Angels & Demons Blessed With $48M Win

(NEWSER) - Star Trek set phasers for box office “kill” this weekend with a $76.5 million debut, Entertainment Weekly reports. Falling short of Wolverine’s $85.1 million opener last week, the take still exceeds expectations and bodes well for a franchise that needs a boost. Wolverine dropped a hefty 68% at $27 million, followed by Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ($10.5 million), Obsessed ($6.6 million), and 17 Again ($4.4 million). More»

(NEWSER) - Even the Terminator couldn’t beat Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which banked $53.5 million this weekend, Reuters reports. Terminator Salvation finished second with $43.0 million—but did haul in a $56.4 million 4-day total after opening Thursday. Star Trek ($22 million), Angels & Demons ($21.4 million), and Dance Flick ($11 million) rounded out the top five. More»

(NEWSER) - Wolverine tore the box office apart this weekend, clawing in $87 million, USA Today reports. Though that’s less than the debuts of last summer’s opener (Iron Man, $98.6 million) and the top-grossing X-Men film (The Last Stand, $102 million), it still bodes well for a blockbuster season. Romcom Ghost of Girlfriends Past opened with a weak $15.3 million, while Obsessed ($12.2 million), 17 Again ($6.4 million), and Monsters vs. Aliens ($5.8 million) rounded out the top five. More»

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

Teen slasher knocks off Pitt's Inglourious Basterds

(NEWSER) - Supernatural slasher flick The Final Destination slaughtered its competition at the box office this weekend, taking in $28.3 million, USA Today reports. The latest installment of the Final Destination franchise—this time in 3D—knocked Inglourious Basterds ($20 million) to second. Halloween II, the 10th Michael Myers movie, debuted to a disappointing $17.4 million. District 9 ($10.7 million) and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra ($8 million) rounded out the top five. More»