The success of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (it reportedly sold 10.9 million copies in just the U.S. and the U.K. in its first 24 hours), cannibalized ticket sales for the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, most box-office analysts agreed. In its second weekend, the film dropped 58 percent to come in second with $32.5 million. It was beaten by the latest Adam Sandler movie (with Kevin James), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which earned $34.2 million. Even more embarrassing, perhaps, was the fact that on a per-theater basis, Harry was beaten by Hairspray, with the former averaging $7,587 per theater and the latter, $8,804. Solid numbers were also recorded for fourth-place Transformers, which took in an additional $20.5 million to bring its three-week total to $263 million, and fifth-place Ratatouille, which added $10.9 million to its tally, bringing its four-week gross to $165.5 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Universal, $34,233,750, (New); 2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Warner Bros., $32,511,350, 2 Wks. ($207,866,865); 3. Hairspray, New Line, $27,476,745, (New); 4. Transformers, Paramount, $20,514,497, 3 Wks. ($262,978,000); 5. Ratatouille, Disney, $10,899,179, 4 Wks. ($165,519,955); 6. Live Free or Die Hard,20th Century Fox, $7,101,638, 4 Wks. ($116,267,866); 7. License to Wed, Warner Bros., $3,577,230, 3 Wks. ($38,495,133); 8. 1408, MGM, $2,621,194, 5 Wks. ($67,453,524); 9. Evan Almighty, Universal, $2,552,890, 5 Wks. ($93,567,015); 10. Knocked Up, Universal, $2,292,640, 8 Wks. ($142,698,885).

Laszlo Kovacs, the cinematographer who gained attention in the 1960s by distinctively employing natural lighting in such films as Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, died Saturday in Beverly Hills of cancer at age 74, it was disclosed Monday. A few years after coming to the U.S. following the 1956 Hungarian revolution, he became one of the industry's most sought-after "lensers," working on a mixture of mainstream and art-house classics including Shampoo, Ghostbusters, Inside Moves, Say Anything, Miss Congeniality and the documentaries Directed by John Ford and The Last Waltz. In 2002, the year of his final film (Two Weeks Notice), he received the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award.

Crediting government tax credits, the British research firm Oxford Economics said Monday that the U.K. film industry contributed $8.8 billion to the national economy, up nearly 40 percent from 2004. "The new tax credit works. It's clearer, simpler and a good deal for investors in film," U.K Film Council CEO John Woodward told reporters. On the other hand, the study observed, if the tax incentives were withdrawn, the industry would atrophy as the number of films produced in the country would drop by 75 percent. Growth was primarily spurred by such British blockbuster co-productions as Casino Royale and The Da Vinci Code, the study said, but it was also driven by several more modest movies including The Queen, The Constant Gardener, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and Red Road.Woodward also noted that industry growth is expected to expand further with such films as the next Harry Potter and James Bond sequels as well as the movie adaptation of the musical Mamma Mia coming up. Meanwhile, reports in the U.K. said that Daniel Craig has signed a contract worth $26 million to appear in the next two James Bond movies.

Only hours after reporting a 50-percent increase in net income for its second-quarter compared to the same period last year, online DVD renter Netflix issued a profit forecast Monday indicating that it expects profits to fall during the rest of the year following its decision to reduce subscription rates and upgrade customer service to compete more effectively against Blockbuster. Shares plunged 12 percent Monday, closing at $17.27. They continued falling today (Tuesday) after an analyst at Jackson Securities reiterated his "hold" rating on the company and reduced its target price to $16 from $21. At mid-morning trading, the stock was selling for $16.49.

After a day-long meeting in Boston where they heard lawyers and business analysts discuss the pros and cons of Rupert Murdoch's offer to buy Dow Jones, members of the Bancroft family, who own the Wall Street Journal's publishing company, remained divided on whether to accept the bid, the Journal reported today (Tuesday). The family's advisers, the newspaper said, had concluded that while the deal would give the newspaper the opportunity to expand, it would be difficult to enforce proposals aimed at guaranteeing the newspaper editorial independence. "The outcome of the family's deliberations remains difficult to predict," the newspaper observed, while noting that a key family member, Jan MacElree, who had previously seemed ambivalent about the sale, had now become "staunchly opposed." The Journal said that the outcome of the family's deliberations may not be known until sometime next week.

CNN confirmed Monday that Campbell Brown, the former NBC Weekend Today co-anchor, is joining the cable news network and will host a news program in primetime, but it did not disclose which existing program Brown's will replace. Meeting with reporters covering the TV business, CNN (U.S.) President Jon Klein said that while a decision about Brown's timeslot had been made, "we want to wait for the most appropriate time" to disclose it. Most writers have assumed that Brown will be replacing Paula Zahn, whose ratings in the 8:00 p.m. hour have disintegrated against the juggernaut that is Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. What is not known is whether CNN will move another one of its primetime anchors into that slot -- Lou Dobbs, say, or Anderson Cooper -- and have Brown take over their time period. Under her exit deal with NBC, Brown cannot appear on CNN until November. Complicating matters further is the fact that Brown is due to deliver her first child one month later. Meanwhile, CBS announced on Monday that it had hired Dean Reynolds, an ABC correspondent and son of the late ABC World News Tonight anchor Frank Reynolds, to head its Chicago bureau.

Ratings for Worldwide Wrestling's WWE Raw on USA Networks, which had been expected to soar during an elaborate plotline that saw WWE Chairman Vince McMahon supposedly killed in a limousine explosion, have gone in the opposite direction. Daily Variety observed today (Tuesday) that overall ratings for the Monday-night two-hour show have dropped 10 percent while ratings among males 18-49 dropped 19 percent. Worse yet, ratings among males 18-34 dropped 28 percent. The plunge was attributed to the real-life murder-suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife and son. Subsequently McMahon appeared at a tribute to Benoit, and the "Vince Is Dead" publicity campaign was put on hold (or perhaps canceled altogether).

Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? showed once again on Monday that it didn't need to ride the coattails of American Idol to garner top ratings. The show led the 8:00 p.m. hour with a 5.2 rating and a 9 share -- well above the 3.6/6 for ABC's Wife Swap and the 3.5/6 for the combined CBS's How I Met Your Mother and The New Adventures of Old Christine. Hell's Kitchen slightly improved Fox's ratings at 9:00 p.m. as it posted a 5.8/10 -- also good enough for first place in the hour. CBS took over first place at 10:00 p.m., however, with a 5.4/10 for a rerun of CSI: Miami.

Drew Carey disclosed on the David Letterman show Monday night that his representatives and CBS's had agreed on a price for him to succeed Bob Barker on The Price Is Right. "I had lunch with an AP reporter today (and) I couldn't tell him anything because we were negotiating the deal," Carey told Letterman. "But during your [opening monologue] -- honestly it was like 15 minutes ago -- they called me. It's a done deal." Besides hosting Price, the longest-running game show in U.S. TV history, Carey will also host Power of 10, the newest game show, set to launch next month.