Mall Cop Still Rocks Box Office

Kevin James comedy beats Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino

(NEWSER) - A mall security guard on a Segway wrested control of the box office this weekend. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, a PG-rated comedy starring Kevin James, raked in $33.8 million to knock Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino from the top spot, Variety reports. Torino earned $22.2 million, a mere 25% drop from last weekend. Rounding out the top five: My Bloody Valentine 3-D ($21.9 million), Notorious ($21.5 million), and Hotel for Dogs ($17.7 million). More»

(NEWSER) - Is the so-called "Oscar bump" fading? Academy favorites like Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon are stalled at the box office this year; only The Reader has filled more seats since being nominated. Yes, a stream of bona fide Hollywood hits has held them back, but it's more than that, Patrick Goldstein writes in the Los Angeles Times. No one cares about the gold statuettes anymore. "The Oscars have become a hollow brass ring." More»

Thriller bumps Mall Cop from top spot

(NEWSER) - The CIA thriller Taken nabbed the box office title from Paul Blart: Mall Cop, simultaneously pushing Hollywood to its first billion-dollar January, reports AP. Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a former CIA operative pursuing kidnappers, pulled in $24.6 million on Super Bowl weekend—in which thrillers typically underperform because of a drop-off in male moviegoers, reports Variety. Mall Cop banked $14 million this weekend, bumping its total to $83.4 million. Horror flick The Uninvited debuted at No. 3 with $10.5 million. More»

The iPod, Guitar Hero, Twitter—and some serious moments, too

(NEWSER) - From the tragic (World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina) to the seemingly trivial (Stephen Fry's first Tweet), the Telegraph lists the top 100 defining cultural moments of the decade so far:

• April 2000: Metallica sues music-sharing service Napster.
• October 2001: The iPod is released.
• February 2003: Sacha Baron Cohen hits America.
• March 2003: Michael Moore slams President Bush at the Oscars.
• February 2005: YouTube is created.

Blockbuster doesn't live up to opening-weekend projections

(NEWSER) - Who watches the Watchmen? Too few moviegoers to live up to box-office projections, says the Hollywood Reporter. The much-hyped flick earned only $55.7 million this weekend as Madea Goes to Jail locked in $8.8 million, Taken took $7.5 million, and Slumdog Millionaire kept riding its Oscar wave with $6.9 million. Watchmen’s long running time and R rating likely hurt its bottom line. More»