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2009 | 2008 | 2007

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'Sherlock Holmes' smashes Christmas Day box office record

2 hours ago | Zap2It - From Inside the Box | See recent Zap2It - From Inside the Box news »

According to early estimates, "Sherlock Holmes" demolished the previous Christmas Day box office record for North America.

Narrowly edging out last week's premiere "Avatar" at $23.5 million, "Sherlock Holmes" took in $24.9 million on Friday, Dec. 25, trouncing the previous Christmas Day record of $14.4 million, set last year by "Marley and Me."

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squekquel" came in at third with $14.5 million. So "Alvin" also beat "Marley and Me?" Wow. "Alvin" actually opened on Wednesday, so this brings its total gross to $41.3 million.

"It's Complicated" brought up the rear with only $7.1 million. We have to think this movie, nominated for three Golden Globes, will end up doing more business as the holiday season continues. "Up in the Air" brought up the rear in fifth place with $3.7 million. This was the first weekend of nationwide release for "Up in the Air" -- it opened on Dec. 4 in 15 theaters around the country. »

- editorial@zap2it.com

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Friday Box Office: Holmes For Christmas

2 hours ago | Movieline | See recent Movieline news »

There really was something elementary about uncoiling Robert Downey Jr.'s sly, sinewy Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day, when nearly $25 million worth of holiday moviegoers flocked to the star's action-comedy riff on the famous sleuth. Avatar was not far behind, continuing its own robust run with an estimated $23.5 million. Off in fourth place behind Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel was Nancy Meyers's It's Complicated, ably overriding its R-rating with a solid $7.1 million. Let it suffice to say these gifts fit Hollywood fine, and no returns will be necessary. Read on for the full top 10. »

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Box Office - 'Sherlock' Edges 'Avatar' on Christmas

3 hours ago | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

It's shaping up to be a monstrous holiday weekend at the box office with two films now expected to make in the neighborhood of $60 - $70 million. Because of its Wednesday release, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel will be in that territory, as well, but it's over the five-day weekend instead of a traditional three-day frame.

Sherlock Holmes earned an estimated $25 million on Friday, and I won't say it beat Avatar so much as it just made more money that day. Avatar is right behind it ($24 million), and could take the weekend anyway, although I thought Holmes would be well below this amount to start the weekend, so if the Friday word of mouth is good, it should keep James Cameron at bay or at least keep him from winning by a wide margin.

Sherlock is playing on a few more screens, which will help, and it's more of »

- Colin Boyd

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News Shorts: December 26th 2009

14 hours ago | Dark Horizons | See recent Dark Horizons news »

Posters for Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Repo Men, and Agora.

Set photos from "Battle: Los Angeles" include explosions and Aaron Eckhart on set.

"X-Mas Origins: Santa", a comedic spoof combining Mr. Claus and this year's "Wolverine" prequel, can be watched at Youtube.

""Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" opened on Wednesday to a superb $18.8 million opening day, just ahead of "Avatar" which pulled in $16.4 million on its sixth day. By Thursday "Avatar" returned to the top with $11.3M vs. Alvin's $8.1M…" (full details)

"Disney have apparently ditched their long in the works adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story, King of the Elves…" (full details)

"Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim" feature film is scheduled for an August 27th UK release indicating a late Summer Us release…" (full details)

"Director Ridley Scott is reportedly pushing for Universal to turn his upcoming "Robin Hood" epic into a 3D feature. »

- Garth Franklin

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Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

25 December 2009 2:03 PM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

In a year that brought us Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Princess and the Frog, and Up, how can you justify the existence of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel as anything less than a mind-numbingly generic brand-name cash grab? It's a shame too, because I honestly like the Chipmunks -- or maybe I liked the Chipmunks. It has been almost twenty-five years since I watched them on television (and in their first feature film, The Chipmunk Adventure). Were they always this boring?

Forcing the Chipmunks to attend an average high school after a taste of rock and roll superstardom could've made for a pretty decent fish-out-of-water comedy (munk-out-of-tree comedy?), but that potential is wasted in favor of an uninspired battle of the bands story, pitting our boys against an all-girl group of chipmunks called the Chipettes. The girls, who are also huge Alvin and the Chipmunks fans, »

- John Gholson

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Critics Give ‘Alvin And The Chipmunks’ Squeakuel Mediocre Reviews

25 December 2009 10:03 AM, PST | OnTheFlix | See recent OnTheFlix news »

Critics give 'Alvin And The Chipmunks' Squeakuel mediocre reviews. 20th Century Fox's new family comedy movie, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" hit theaters two days ago. The top movie critics thought this installment was less-than-stellar,giving it some pretty mediocre reviews. However,it did get one B,but mostly Cs and one D was what this movie scored. Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly gave it a C-. He said, it was a "A slapstick pacifier." Betsy Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times gave it a B . She stated, " The fun follow-up to the 2007 blockbuster is filled with teen chipmunk drama." Neil Genzlinger over at the New York Times gave it a C- rating. He said, "The earlier Alvin movie made more than $217 million just in the United States. It’s hard to imagine this somewhat confused sequel doing as well." »

- Andre@ontheflix

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Movies This Week: Young Victoria, Sherlock and Nine Complicated Chipmunks

25 December 2009 9:30 AM, PST | Slackerwood | See recent Slackerwood news »

Can you believe it? Christmas is upon us. Only one more week left in 2009. The holiday-opening films are lighter than I expected, but there is something new for most tastes.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel --  Debbie was the trouper to sit through this, uh, sequel.  I refuse to type that "other" word some marketing hack thought up. See Debbie's review. (wide)

It's Complicated -- This romantic comedy about a divorced couple who rekindle at least their sex life with each other doesn't look so great from the trailers, despite two charismatic stars (Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin). See Debbie's review to find out if it's just too complicated. (wide)

Nine -- A love song to female archetypes on pedestals and an homage to Fellini's 8 1/2, Nine is a musical best appreciated by those who love musicals and Fellini. And those who love gorgeous actresses. See my review for more details, »

- Jenn Brown

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This Weekend at the Movies: December 25, 2009

25 December 2009 4:02 AM, PST | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

Well, it's the final weekend of 2009 and we have a couple of wide releases to discuss including the much anticipated Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Meyers's latest outing It's Complicated. I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday weekends and if you aren't celebrating anything I still hope you have a great weekend and thanks for continuing to visit.

2010 is just around the corner and I can't wait to have another great year at the movies.

Sherlock Holmes I'm not at all surprised this is the most popular title on the site as we move into the finaly holiday weekend of 2009. Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr. and coming off Iron Man he's pretty much the man of the hour. Unfortunately this film didn't exactly live up to its billing for me, but my suggestion is to still go see it and simply lower your expectations and you should be rightly entertained. »

- Brad Brevet

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Fearless Forecast: 'Avatar' Wins Big Holiday Weekend

24 December 2009 12:40 PM, PST | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

I had forgotten that Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel was even being released on Wednesday, but parents across the country didn't get that luxury. $19 million worth of families lined up to see Alvin on Wednesday, knocking Avatar from its perch. I certainly didn't think Alvin would have a mid-week launch so close to $20 million, but that could impact its Friday audience, given that Friday is Halloween or Arbor Day or whatever.

Sherlock Holmes, Nine, and It's Complicated enter the fray on Friday, and there is talk that this could be a Christmas weekend record at the box office, especially because the top three films - based on projections - could approach $150 million by themselves. The 2009 box office is already over $10 billion, the first time in history we've reached the 11th digit, and by the end of the year, we could be half a billion dollars ahead of 2008's total. »

- Colin Boyd

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Box-Office Oracle: Dec. 25 - Dec. 27, 2009

24 December 2009 9:15 AM, PST | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

#1 movie predicted correctly: 8 Weeks in a Row 1. Avatar It's not that I'm not pulling for Sherlock Holmes, I am, but I simply can't make the math work. It looks like this will be the second biggest weekend of the year, behind only New Moon's opening.

I'm dipping Avatar 31.5 percent, which would be high given the normal depreciation between the third and fourth weekend in December. Still, word of mouth has been solid, so I can't ding it much more. The majority of you had Sherlock finishing first in the early predictions last weekend, you sticking by that? Estimate: $52.8 million 2. Sherlock Holmes The first Pirates of the Caribbean banked $14k per screen, I'm putting Sherlock Holmes at $13k. It can't possibly be as marketable as Pirates, can it? Personally, I really liked the film, more than Brad, so I can certainly see the appeal. But it's a smidge too smart, »

- Laremy Legel

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International Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Trailer

23 December 2009 6:03 PM, PST | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »

The international trailer for the upcoming children’s/family comedy “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” has been released online.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Poster

“Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” brings back our favorite furry brothers, Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Because of a freak accident involving Alvin and Dave Seville, they go to live with Dave Seville’s cool cousin Toby and must enroll in school just like every other kid. School presents new challenges to these rock stars, like dealing with peer pressure, school sports and of course, girls! By “girls” we mean the Chipettes who are managed by Ian Hawke, the Chipmunks greedy former manager who wants to turn them into the next big thing. At the outset, there is a rivalry between the Chipettes and The Chipmunks but in the end they realize that they make great friends and a great musical team!

Check »

- Allan Ford

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Box Office: Better Holmes and Chipmunks

23 December 2009 5:02 PM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Twelve years after Titanic, James Cameron once again has the number one film in America, with his science fiction epic Avatar making more money than all other films in current release combined. Things weren't quite as rosy for the romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? Here's the top five:

1. Avatar: $73 million $77 million

2. The Princess and the Frog: $12.2 million

3. The Blind Side: $10 million

4. Did You Hear About the Morgans?: $7 million

5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon: $4.4 million

We've got three new contenders as we go into the Christmas weekend with two flicks going into wider release.

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (on Wednesday)

What's It All About: Those furry little CGI crooners are back for more. This time they're entering a singing contest to save their school's music program, though they face stiff competition from a trio of female singing chipmunks.

Why It Might Do »

- Matt Bradshaw

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'Chipmunks' Deliver Roaring Pre-Sales

23 December 2009 2:47 PM, PST | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »

By Daniel Frankel

Kicking off what is expected to be a huge Christmas holiday weekend at the box office Wednesday, Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks” sequel has become the top advanced ticket seller of any family film released this year, according to Fandango.

Opening in 3,656 venues Wednesday, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” is selling at a brisker advanced-ordering rate than “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” or “Up,” Fandango reports.

A follow-up to 2007’s “Alv »

- Daniel Frankel

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Movie Reviews: “Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”

23 December 2009 12:08 PM, PST | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

One of the most surprising blockbusters of all time was the original Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, which grossed more than $217 million in the U.S. The sequel (or "squeakquel" as its called in the title, is not likely to perform as well, although several critics are advising box-office followers to expect the unexpected. Not that they can find much to praise about the film; most of their reviews sound as if they wish they could be writing about something else. Comments Claudia Puig in USA Today; "For anyone over age 8, the arrival of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel may not be the most welcome news." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle brought his four year old along to the screening, who, he says, "laughed pretty much nonstop throughout." However, he writes, "despite its success as a babysitter for preschoolers, it's a not a very good film." Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News says the "movie's plot is a hodgepodge of standard kid-film elements." Tongue firmly placed in cheek, Betsy Sharkey comments in the Los Angeles Times: "Perhaps not since The Godfather: Part II have we seen a sequel come along that more than matches the mastery of the film that came before it -- all the pathos, the brio, the epic sweep ... the cheese balls" Actually Sharkey's is one of the few positive reviews of the movie. "The script includes enough clever moments to help put The Squeakquel in solid family entertainment territory," she concludes. And Michael Sullivan in the Washington Post pays the movie this left-handed compliment: "Call it a Christmas miracle, albeit a minor one: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel isn't entirely awful." »

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2009 in Review: Worst Movies of the Year

23 December 2009 11:25 AM, PST | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »

Generally speaking, I rarely do worst-of lists, simply because I try to make a point to avoid movies that I probably won't enjoy. However, 2009 contained a number of surprise stinkers, as well as any number of bad films that I saw through work or in order to cover them for this site and my other outlets. So this year I saw enough genuinely unfortunate misses to make a plausible list. There are certainly allegedly terrible films that I haven't seen (The Ugly Truth, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2) and would-be losers that I probably won't see (All About Steve), so I can't promise that your least-favorite flick made the list. I chart the year's-worst not to gloat but to mourn. Here are ten misses in alphabetical order, plus the year's worst movie-going experience. Bride Wars This is the »

- Scott Mendelson

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Alvin Scores A Touchdown In New ‘Alvin And The Chipmunks’ 2 Movie Clip

23 December 2009 10:02 AM, PST | OnTheFlix | See recent OnTheFlix news »

Alvin scores a touchdown in new 'Alvin And The Chipmunks' 2 movie clip. 20th Century Fox's new "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" movie just hit theaters today,and we've go another clip from the movie. In this clip (below), Alvin scores the game winning touchdown pass in a very unique way. The movie stars: Jason Lee, Justin Long, David Cross, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, and Zachary Levi. In this clip, the quarterback tells them it's time for the big "A." Then Alvin starts to taunt some of the other football players. After the hike, all of a sudden, we see Alvin sailing through the air on top of the football pass that the quarterback just through. »

- Andre@ontheflix

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Boos! & Whoop-doos!: 12 Months of Toilet Plunkers and Dumpster Diamonds!

23 December 2009 9:55 AM, PST | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »

The End of 2009? Whoop-doo! This year has been one hellatious shit storm from the get-go. Pregnant ladies and babies, The Great Depression Part II, pig flu, more than a handful of horrible shootings, a balloon boy, Tiger's indiscretions, and our first black president. Not to mention more dead celebrities than I can shake a stick at. Every time I turned around, some other atrocious calamity was happening right before my eyes. Making 2009 one of the most interesting years of this entire decade. According to Michael Ruppert in his film Collapse its only going to get worse before it gets better. Yes, the Teens are going to see more than half of your friends and family dead. Take account of the folks around you. By the time 2020 rears its ugly head, most of these people will be gone. Turned to dust and painful memories. My advice to you this coming New Year? »

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

23 December 2009 5:00 AM, PST | The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news »

Alvin and the Chipmunks:  The Squeakuel

Directed by:  Betty Thomas

Cast: Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee

Running Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Rating: PG

Release Date: December 23, 2009

Plot: After Dave (Lee) breaks most of his bones in an Alvin-related accident, the Chipmunks stay with Toby Seville (Levi).  While Dave’s away they take on new challenges like going to high school and facing off against new musical rivals/love interests, the Chipettes.

Who’S It For? Kids, specifically those old enough to sit through a movie but still young enough not to judge based on quality.

Expectations: Low.  The first film wasn’t as bad as I expected, but my expectations were so colossally low that they almost had to be beaten.  This one is a sequel, which tend to be worse than the film that precedes it.

Scorecard (0-10)

Actors:

Zachary Levi as Toby: I  love Zachary Levi in Chuck. »

- Megan Lehar

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Amy Poehler, Christina Applegate Get Sassy For 'Squeakquel'

23 December 2009 3:50 AM, PST | MTV Movie News | See recent MTV Movie News news »

Actresses, who voice Chipettes in new 'Alvin and the Chipmunks,' pick cutest character, suggest inappropriate songs for future films.

By Larry Carroll

Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate

Photo: MTV News

Beverly Hills, California — You'd be hard-pressed to find three more fun, bubbly, beautiful blondes than Anna Faris, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate. This week, millions will go and see their new movie, but not actually see them. Or really hear them — at least not their God-given voices.

The ladies, who play the Chipettes in "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," say the film is a unique opportunity for an actor to infuse a character solely with personality, unencumbered by the usual limitations of voice and physicality. Such lofty thoughts, however, went right out the window when we recently sat down with Poehler and Applegate, two good friends who could barely contain their laughter long enough to give us »

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Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

23 December 2009 2:00 AM, PST | movies.about.com | See recent movies.about.com news »

Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate join the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise as two members of the girl singing group, The Chipettes. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel finds the furry fab threesome Alvin, Theodore and Simon dealing with the stress of high school. Their already complicated lives are further thrown for a loop by the appearance of chipmunk cuties, The Chipettes - Brittany (Anna Faris), Eleanor (Poehler) and Jeanette (Applegate).

The Chipettes first appeared in the Alvin and the Chipmunks animated TV series back in 1983, but Applegate admits she didn't really watch that TV show. "No, I was a little too old to watch the show," said Applegate. "But I did have the albums from the '70s when I was younger. The show came a little bit later." Read On...

More on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel:

Photos from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel »

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2009 | 2008 | 2007

1-20 of 134 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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