1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($24.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($15 million)
3. "Fame" ($10 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($6.9 million)
5. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($4.7 million)

Moviegoers on the American east coast woke up to both a literal downpour of rain as well as an irrefutable onslaught of oh-so-delicious "Meatballs." The Sony Pictures Animation film easily won the box office for its second weekend in a row with a $24.6 million intake, resulting in a total of $60 million since its debut last weekend. Read more...

1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($5.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($5 million)
3. "Fame" ($3.5 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($2 million)
5. "Pandorum" ($1.6 million)

If the Bruce Willis-starring comic book movie "Surrogates" had one obstacle to overcome this weekend, it was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," the Sony Pictures Animation film that reigned supreme over last weekend's box office. Truly, it's a difficult decision for moviegoers -- experience a world filled with robotic analogues that can do and see anything you wish them to, or behold the spectacle of delectable food products raining gloriously upon your face. In the end, it looks like taste buds just barely won the battle. Read more...

I’m not a fan of musicals. In theory. When I start thinking about filmed stories that ask me to be emotionally invested in people who inexplicably burst into song, my brain gets cranky like a baby who hasn’t had its nap. Why are they bursting into song? Why are all these songs so obnoxious? Are these people talking to themselves? If so, why do other people know the melody they were singing during the reprise later? Then my brain starts angrily waving its arms until it gets its bottle, which, as I overextend this metaphor past the point of comprehension, is a genre movie of some kind.

In practice, I always end up enjoying musicals, especially movies. I loved “Moulin Rouge” for its bombast and excess. It’s hard not to enjoy at least a few Disney classics, like “Aladdin.” Musicals in contemporary settings tend to lose me though. “Fame” would seem to fall into the category of too-modern musicals for me, but it does interest me. How many remakes of film musicals are there? And say it’s successful. Know what that will mean? More film musicals and more remakes. This could be good and bad. Here are some wishes for the future of screen musicals. Read more...

As if last week's mixed-genre Friday openings weren't enough, we've got the same song this week as well. I'm thinking that the front-runner is "Fame." Not only does it possess an all-ages appeal, but there's also the nostalgia factor to consider. The 1980 original was quite popular, so even childless thirty-somethings can find something to enjoy with this remake. Maybe.

It's not like there aren't other options. Michael Moore is back with another message-driven doc, "Capitalism: A Love Story." This one's about the sorry state of financial affairs that our nation is currently in, with the focus on what went wrong and how we got to where we currently are. Moore is nothing if not a crowd-pleaser, so expect to find his same brand of wry, scathing humor mixed with shocking facts about corporate and governmental wrongdoings. Read more...

"Star Wars" and "Dune" have already defined the modern space opera, but could the world be ready for a "space musical"? Other than "Jews in Space." "Fame" director/choreographer Kevin Tancharoen wants to pursue his directing aspirations now that he's completed work on this year's tale of high school stardom quests. And he's looking at George Lucas' "Red Tails" writer John Ridley to do it.

"'Arcana' is a unique blend of the graphic-novel backdrop -– like 'Blade Runner' -– and shot like '300,' and has a little bit of 'Warriors' mixed in there, with a little bit of martial arts, so it’s got a lot of crazy elements in there," Tancharoen told Moviehole. "We’re writing it right now actually -– a guy named John Ridley is writing it; I’m very happy we got him." Read more...

I’ve never been too big a musical fan, or so I say. I’ve always thought that there is something unbelievable about them. Somehow, I find cars that defy the space-time continuum more realistic and relatable. Not really sure why. Equally, I feel the same about high school movies. They never really represent what high school was really like. So far, the nerd has not gotten the girl.

With this week’s release of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," the first venture of the franchise to the big screen, Disney elevates it to status of other classic musical movies set in high school. Here are just a few to start off with to understand how the "High School Musical" series started scoring all ‘A’s.

FAME (1980)
It’s not so unbelievable that a bunch of kids at The New York City School for the Performing Arts might sporadically break out into song, taking over the streets in synchronized movement and break dancing atop taxi cabs. Read more...

In the new movie "Eagle Eye," Shia LaBeouf plays a young man framed for treason who is forced to go on the run to clear his name. No matter where he goes or what he does, he's always being watched and followed, always being trailed by some unseen foe.

Today we posted an article in which LaBeouf and his "Eagle Eye" co-stars talk about how the movie isn't really all that far-fetched. With cell phones, ATMs, Facebook and Twitter, we're all constantly on the grid waiting to be exploited.

Of course, no matter how true all that may be, it doesn't seem all that real to most people, not in a tangible sense, anyway.

But it does to LaBeouf, who has realized the very down side of being a celebrity this past year. Read more...

- All the news that’s fit to print on “Fame” remake, including word that all new songs will be used. (Collider)

- Is Paul W.S. Anderson off “Spy Hunter”? Video game adaptation takes a backseat to other projects. (Latino Review)

- “Superbad” director Greg Mottola to helm Simon Pegg / Nick Frost movie “Paul.” (MySpace)

- Jenna Fischer kidnapped by “Rocker” star Rainn Wilson. Culprit demands $18.7 million. (Free Jenna)

- Just for fun: Get a wake-up call from Hannah Montana. (Hannah Montana)