTim Burton

Burbank, California—Director Robert Wise has died at the age of 91, and all anyone has to do is read his filmography to know that we've lost another Hollywood legend. His movies are among the greatest, including two of the all-time biggest box office hits, The Sound of Music and West Side Story, and the brilliant Executive Suite, starring William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck (unfortunately, not available on DVD). Lasse HallströmJennifer LopezRobert RedfordJohn TravoltaReese Witherspoon

Not even cheery Reese Witherspoon can save the schizophrenic Just Like Heaven, which features Mark Ruffalo as a down and out landscape designer opposite Witherspoon. What starts as a sweet, romantic fantasy never recovers from an appalling post-Terri Schiavo tug on the heavenly heartstrings.

During the opening of writer-actor Paul Reiser's reflective The Thing About My Folks, old salt Peter Falk is seen splashing baby powder all over his body. "You never know," Falk explains to his son, played by Reiser in this fine, if draggy, family affair. The caution, told in Reiser's narration, is one of those quirky parental tidbits that makes you laugh.

Boosted by a strong Japanese premiere, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory consumed $12.6 million over the weekend, lifting its foreign total to $157 million and on track to top $200 million. Tim BurtonAdam SandlerSamuel L. Jackson

The Exorcism of Emily Rose reaped $30.1 million from 2,981 venues, exceeding industry expectations that had the picture hitting $20 million at most. As a result, business for the first weekend of the fall movie season jumped nine percent above the comparable frame in 2004. Samuel L. JacksonLasse HallströmRobert RedfordJennifer LopezMorgan Freeman

A guide to the significant happenings at the box office for the week ending Sept. 8, 2005. Tim BurtonJohnny Depp

W{file:feature-flightthatfoughtback.htm}hile it is generally assumed that what happened on September 11, 2001, is chronicled and remembered, news broadcasts stopped showing footage of the attack long ago and many anniversary presentations are memorial in nature, with an emphasis on emotional, rather than historical or philosophical, aspects of the worst act of war on the United States of America.

Making his directorial debut in The Baxter, Michael Showalter isn't waiting idly for the returns; he's chipper about the picture's prospects, and he's already thinking about what to do next. But don't be surprised if the 35-year-old New York City writer, who also plays the bachelor accountant in the madcap movie, melds a starchy East Coast approach with sloppy raunch. Will Ferrell

With Robert Redford in top form, director Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat) makes the most of a family ranch tale, An Unfinished Life. Mr. Hallstrom's first movie in nearly four years—The Shipping News was released in 2001—is, like his previous pictures, a higher experience.

Writer and director Lexi Alexander's Green Street Hooligans has spunk. Juiced by her eagerness to depict what she apparently learned while living among British soccer gangs, somehow the picture, a realistic look at a thug's life and what it means to be educated, transcends its faults.

With big openings in Italy and Scandinavia, Madagascar reclaimed the international throne after a four-week absence. DreamWorks' computer-animated comedy corralled $11.6 million over the weekend, lifting its foreign haul to $291 million—compared to domestic's $192 million. Wes CravenNicole Kidman

Each Weekly box office chart now allows Premier Pass members to see a side-by-side comparison of weekly and weekend box office, showing the weekly gross (Fri-Thu), weekend gross (Fri-Sun) and percent share of the week, and the sum gross for the weekdays (Mon-Thu) and percent share of the week.

The weekend box office chart now allows Premier Pass members to compare the studio estimates to the actual results. The chart is available from the standard weekend chart by clicking on the 'STUDIO ESTIMATES' tab towards the top of the page. Studio estimate history is available from December 2002 to the present.

Despite the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, Labor Day weekend was business as usual—led by Transporter 2, overall box office even topped last year by one percent. The holiday traditionally marks the end of the summer movie season, and summer 2005 closed with a $3.5 billion haul, down nine percent from 2004's $3.9 billion. Jason StathamLuc Besson