1. "A Christmas Carol" ($31 million)
2. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" ($14 million)
3. "The Men Who Stare At Goats" ($13.3 million)
2. "The Fourth Kind" ($12.5 million)
5. "Paranormal Activity" ($8.6 million)

Did Ebenezer Scrooge learn his lesson at the box office this weekend? It's difficult to say, as the Jim Carrey-starring "A Christmas Carol" certainly took the top prize with a $31 million weekend, though the result is considered relatively disappointing given the film's potential draw to family crowds and its hefty budget of $200 million. The odds of the holiday movie recouping that number anytime soon are rather small, though we've certainly seen stranger box office occurrences lately. Read more...

In 2002, hip hop star Eminem impressed a helluva lot of people with his work in the sort-of-biographical drama, "8 Mile." He's been relatively quiet on the Hollywood front since then, other than a few publicity stunts. All that is about to change however, as Eminem is preparing to return to the silver screen.

Next up for Slim Shady is "Shady Talez," a 3-D horror anthology described as "'Twilight Zone' meets 'Creepshow'" by ScreenDaily, which broke the news. The project is a collaboration between "I, Robot" producer John Davis and writer/producer Dallas Jackson, under the D.J. Classicz/Davis Entertainment label. Jackson will co-write the story with "Underworld" creator Kevin Grevioux; the duo will also produce a four-issue comic book miniseries based on the movie under the Marvel Icons label, for a 2010 release. Read more...

When Ian McKellen said that "The Hobbit" scripts would be delivered shortly, he really wasn't kidding. Not only are the screenplays turned in, but the once-and-future Gandalf has read them both.

McKellen spoke with Sci Fi Wire about the scripts, except that the role of Gandalf was particularly tailored to his sensibilities this time around.

"As Peter [Jackson] has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for 'The Hobbit'] because they knew who they were writing for," said the actor. "There are a lot of characters in 'The Hobbit,' including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don't know who's going to play Bilbo. So it's extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There's lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn't be happier. But I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not to say anything at all about the script." Read more...

So the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez was last night's World Series hero, knocking a ninth-inning double for the go-ahead run and a 3-1 series lead against the Phillies. In tonight's Game 5, A. J. Burnett looks to mirror his one-run gem from last week as he takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park. With the Yanks possibly locking up the Fall Classic in a matter of hours, either of these guys could end up nabbing the series' MVP award. Or the Phils could stage a comeback powered by Game 1 gods, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee.

Whatever happens, though, I know one thing: I detest both these teams because I am a heart-broken Mets fan (is there any other kind?). That's why when I think about ballplayers these days, I tend to think about movies. Cinema has given us some of the best and silliest sluggers and hurlers imaginable, and it is these athletes I choose to honor in October, rather than anyone on the Yanks or the Phils. Read more...

The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies aren't exactly the fiercest of rivals, but there is sure to be blood — or maybe just some home runs, botched calls and heated arguments with umpires — when the two baseball teams collide for Game 1 of the World Series this evening (so long as the rain stays away that is!).

As New Yorkers and Philadelphians prepare for battle, we got to wondering about some of the other rivalries already in place between the two cities — in motion picture form, that is. I'm not necessarily talking about fictional competitions between NYC and Philly, so much as stacking movies set in those cities against one another.

Through that framework, you'd be surprised at how many competing movies there are between the Empire and Keystone States — just hit the jump and see the head-to-head match-ups for yourself! Read more...

We've been crowing about it for weeks now, but the main event has finally arrived. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" had its world premiere and MTV was right there to give you the blow-by-blow straight from the red carpet. Our on the spot live blog coverage was supplemented by a series of in-depth write-ups about the movie, so put on your reading glasses and get ready to start clicking.

The first thing to check out is Jocelyn Vena's report from the carpet, with quotes from "American Idol" stars Adam Lambert and David Cook on the enduring legacy of Michael Jackson. "Michael wasn't afraid of just being himself," Lambert said. "Michael didn't conform to one style of music. He did his own thing. That's the thing that makes me tick." Read more...

Episode Title: "Dream Logic"

Written by: Josh Singer

The Story: The team is sent out to Seattle to investigate mysterious murders inflicted by people in a waking-dream state. Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) returns to his lab in Boston to experiment on one of the killers' corpses, making a startling discovery that Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) have to follow up on. Meanwhile, Olivia deals with the ramifications of an old friend's death. Read more...

Ah, "The Hobbit." At long last, movie-goers will once again have a chance to be whisked away to the real-life Middle-earth that Peter Jackson created for his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Only this time that vision will be guided by director Guillermo del Toro. News has been relatively light on the project, which is understandable considering that it's still a few years off.

We fans will still take any update we can get, right? The latest comes from no less a personage than Sir Ian McKellen, aka Gandalf the Grey, speaking in an interview with Empire. The actor knows the score with "The Hobbit," and he had an update on where the powers-that-be are in the process of pulling the adaptation together. Read more...

--The folks from ComingSoon got a chance to chat with "2012" director Roland Emmerich, who had some things to say about what's next. He's got two projects on his plate: one having something to do with William Shakespeare (details in the article) and the other, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" trilogy. (ComingSoon)

--Writers, producers and all-around cool guys Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who pretty much have an equity stake in Hollywood at this point, have some things to say about their upcoming View-Master movie. Apparently the idea for the story was born before the classic 3-D viewing toy came into the picture as a peg for a movie, from the mind of "Fringe" writer Brad Kane. Orci then references back to story relayed to the duo by "Transformers" producer Steven Spielberg, whose original idea for "E.T." had nothing to do with aliens. (Sci Fi Wire) Read more...

--Terry Gilliam is getting back to his work on the man of La Mancha, Don Quixote. The filmmaker's seemingly cursed efforts at bringing the mad knight to the silver screen seem to have finally paid off, likely thanks to the goodwill his work on the soon-to-be-released "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has fostered. Said Gilliam of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote": "We're up and running again, we've rewritten the script and finally got it back, the budget's come in... and I think we've found our Quixote! But who's it going to be? Well, I'm not going to tell you, but it'll start next Spring." (Empire Online)

--Accomplished filmmaker Paul Schrader (he wrote "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull"!) is coming back to Hollywood. Halfway at least. In a joint Hollywood/Bollywood production, Schrader will direct "Xtrme City," which follows a U.S. ranger and an Indian commando as they comb the Mumbai underworld for the Yank's kidnapped sister-in-law. (Variety) Read more...