My Big Fat Greek Wedding celebrated the sixth-month anniversary of its opening over the weekend by once again defying the wisdom of the experts. Box-office trackers had estimated that the film would earn $7.9 million. Instead, it earned $8.5 million, down just 2 percent from the prior week and bringing its total to $159 million. In Australia to promote the film, Wedding's writer-star Nia Vardalos told today's (Tuesday) Sydney Morning Herald that she gives aspiring filmmakers this word of advice: "If you need to get the word out about your film, tell ten Greeks."

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Red Dragon, Universal, $17,655,750, 2 Wks. ($63,279,005); 2. Sweet Home Alabama, Disney, $14,261,720, 3 Wks. ($84,712,801); 3. Brown Sugar, Fox/Searchlight, $10,738,882, (New); 4. The Transporter, 20th Century Fox, $9,107,816, (New); 5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, IFC Films, $8,453,159, 26 Wks. ($158,954,054); 6. The Tuxedo, DreamWorks, $7,046,222, 3 Wks. ($37,038,408); 7. White Oleander, Warner Bros. $5,607,480, (New); 8. Tuck Everlasting, Disney, $5,268,764, (New); 9. Knockaround Guys, New Line, $5,016,852, (New); 10. Barbershop, MGM, $4,016,652, 5 Wks. ($65,440,273).

As expected, Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio has smashed all records at the Italian box office, taking in an estimated $8.9 million in its opening weekend, according to the Screen International website . The British trade publication based its estimate on figures from the Italian tracking firm Cinetel, which monitored 627 of the 940 screens on which Pinocchio was released. (The total for those theaters was $6.9 million.) The movie is playing in more than one-third of Italy's theaters -- also a record -- and is expected to outgross Benigni's Life Is Beautiful, Italy's biggest money maker of all time ($31 million) except for Titanic ($41 million). Miramax has announced plans to release the G-rated picture in the U.S. on December 25th. Benigni reportedly poured his considerable life's savings -- some $40 million -- into the making of the film.

At Steven Spielberg's insistence, the $30 DVD package of E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial due to be released on Oct. 22 will offer two versions of the film -- the original 1982 version and this year's 20th anniversary edition, featuring scenes deleted from the original and updated digital effects. "My intention was never to replace the original film," Spielberg said in a statement Monday. Universal Home Video had originally intended to release both versions only as part of a $70 boxed set, which also includes a copy of the script and a CD of the John Williams score.

After monitoring his transactions on the Internet -- particularly on the eBay auction site -- the U.S. Marshal's office has raided the home of a Chaska, MN man, Jonathan Zabrocki, where it said it found some 2,000 bootlegged DVDs imported from Malaysia. The action was hailed by MPAA chief Jack Valenti, who said that it represented one of the largest seizures to date of counterfeit DVD movies. In a statement, Valenti added: "The accessibility and borderless nature of the Internet have created a truly international venue for pirates to illegally distribute copyrighted motion pictures under a perceived shield of anonymity. This is a battle that rights holders cannot fight alone. We are grateful for the assistance already provided to the MPAA by law enforcement agencies across the globe and look forward to continued coordinated efforts to combat this new form of high-tech crime."

Vodafone, the British telecommunications company, has had preliminary discussions about buying Vivendi Universal, the French newspaper La Tribune reported today (Tuesday), without citing sources. The business daily said that Vodafone -- Britain's largest wireless phone operator (it also owns 45 percent of Verizon in the U.S.) -- had had a "first contact" with the Bronfman family, Vivendi's largest shareholders, about acquiring the troubled French media and water company. News of the possible merger sent shares in Vivendi Universal soaring 8 percent on the Paris Bourse today. At mid-day in New York, they were up nearly 9 percent to $13.18. As recently as August 16, they were trading for $8.90. (Vivendi shares were selling for $57.90 in January.)

With plans afoot to produce a full-length theatrical feature for DreamWorks based on their British stop-motion animated cartoon series Wallace & Gromit, Aardman Animations has begun posting 10 one-minute W&G shorts on BBC News Online.

CBS officially announced its new lineup for its revamped The Early Show Monday and indicated that it will not wait long to put it on the air -- setting the debut for Oct. 28. The show will be headed by a four-person team, one man and three women: Harry Smith, Hannah Storm, Julie Chen and Rene Syler. "Our anchors will also give viewers a more spontaneous broadcast with four distinct personalities adding their own interests to the mix. The result will be a lively, unconventional and engaging program," said CBS News President Andrew Heyward. Smith had served as co-host of an earlier incarnation of the morning show, CBS This Morning, from 1987 to 1996. (His colleague on that show, Paula Zahn, will now compete against him at CNN.) Julie Chen is the lone holdover from Bryant Gumbel's days on the show. Storm has been a sportscaster for NBC and Syler, a news anchor at a CBS-owned station in Dallas.

The new syndicated Dr. Phil show, which is airing in primetime (at 8:00 p.m.) on San Francisco's KRON, has given the Young Broadcasting Co. station a shot in the arm following a plunge in its ratings at the beginning of the year when it dropped its affiliation with NBC. The talk show has been consistently beating much of its network competition, the San Francisco Examiner observed today (Tuesday), and is serving as a strong lead-in to KRON's 9:00 p.m. newscast, which has seen a 17-percent jump in its ratings and is also beating some rival network programs. However, the station's 11:00 p.m. newscast, once a local ratings leader, remains in last place, largely due to the lack of a strong lead-in and the inability to provide in-depth coverage of many national stories.

Although vowing to fight an FCC decision barring their planned merger, DirecTV and EchoStar are reportedly taking divergent paths as independent satellite-TV operators to improve their bottom line, USA Today observed today (Tuesday). The newspaper noted that DirecTV is aiming to increase its rates and cut introductory discounts while EchoStar has already begun offering basic service, including 50 channels, for only $23 a month, far less than cable rates. Analyst John Stone expressed skepticism at EchoStar's direction. He told USA Today: "It's hard to make money off those [lower end] customers. EchoStar's gambling that they can [coax] subscribers" to buy more channels or services.

Although the Atlanta Braves were instrumental in helping to kick-start Ted Turner's cable operations, the value of sports teams to media conglomerates has fallen precipitously in recent years, the Los Angeles Times observed today (Tuesday). It noted that despite the Anaheim Angels' storybook success this year, Disney has given no indication that it plans to change its mind about selling the team. Indeed, the fact that it won the American League championship means that Disney is now more likely to find a buyer that will pay what it thinks the team is worth. However, sports consultant Kevin O'Malley told the Times that the Angels' location, in the country's second largest market, gives Disney the opportunity to build a money-making operation. "Disney should really be having second thoughts about selling the Angels," he said.

Friends star Matt LeBlanc said Monday that he would consider doing a spinoff series when the show finally winds up. In an interview with the syndicated magazine show Extra, LeBlanc, who plays Joey, said, "There could be six spinoffs. I would consider it." He said he would miss the character. "It's going to be sad. It will suck when it's over, but all good things have to come to an end."