FROM MTV.COM: In "New Moon," Bella is filled with confusion as Edward leaves her, Jacob Black makes his move and the nomad vampires continue to surround Forks. When it comes to Twilighters and the box office, however, there is no such indecision — and the results are already showing in record-setting numbers.

Summit Entertainment is reporting that the "Twilight" sequel opened on Thursday night to an unprecedented $26.3 million during its midnight screenings across the country. The film unspooled on 3,514 screens, playing at 12:01 a.m. for die-hard fans — many of whom arrived at the theaters dressed as their favorite characters.

That total handily beats the midnight-screening record of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." This seems to vindicate "Twilight" star Jackson Rathbone, who famously responded to our question of whether Stephenie Meyer's franchise could take on J.K. Rowling's juggernaut, "I don't know; they've got brooms."

Continue reading 'New Moon' Sets New Box-Office Record For Midnight Screenings

It's hard to believe that, by the end of 2011, the full collection of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books will have been committed to film. It's been a staggering effort on the part of the producers, holding together (for the most part) a cast of talented actors who truly bring Rowling's magical world of wizarding schools, fantastic creatures and ancient evil to life.

This isn't to say that "Potter" has been without change. Michael Gambon stepped into the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore out of necessity after the tragic loss of Richard Harris. And by the end of the eight-volume series -- "Deathly Hallows" will be split into two -- there will have been four directors: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and, most recently, David Yates. It's not terribly surprising to learn that Narcissa Malfoy actor Helen McCrory, speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, thinks Yates' time with series has been particularly "special." Her reasoning certainly drives the point home as to why so many fans agree with her however. Read more...

Warner Bros. has unofficially confirmed that they will be re-releasing the "Harry Potter" movies on home video in extended form. RopeofSilicon discovered this while looking through the latest MPAA ratings decisions, which included the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Extended Version),” listed with a PG rating. Curious, the site contacted WB and found out that there are indeed plans for “special upcoming releases” of the entire series.

Now the question on every Potter fan’s mind is, will these re-releases actually include never-before-seen footage? It's easy to be skeptical, considering that the movies haven’t been filmed in a way that would allow for much to be left on the cutting room floor -- unlike the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which similarly pilfered extra cash out of fans’ pockets with extended versions that featured more than 30 additional minutes worth of footage in each installment. Read more...

1. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" ($56.2 million)
2. "Julie & Julia" ($20.1 million)
3. "G-Force" ($9.8 million)
4. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($8.9 million)
5. "Funny People" ($7.9 million)

Don't ever let anybody tell you that fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble is easy. Despite becoming the fourth biggest August debut of all time thanks to a strong $22.3 million Friday opening, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" only earned $18 million on Saturday, a 16% drop from its opening day figures. The result is a projected $56.2 million opening weekend according to studio number-crunchers. Read more...

1. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" ($22 million)
2. "Julie & Julia" ($7.5 million)
3. "G-Force" ($2.8 million)
4. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($2.4 million)
5. "Funny People" ($2.4 million)

With blue and red lasers a-blazing, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" stormed the box office on Friday to a $22 million dollar opening, on track to earn a respectable $55 million this weekend. The success might surprise the readers following our Box Office Poll -- after questionable trailers, some potentially damaging rumors about the director and other signs of failure, many of you expected "Rise of Cobra" to sink. Now we know -- remember kids: knowing is half the battle -- and it's not just ticket sales that the real American heroes are making bank on. Read more...

1. "Funny People" ($23.4 million)
2. "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" ($17.7 million)
3. "G-Force" ($17.1 million)
4. "The Ugly Truth" ($13 million)
5. "Aliens in the Attic" ($7.8 million)

Moviegoers continued to flock to "Funny People" on Saturday, helping to boost the film to $23.4 million and putting it squarely in the middle of some studio controversy. Nikke Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily is crowing that this is the first "soft" weekend of the summer, and that the comedy is yet another flop for the troubled Universal Studios. Read more...

1. "Funny People" ($8.6 million)
2. G-Force" ($5.8 million)
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" ($5.4 million)
4. The Ugly Truth" ($4.4 million)
5. Aliens in the Attic" ($2.8 million)

Friday audiences were flocking to spend some time with "Funny People," as Judd Apatow's latest currently hold the #1 box office spot with $8.6 million, a slightly bigger opening than Apatow's previous hits "Knocked Up" and "The 40 Year Old Virgin." "Funny" isn't racing out of the gate as a big Sandler blockbuster, but it's actually the biggest R-rated opening the former "Saturday Night Live" star has ever had. Read more...

The majority of you -- 60% -- will forego the week's latest movie releases in favor of witnessing the IMAX Experience for the summer hit "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I'm not expecting to see another record-breaking weekend along the lines of what happened when "Prince" opened a couple of weeks ago however. Mainly because there's some stiff competition this week.

The other favorite is Judd Apatow's "Funny People," which earned 21% of your votes. The story of a dying comedian and his young protege has garnered some mixed reactions. Apatow rarely disappoints when he brings the funny, but "People" supposedly has a more serious bent. We'll get to see starting today if it measures up to the filmmaker's previous hits "Anchorman" and "Knocked Up." Personally, I'm expecting good things. Read more...

There's kind of a crazy number of releases dropping on our heads this week. Even if you put aside the 800 lb gorilla in the room -- the arrival of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on IMAX screens -- there are still a great many options to choose from.

The biggest of them is probably Judd Apatow's contribution to summer '09, "Funny People." A more serious comedy, "People" follows superstar comic George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is afflicted with an incurable disease and has less than a year to live. He hires a young up-and-comer named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to be his personal assistance/protege, and the two form a close friendship. It's good to see Apatow branching out a bit from the usual zany comedy. He has a light touch when he wants to; it shines through in "Knocked Up" and I'm excited to see how it plays in "Funny People." Read more...

The voters have spoken, and talking CG animated guinea pigs are not what they want. The clear winner of this week's Box Office Poll is psych thriller "Orphan," about an adopted girl who seems just a little bit... off. Not "watch her or she might break something" off. More "oh crap, what is she doing with that bloody knife" off. Whatever her problem is, she nabbed 61% of your votes.

The other two big wide releases for the week -- the aforementioned guinea pig-driven family adventure "G-Force" and the Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler rom-com "The Ugly Truth" -- are pretty much neck-and-neck as we round into the final few hours of this week's poll. The CG feature has a slight edge, with 23% of your votes as compared to 21% for "Ugly." Read more...