Movie News & Gossip

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Serbia's entry in this year's Oscar competition is an ambitious World War I epic, "St. George Shoots the Dragon," that boasts striking visual effects, a skillful cast and a story that sometimes gets in the way of the impressive production.

Although the film is sumptuously mounted, the uphill battle facing most foreign films will work against the picture in the U.S. marketplace.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director James Cameron's new movie "Avatar," considered one of the most expensive movies ever made, on Monday saw its initial weekend ticket sales raised to $77 million in the United States and Canada.

The movie's box office performance has been widely watched given its cost. Sunday's initial estimates showed ticket sales at $73 million in the U.S. and Canada and $159 million elsewhere for global ticket sales of $232 million.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two years ago, a big screen adaptation of "Alvin and Chipmunks" became a surprise hit at box offices grossing $360 million worldwide. The movie was based on the animated music group created in 1958 about three singing chipmunks and their exasperated manager/father.

This week, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" hits theaters with a new, all-female singing group, The Chipettes, who give Alvin, Simon and Theodore a run for their money.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director James Cameron's big-budget film "Avatar" took in $3.5 million at its initial midnight screenings on Friday in the United States and Canada, ticket tracker Hollywood.com Box Office said on Friday.

That figure pales in comparison to other, recent openings of highly anticipated films like "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which raked in a record $26.3 million for its debut midnight screenings in November.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The tune selection might be different, but otherwise it's the same old song with "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which Fox opens on Wednesday.

Having successfully made the full-length CGI transition with their 2007 smash hit (grossing more than $350 million worldwide), Alvin and the boys apparently had nothing left to prove, judging how very little about this contractual obligation of a sequel feels fresh or inventive.

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Keira Knightley has chosen well for her West End stage debut as a spoiled young movie star who is the center of attention in Martin Crimp's rhymed update of Moliere's "The Misanthrope."

She gets to look fabulous and also deliver some withering observations and insults to the sycophantic friends who surround her character, much to the annoyance of her disillusioned older lover (Damian Lewis). The play runs through March 13 at the Comedy Theater.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Coen Bros. and Paramount have launched a search for the young female lead in their remake of the western "True Grit."

No acting experience is necessary for girls who can play 14-year-old Mattie Ross, a role played in the 1969 original by Kim Darby, who was 21 at the time.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Golden Globe-nominated directors of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" are in talks to shoot a big-screen version of "21 Jump Street."

The Sony project would mark the feature live-action debut of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have been wanted men since the animated "Cloudy" grossed a surprising $122.6 million domestically. They have been taking meetings around town with the hopes of moving to live action.