As with every other Top Ten list you’ve read (or may read), I’ll begin with some parameters: the films included here are ones that received a theatrical release in the calendar year of 2011. There were some I didn’t see that are ending up on other people’s lists - The Descendants, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, We Bought A Zoo - and some that I did see that were very close to making this list - Like Crazy, Being Elmo, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, and Hugo to name a few. But agree or disagree, prepare to let loose in the comments.

Here are my favorite films of 2011:

10. Fast Five

I’m as surprised as you are to find that a fifth entry into a franchise made it onto this list. But director Justin Lin brought such a high energy to this movie that I can’t help but love it. The action is completely bonkers, with a train heist and a final battle that ventures into ludicrous territory. And speaking of Ludacris (see what I did there?), he and Tyrese and the rest of the gang are all back to join Paul Walker and Vin Diesel for Fast Five, giving this movie a continuity that few action franchises take care to implement.

Throw in Dwayne Johnson as an agent hot on their trail and some homoerotic confrontations, and you’ve got yourself a hell of an action movie by a director who continually ups the ante, quickly becoming a rising star in my mind. Bonus: stick around for the post-credits sequence, which left me instantly wanting to see Fast Six.

9. The Adventures of Tintin

Spielberg’s return to the action/adventure genre is leagues above his last attempt at similar fare. Thanks to a script the spans the globe at a whirlwind pace and the vision of perhaps the world’s most beloved mainstream filmmaker, Spielberg’s first foray into animation was a blast at the theater. Herge’s original artwork is brilliantly recreated by Weta Digital with a 3D flair, and the result looks phenomenal and pays respect to the mountain of source material popular all over the world. For me, the highlight was a long continuous shot of Tintin scrambling through a city chase that lasted around three minutes; it’s my favorite shot of the year.

8. X-Men: First Class

Matthew Vaughn did the unthinkable: with a fresh cast and a new time period, he revitalized a franchise which, thanks to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was on life support. And from start to finish, he did it in under a year. With such an effects-heavy film, that Herculean task alone is enough to earn my undying respect, but Vaughn also made a pretty damn good film that learns from the best of its genre predecessors: it’s funny when it needs to be, respects the characters, contains legitimately good storytelling, and is a lot of fun.

The casting was great, spot-on in choosing McAvoy as a young Xavier, and rising star Michael Fassbender proved that he’s not above blockbuster fare if the script is solid. Bonus: the filmmakers also pulled together an awesome selection of character actors for the military personnel, and Kevin Freaking Bacon is the villain.

7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

A movie I had absolutely no interest in seeing, Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicked my ass and made me rethink my cynical outlook regarding franchise reboots. The motion capture technology makes the CGI apes much more interesting to watch than the humans, but the film effortlessly succeeds in convincing us that Caesar’s transformation from an intelligent pet to the leader of a revolution is justified from a character standpoint. And that character work, not just for Caesar, but for all the CGI apes, is the highlight of the film.

There are some fantastic “blockbuster” moments – the Golden Gate Bridge sequence comes to mind – but this is really a character piece, and ultimately is a movie that I don’t love with all of my heart, but also one in which I can’t find anything that I really don’t like about it. If you skipped it because the trailers looked ridiculous, do yourself a favor and check it out.

6. Warrior

Perhaps the year’s most underrated film, Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior is about as subtle as a hand grenade. It’s a tale of brothers at odds, taking the underdog story to new heights by doubling the stakes and having the two fight for MMA glory. As someone who doesn’t care at all about mixed martial arts, I was shocked to be as pulled into the story as I was, a testament to the solid writing and immersive work by lead actors Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Nick Nolte’s drunken father character is surprisingly effective and frankly the guy deserves more recognition than he’s getting. Warrior is not only one of my favorite films of the year, but I’d argue that it’s one of the best, too.

5. Take Shelter

It’s been almost a full year since I’ve seen Jeff Nichols’ film, but its images are still with me. Michael Shannon’s towering work as a man who may or may not be crazy is easily my favorite performance of the year, and this film also introduced me to the wonderful Jessica Chastain, an actress who is sure to have an exemplary career in years to come. A sense of dread looms over the film much like the (possibly imaginary?) storm clouds, and from the excellent cinematography to the eerie score, Take Shelter had me hooked from the start.

4. Rango

Gore Verbinski’s western is a rare gem: a kids movie almost entirely too adult for kids, with offbeat performances from a terrific cast and stunning animation in ILM’s first completely CGI feature. Hans Zimmer’s score is memorable and fits right in with the kookiness of the tone, and the production design (featuring discarded human trash as the animal city of Dirt) is inspired and original. The humor flies as quickly as the whip-smart dialogue, and the question of identity as seen through the eyes of the main character is fascinating. Rango is one for the ages, though it may be a bit too intelligent for all ages.

3. The Artist

The feeling of knowing almost nothing about a movie before going to see it and walking away awestruck is one of my favorite things in the world. Such was the case with The Artist, as I saw it before any of the Best Picture hype began and I just knew it was a silent black and white film. It’s a throwback to the silent era of classical American filmmaking and the conflicts presented with the rise of “talkies” and sound in movies. In that way, it’s essentially 2011′s Singing in the Rain, but with a dash of Sunset Boulevard thrown in since it deals a bit more with themes of obsolescence. The performances are outstanding, and though the movie is never subtle, it’s one of the most purely enjoyable films of the year.

2. Drive

Nicholas Winding Refn’s 80′s-fused tribute to all things cool is as violent as it is beautiful. Los Angeles is as much a character as any of the extraordinary cast (Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Carey Mulligan, and Ryan Gosling, who practically oozes cool). The cityscapes and valleys of the City of Angels are shot in a way that would make Michael Mann proud, and the noir story is punctuated by one of the most hypnotic scores of the year.

Some may claim there is nothing but style on display, but that’s OK with me – any film that opens with as much suspense as this one gets a pass to do whatever it wants. Refn and Gosling are planning to work together again in the future, and I can’t wait to see what else this director/actor combo has in mind for us.

1. Attack the Block

Joe Cornish’s debut is a pulsing cult classic that is exactly the kind of movie I love to watch. It has memorable characters with vibrant personalities, unique dialogue, a wet neon Amblin-on-ecstasy vibe, an awesome soundtrack, and endless rewatchability. I won’t talk it up any more since I’m seeing it on a lot of “Most Overrated Movies of 2011″ lists, but the fact that it’s my favorite film of the year should, if you’ve read this far, at least convince you to seek it out. Cornish (who co-wrote Tintin with Edgar Wright and Steven Moffat) has secured a place next to Rian Johnson on my “directors to watch” list.

Think I’m crazy? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments. Until next time…

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We are 6 months and 8 days into 2011 and after a very slow start the year finally picked up over the last 3 months with blockbusters like Rio, Fast Five, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2 or Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Unfortunately only 2 of those are not sequels and out of the bunch, they were the least successful (Thor and Rio). After the break we will take a look at the top 10 films in the first half of 2011 both in North America and worldwide.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 movies in North America so far:

1. The Hangover Part II  $248.9M
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $234.5M
3. Fast Five  $208.4M
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D)  $194M
5. Thor (3D)  $178M
6. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $157.5M
7. Bridesmaids  $154.3M
8. Rio (3D)  $140.6M
9. X-Men: First Class  $139.7M
10. Cars 2 (3D)  $126.3M

In a few days Transformers: Dark of the Moon will take the top spot away from The Hangover Part II and Bridesmaids should pass Kung Fu Panda 2. Next up, X-Men: First Class will pass Rio while Cars 2 should finish somewhere around Fast Five with $200 million.

Now before going worldwide I think we need to see the international numbers first:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $774.7M
2. Fast Five  $389M
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $379.2M
4. Rio (3D)  $329.5M
5. The Hangover Part II  $300M
6. Thor (3D)  $261.7M
7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D)  $259.9M
8. Black Swan  $220.8M
9. X-Men: First Class  $196.1M
10. The Green Hornet (3D)  $129M

Black Swan first debuted in January outside North America, that’s why it’s in here. As you can see, there are differences here with The Hangover Part II a lot lower on the list and 3D movies in general, ranked higher.

Finally a look at the worldwide box office so far:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $1,009.2M
2. Fast Five  $597.4M
3. The Hangover Part II  $549M
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $536.9M
5. Rio (3D)  $470.2M
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) $454.1M
7. Thor (3D)  $439.8M
8. X-Men: First Class  $336M
9. Rango  $242.6M
10. The Green Hornet (3D)  $227.8M

With Transformers in its first week and an impressive list of movies still to come, this top 10 should look radically different at the end of the year. Call me crazy but with Harry Potter only a week away and Transformers: Dark of the Moon doing amazing business internationally, 2011 might just become the first ever to have 3 movies with over $1 billion worldwide.

Right now my money is on Transformers: Dark of the Moon finishing on top in North America while Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides should keep the number 1 spot worldwide with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 a close second.

Still to come with potential to finish in either of the lists above: Zookeeper, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Cowboys & Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Smurfs, Conan the Barbarian, Johnny English Reborn, Real Steel, The Rum Diary, Puss in Boots, Immortals, Happy Feet 2, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, Hugo Cabret, New Year’s Eve, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse.

Read similar posts to 2011 at the box office: The numbers so far at Filmonic

We’re nearly half way through 2011 and we’ve already had some great movies. Before we wander too deeply into the VFX and explosion-filled summer movie season I decided to make a list of the best movies of 2011 released so far, based on reviews from critics and movie fans.

Source Code

An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% | Metacritic: 74 | Metacritic User: 7.7 | IMDB: 7.8

Bridesmaids

Picked as her best friend’s maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | Metacritic: 75 | Metacritic User: 7.4 | IMDB: 7.7

Rango

Rango is an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | Metacritic: 75 | Metacritic User: 7.3 | IMDB: 7.7

Jane Eyre

A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret.

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | Metacritic: 77 | Metacritic User: 7.2 | IMDB: 7.8

Cedar Rapids

Tim Lippe has no idea what he’s in for when he’s sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at an annual insurance convention, where he soon finds himself under the “guidance” of three convention veterans.

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | Metacritic: 70 | Metacritic User: 7.6 | IMDB: 7.1

X-Men: First Class

In 1962, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr, his best friend… and future archenemy.

Rotten Tomatoes: 87% | Metacritic: 65 | Metacritic User: 7.7 | IMDB: 8.2

The Lincoln Laywer

A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | Metacritic: 63 | Metacritic User: 7.3 | IMDB: 7.5

Fast Five

Dominic and his crew find themselves on the wrong side of the law once again as they try to switch lanes between a ruthless drug lord and a relentless federal agent.

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | Metacritic: 67 | Metacritic User: 7.6 | IMDB: 7.8

Hanna

A 16-year-old who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.

Rotten Tomatoes: 72% | Metacritic: 65 | Metacritic User: 7.2 | IMDB: 7.5

Thor

The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

Rotten Tomatoes: 78% | Metacritic: 58 | Metacritic User: 7.1 | IMDB: 7.5

Rio

When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams.

Rotten Tomatoes: 72% | Metacritic: 63 | Metacritic User: 7.1 | IMDB: 7.3

The Adjustment Bureau

The affair between a politician and a ballerina is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.

Rotten Tomatoes: 71% | Metacritic: 60 | Metacritic User: 6.6 | IMDB: 7.1

Limitless

A writer discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities.

Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | Metacritic: 59 | Metacritic User: 7.2 | IMDB: 7.3

Read similar posts to Best Movies of 2011 (so far) at Filmonic

Update: Amazon has made Rango available to pre-order via these links: DVD | Blu-ray

Paramount Home Entertainment has announced the release date for Rango on DVD and Blu-ray will be July 15th, 2011. The movie, directed by Gore Verbinski, is one of the best reviewed movies of the year so far and made $230 million at the worldwide box office when it was released back in March.

Rango follows an ordinary chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff. The movie also features the vocal talents of Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, and Timothy Olyphant.

Here are the special features:

Blu-ray:

· Theatrical and Extended Version
· Commentary—By director, story co-writer and producer Gore Verbinski, head of story James Ward Byrkit, production designer Mark “Crash” McCreery, animation director Hal Hickel and visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander (on Extended Version only)
· Breaking The Rules: Making Animation History— Discover how Gore Verbinski and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) prepared for their first animated movie by following every step the filmmakers made to create this new kind of animated film.
o The Stage Is Set (Part 1)
o Now We Ride (Part 2)
· Real Creatures of Dirt—In this fun and educational piece, animal experts talk about the real creatures that inspired the characters of Rango and the filmmakers explain why they chose specific animals to reflect certain personality traits.
· Storyboard Reel Picture-In-Picture—Enhance your movie-viewing experience by watching the entire feature with picture-in-picture images of the storyboards (Theatrical Version only).
· A Field Trip to Dirt—Using the technology and footage from ILM’s special camera, viewers are put in control of their own tour of Dirt. They can select the streets they want to explore and the characters they’d like to interact with, discovering trivia and other bonus footage along the way.
· Deleted Scenes—Including a never-before-seen alternate ending
· Theatrical Trailer

DVD:

· Theatrical Version
· Digital Copy

RANGO DVD

The RANGO single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround, Spanish 5.1 Surround and English Audio Description and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The disc includes the following*:

· Theatrical and Extended Version
· Commentary—By director, story co-writer and producer Gore Verbinski, head of story James Ward Byrkit, production designer Mark “Crash” McCreery, animation director Hal Hickel and visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander (on Extended Version only)
· Real Creatures of Dirt—In this fun and educational piece, animal experts talk about the real creatures that inspired the characters of Rango and the filmmakers explain why they chose specific animals to reflect certain personality traits.
· Deleted Scenes—Including a never-before-seen alternate ending

Amazon has now made Rango available to pre-order via these links: DVD | Blu-ray

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Battle: Los Angeles remained number one after a photo finish with Rango, a movie that passed a certain mark last weekend worldwide. On the other end Sucker Punch was abysmal even compared to its North American performance, more of this and others after the break.

Battle: Los Angeles scored $16.3 million compared to the $16.2 million that Rango had. Worldwide Battle now stands at $153.4 million on a $70 million budget while Rango passed the $200 million mark worldwide thanks to a new international total of $95.2 million. Unfortunately Rango cost about twice as much as Battle: Los Angeles so it still has a bit more to gross before it can be called a financial success.

Just Go With It found its way to 3rd place thanks to the $9 million it made last weekend, $62.6 million internationally and with the $100.5 million it has made so far in North America, this stinker has now grossed $163.2 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. On what the hell did they spend $80 million?

Gnomeo and Juliet was 4th with $8.2 million for $70.2 million and a worldwide total of $166.3 million. Depending on how much this cost (my gut says no more then $60 million, Wiki says $10 million but I don’t buy that) we might not be to far from Gnomeo and Juliet 2.

Limitless is slowly gaining ground, $6.6 million for $14.3 million in just 13 markets and a worldwide total (that will at least double in a month or so) of $58.1 million, all on a $27 million budget.

Sucker Punch, oh Sucker Punch, you were supposed to be this big blockbuster and instead you turned into a big disappointment. In 23 markets (including Spain, Italy, Mexico and Brazil) Sucker Punch only made $6.5 million and now it is looking at a worst case scenario final performance of $90 million worldwide while the best case scenario is $150 million and only if the movie makes a killing in the strong Asian markets (China, South Korea and Japan). Considering the $82 million budget, Sucker Punch won’t make Warner Bros money in its box office run, sorry Zack.

In 7th place The King’s Speech seems to still be going with $6 million and a mind blowing $373.4 million worldwide gross. This is a historical drama people, an R rated historical drama, $15 million budget, no flashy visuals, no 3D, yet it now stands as the 14th highest grossing movie of 2010 and will probably finish 13th above Tron Legacy.

In 8th place The Adjustment Bureau is strong with $5.5 million for $39.6 million and $95.2 million worldwide, $50 million budget on this one, looking good.

The Rite was surprisingly 9th $4.1 million while Red Riding Hood was 10th with a tiny bit less then that. Finally Yogi Bear somehow managed to pass the $200 million mark worldwide so probably based on how well DVD and Blue-Ray sales are, they might be looking at the prospect of a sequel, oh boy.

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Like many have been reporting for a while now, Sucker Punch got sucker punched by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, the sequel to the breakout hit Diary of a Wimpy Kid, released just 1 year ago. So what exactly happened to Sucker Punch and how does Wimpy 2 compare to the first Wimpy, after the break.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules made $23.7 million, so a bit more then the $22.1 million that the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid grossed back in the middle of March in 2010. First one cost only $15 million so having made a total of $75.7 million worldwide, it was a given that a sequel would follow (not to mention it is based on a long running series of children books). With Rodrick Rules they upped the budget to $21 million so obviously expectations are now higher. Based on this opening weekend it is safe to say that Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3 will follow next year.

Sucker Punch, the movie that was supposed to blow us away, got blown away. This is the third strike for director Zack Snyder after Watchmen and Legend of the Guardians, so if Superman doesn’t do well then he is not going to find anymore support from Warner for his other future projects. Now don’t get me wrong, the movie ain’t half bad, it has some good ideas but Zack should seriously consider hiring a writer next time, he is a great visual director but as a screenwriter, he is not that good. Sucker Punch only made $19 million last weekend, Zack Snyder’s worst live-action opening yet (Legend of the Guardians, an animated flick, opened to $16.1 million 6 months ago). Thankfully Sucker Punch didn’t cost that much, “only” about $82 million, so worst case scenario, it won’t lose to much money (no more then $40 million, of the production budget that is). From this point on don’t expect Sucker Punch performing better then say Kick-Ass last year, so around $50 million in North America in total (Kick-Ass opened to $19.8 and finished with $48 million).

In 3rd place we have a surprising Limitless dropping only 20.4% to $15 million for a new total of $42.3 million in 11 days. With The Hangover Part 2 coming later this year, 2011 is going to be a good year for Bradley Copper.

The Lincoln Lawyer had an even better hold, down only 18.6% to $10.7 million and $29.6 million in 11 days. Not bad for the ever shirtless Matthew McConaughey.

My personal favorite among this movies, Rango, was 5th with $9.7 million and a total of $107 million after 25 days.

In other news, Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It passed the $100 million mark in North America becoming his 12th movie to do that. Also if it wasn’t for Funny People 2 years ago, this would be his 5th consecutive movie to reach that milestone.

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Another week, another bad box office weekend and this is really starting to become a trend. We had 3 movies opening wide last week, all of them ranking in the top 5 but none really performing above even the already low expectations, more after the break.

Limitless was rather limited with only $18.9 million over the weekend but considering the $27 million budget it should turn somewhat of a profit for the parties involved (Relativity Media producing and distributing, the same guys that bought Take Me Home Tonight for $10 million from Universal, a movie that only made $6.7 million so far and won’t finish above $7 million when all is said and done).

Rango was 2nd with $15 million and a 19 day total of $94.5 million. The Gore Verbinski western animated 3Dless flick isn’t breaking any records but considering the hard to sell genre I’d say they should be very proud of it. Not going to lie, I was rooting for this to turn into How to Train Your Dragon but unfortunately it didn’t happen. That being said, I believe this is just as entertaining as that one was, so if you haven’t seen it already, do yourself a favor and give Rango a chance.

Battle: Los Angeles is 3rd with $14.5 million and $62.9 million so far for what was essentially (in my opinion, so don’t take this the wrong way) one of the most boring alien invasion flicks I have ever seen (I did NOT watch Skyline and I don’t intend on doing that anytime soon, or ever for that matter). What makes it even worse is this had so much potential to be really good and instead it turned out mediocre at best.

In 4th place we have the 2nd release of last week, The Lincoln Lawyer or how I like to call it, The Shirtless Lincoln Lawyer. You know Matthew McConaughey can’t keep a shirt on him to save his life so obviously he does it again. $13.2 million debut for the $40 million flick.

Finally in 5th place (and honestly, deserved more) we got the 3rd release of last week, Paul, starring British comedy geniuses Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Only $13 million for this but that is higher then previous Frost-Pegg movie openings in North America (Shawn of the Dead with $3.3 million and Hot Fuzz with $5.8 million). Hopefully Paul will finish with $40 million or so to at least match the budget they spent on production (but it will need at least twice that much worldwide).

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Aliens versus a lizard and the lizard, the lizard will die. Actually no, the lizard did not die, he took the number 1 spot at the international box office last weekend while Battle: Los Angeles was a not so close 2nd on its debut but more about this and the rest after the break.

Rango (the lizard) made $24.1 million last weekend for a new total of $47.2 million and worldwide it stands at $122.3 million on a $135 million budget. After two weekends Rango ain’t looking bad but I was expecting better then just this. It will probably finish around $300+ million worldwide, considering this is a western themed animated movie without 3D in the year 2011, you can guess if $300 million is good or back.

Battle: Los Angeles was rather disappointing in the 32 markets it opened in with just $16.7 million for a worldwide total of $60.6 million (international plus North America) after almost a week.

The King’s Speech is starting to slow down so it made only $13.1 million for a total of $208.2 million and a worldwide of $338.4 million. Next week it will pass $350 million.

Torrente 4 is number 4 and this new Spanish entry in the (it seems) popular Torrente series grossed $11.7 million, $8.7 million out of that coming from Spain.

Black Swan was 5th with $10.6 million and thanks to a worldwide total of $271.6 million it is now the 2nd highest grossing News Corp (Fox) release of 2010 (Avatar was released in 2009 but it made a lot more money in 2010 for News Corp) only behind The Chronicles of Narnia The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a movie that just passed the $400 million mark last weekend and is now expecting news of a 4th entry getting the green light.

The Adjustment Bureau was 6th with $8.6 million ($23.8 million), The Rite starring Sir. Anthony Hopkins was 7th with $8.3 million ($35.9 million) while I am Number Four was 8th with $7.5 million ($57.3 million). This now has grossed $108.6 million worldwide on a $60 million budget so a sequel is not out of the question but certainly not a priority either for Buena Vista (Disney).

Finishing the top 10 are Unknown at number 9 with $6.5 million ($35.5 million), $94.9 million worldwide (a far cry from Taken that grossed $226.8 million) and at number 10 the ever so stupid Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It with $6.2 million ($45.6 million for $140.8 million worldwide on a $80 million budget and I can’t stop wondering who exactly payed $80 million for this garbage I ask).

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Aliens strike again in this latest invasion flick, Battle: Los Angeles, the number 1 of last weekend. Among alien movies Battle: Los Angeles opened softer than District 9 ($37.3 million), Independence Day ($50.2 million) and War of the Worlds ($64.8 million) to name just a few. So in other words this one got the short end of the stick and probably for good reasons, more after the break.

Battle: Los Angeles grossed $35.5 million over the weekend, about as much as was expected of it. Now Sony says this only cost $70 million, I haven’t seen it yet so I won’t judge yet but I’ve heard some conflicting reports. If $70 million is the real budget then Sony should be really happy because this will make them some green ones.

In 2nd place was Rango with $22.6 million for a new total of $70.5 million in 11 days. The quirky and highly rated (89% on Rotten Tomatoes) western animated flick is doing well but I was hoping for a softer drop, 40.6% is not bad but it could have been a lot better. Rango cost $135 million so covering that won’t be easy, it will need better holds over the upcoming weekends.

Red Riding Hood was 3rd with a soft (but not as soft as I was expecting) $14 million. Obviously nowhere near Twilight (money wise) even if it offered similar ingredients, Red Riding Hood is pretty much a miss for Warner.

The Adjustment Bureau finished 4th with $11.6 million for a total of $39.6 million in 11 days. This flick starring General Zod (Terence Stamp) among others, cost $60 million to make and should finish the North American run at the box office with about $65-70 million.

The ultimate bomb of the week (and probably year) was Mars Needs Moms in 5th place, a movie I actually overestimated (while thinking I was going to underestimate it), grossing only $6.9 million on a budget of $150 million. Disney movies usually don’t bomb but this is just something to behold. Imagine people, this has the higher 3D tickets (Rango doesn’t have 3D), big production budget and probably a similarly big marketing budget and all you get in exchange is a tiny $6.9 million from 3117 theaters. This is going to be up there with the all time biggest bombs, no doubt.

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I smell a bunch of turkeys headed our way (not real turkeys, I mean bad movies with mediocre box office), yeah sure, Battle: Los Angeles will get action junkies to pay for a ticket (or two) but come April this will already be forgotten just like everything else that came out this year, minus Rango (hopefully). More after the break.

Battle: Los Angeles comes into 3417 theaters from Sony hoping to be that next alien invasion movie that can make Independence Day proud or at least match District 9 (talking box office here, quality wise it would be the other way). My gut says it will fail at both with only $32 million this weekend and no more then $80-90 million total. I expect international numbers to be higher so in the end, if this really did cost only $70 million to produce, it will make some money back.

Rango should be 2nd with about $26 million for a 10-day total of $71 million or more.

The other new opener, Mars Needs Moms, an animated flick distributed by Disney into 3117 theaters is not getting a lot of buzz around it and of the two, Rango (already in theaters) is looking like a much better offering for families. So I say $15 million but don’t take my word for this since this would not be the first animated movie I underestimated this year (read Gnomeo and Juliet).

4th place belongs to The Adjustment Bureau with $13 million because this has showed decent legs during weekdays so I’m not expecting a big drop.

Finally all the way down to 5th place we might find Red Riding Hood coming from Warner Bros. in 3030 theaters and presenting the classic story in a different and darker way (so they say). Right now this is at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes so it is almost universally panned by critics (and probably for good reasons). So without much more in the way of words I will just say $12 million.

Next week Relativity goes all out with Bradley Copper in Limitless, Lionsgate offers us The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey (shirtless lawyer maybe) while Universal sends us on a road trip with Paul (hint: he is an alien) starring British comedy duo Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.

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