What Hollywood Learned This Summer

'Muppets' hit No. 2 with $42M

(NEWSER) - Breaking Dawn was busily sucking the life out of the box office for a second weekend, taking in another $62.3 million between Wednesday and today. That performance brings its total to $221.3 million, reports the LA Times. But Twilight wasn't the only draw at the box office, with The Muppets pulling in a hefty $42 million over the holiday weekend. Arthur Christmas took third place with $17 million; Hugo grabbed fourth with $15.4 million. More»

Superhero trounces boy wizard at the box office

(NEWSER) - Just a week after the final Harry Potter movie smashed all kinds of records, Captain America unceremoniously unseated the boy wizard, reports the LA Times. The 3D comic book extravaganza raked in $65.8 million, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 took a dive to $48.1 million—which the Times notes is down 72% over last week's opening weekend juggernaut. Friends With Benefits was third, with $18.5 million, while Transformers grabbed $12 million and Horrible Bosses took in $11.7 million. More»

Behind only 'Harry Potter' and 'Spider-Man 3'

(NEWSER) - Transformers: Dark of the Moon notched a smashing weekend, pocketing an eye-popping $372 million from around the globe and grabbing the No. 3 opening weekend of all time. The third in the franchise pulled in $162 million domestically, but it's proving to be a blockbuster overseas, notes the Hollywood Reporter. The weekend's take is behind only Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million) and Spider-Man 3 ($382 million). Click here for a roundup of reviews for Dark of the Moon. More»

Apparently audiences don't care about the awful reviews

(AP) - Hollywood's hangover is a lot bigger the second time around. The Hangover Part II hauled in $86.5 million in its first weekend, putting Hollywood on course to set a new revenue record for the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates today. The Hangover sequel did nearly twice the business of the original blockbuster comedy in its $45 million opening weekend two years ago. In its first four days since opening Thursday, the Warner Bros. sequel has taken in $118.1 million and is on track to finish the long Memorial Day weekend with about $140 million in the bank. (And all this despite some truly terrible reviews ...) More»

Comedians don't fare well on Forbes ' 2010 list

(NEWSER) - Will Ferrell is Hollywood’s most overpaid actor for the second year in a row, thanks mostly to his role in the flop Land of the Lost . From Forbes ’ annual top 10 (of which six are comedians), which looks at the year ending June 1:

1. Will Ferrell: For every $1 he was paid, his films returned an average $3.35, but things may be better for him next year thanks to the relative success of The Other Guys .
2. Eddie Murphy: $4.45 return on the dollar. Though his Shrek films are always successful, the list doesn’t take animated movies into account.