Michael Apted is currently set to direct with all the regulars expected to return as Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Only a few days ago it was announced Michael Petroni had been brought aboard to write a new draft of the screenplay as it appeared the Richard LaGravanese draft had been scrapped.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/next-narnia-film-finds-a-re-writer Narnia franchise as it just seems interest will only get less and less the farther away we get from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the most recognizable and I am sure for most the only recognizable story from the C.S. Lewis novels. However, after Disney dropped the franchise it looks like 20th Century Fox and Walden Media are keeping hope alive as Variety announces Michael Petroni has been brought aboard to write a new draft of the screenplay as it appears the Richard LaGravanese draft has been scrapped.

The third film will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader should things work out and focus on Lucy and Edmund Pevensie as they return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Walden is eyeing a summer start date for a holiday 2010 release through the Fox Walden label.

Michael Petroni's writing career isn't exactly filled with hits with the 2002 adaptation Queen of the Damned as his only recognizable screenplay, but apparently the reason he was brought aboard was based on work he has done on three films for Fox including Kevin Lima's Afterlife, an adaptation of Markus Zusak's novel "The Book Thief" and a rewrite of the Julia Roberts starrer Daniel Isn't Talking. They must be looking good because Queen of the Damned sure wasn't.

Hopefully the franchise will abandon the attempt to be Lord of the Rings for kids and focus on storytelling and things may improve.

As far as I know Michael Apted is still aboard to direct and I expect we will see familiar faces in the lead role should shooting get underway this summer.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/fox-ready-to-snatch-up-narnia-sequel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made $291.7 million and the sequel, Prince Caspian, only made $141.6 million is enough for me to say Disney was justified in bailing on the Narnia franchise before it became a major loser. To top it off Lion/Witch/Wardrobe was made on a budget of $180 million, which ballooned to $215 million for Caspian.

So, even though the proposed budget on the third film in the franchise, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is said to be $140 million I still don't see it as a risk worth taking considering the farther down the Narnia line you get the more obscure the titles become when it comes to the general public. However, it appears Fox is ready to split costs with Walden Media and move forward with the third flick reports Variety.

Walden and Fox are still working on the budget as well as the script and aim for a 2010 holiday release. Variety uses a comparison with Fox's 2006 release Eragon and it does seem a good comparison considering the awareness of the later books in the "Narnia" stories when compared to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

There is a theory Prince Caspian is the least commercial of the Narnia stories, which makes me wonder how they were able to turn an uncommercial story into a two hour and 20 minute movie. Word is Voyage of the Dawn Treader gets "back to the magical aspects present in the first Narnia pic but mostly absent from Prince Caspian." I have no idea what this means considering the White Witch was in both films, talking animals were in both films as were plenty of other magical characters. Both seem pretty damn magical to me.

Good idea or bad idea it looks like it will probably happen. Michael Apted is still aboard to direct and Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley are reprising their roles as Caspian, Edmund and Lucy, respectively. Also joining the cast is Will Poulter (Son of Rambo), who will portray Eustace Clarence Scrubb.

Filming is expected to move from the Fox studios in Mexico to Australia because of concerns for the drug violence and kidnappings that are taking place near Baja.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/iron-man-leads-the-way-in-the-visual-effects-society-nominations right here.

Iron Man led the way with five nominations and is competing with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Cloverfield in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture category, the category probably deemed the highest profile of the bunch and it went to Transformers last year only to see The Golden Compass pull out a surprise win at the Oscars.

With Iron Man in the lead, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Bolt didn't do too poorly either scoring four nominations each.

Strangely enough, of the seven films that make up the Oscar short list for Visual Effects, The Mummy only scored one nom while films such as Australia and Journey to the Center of the Earth received none. Who's right? Who knows. All I know is you can check out the film noms below.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture

• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Cloverfield
• Iron Man

• Changeling
• Eagle Eye
• Valkyrie
• Nim's Island
• Synecdoche, New York

• Bolt - The Chase
• Kung Fu Panda - Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting
• A Matter of Loaf and Death - Piella's Mansion
• WALL-E

• Cloverfield - Statue of Liberty Crash and Woolworth Tower Collapse
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Benjamin's Secret
• The Day the Earth Stood Still - Newborn Klaatu
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Valley Destruction
• Iron Man

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Benjamin Button
  Steve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand, David McLean
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Elemental Sequence
  Colin McEvoy, Christoph Ammann
• Iron Man
  Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker
• The Spiderwick Chronicles - Hogsqueal
  Todd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg, Aharon Bourland

• Bolt - Various Sequences - Bolt
  Becky Bresee, Bob Davies, Renato Dos Anjos, Wayne Unten Jr.
• Bolt - Various Sequences - Rhino
  Adam Dykstra, Dave Gottlieb, Clay Kaytis, Hyrum Osmond
• Kung Fu Panda - This Kung Fu Stuff is Hard Work - The Animation of Po
  Jack Black, Dan Wagner, Nico Marlet, Peter Farson
• WALL-E � WALL-E and Eve Truck Sequence
  Ben Burtt, Victor Navone, Austin Lee, Jay Shuster

• Bolt - Various Sequences
  John Murrah, Michael Kaschalk, Dale Mayeda, Adolph Lusinsky
• Kung Fu Panda - The Secret Ingredient - Visual Effects of Kung Fu Panda
  Markus Manninen, Alex Parkinson, Amaury Aubel, Lawrence Lee
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Effects in Africa
  Scott Peterson, Laurent Kermel, Andrew Wheeler, Greg Gladstone
• WALL-E - Effects in WALL-E
  Jason Johnston, Keith Daniel Klohn, Enrique Vila, Bill Watral

• Changeling - 1928 Downtown L.A.
  Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dusseault, Yusei Uesugi
• Synecdoche, New York - Matte Paintings
  Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner
• Speed Racer - Overall Matte Painting Presentation
  Lubo Hristov, Dennis Martin, Ron Crabb

• The Dark Knight - Garbage Truck Crash Models and Miniatures
  Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Branden Seifert, Adam Gelbart
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand, Geoff Heron
• Iron Man - Suit Up Machine
  Aaron McBride, Russell Paul, Gerald Gutschmidt, Keiji Yamaguchi
• My Darling of the Mountains - Hot Springs
  Taro Kiba, Kenji Nagatani, Yuki Minagawa, Hideo Udo

• Cloverfield - Brooklyn Bridge Sequence
  David Vickery, Phil Johnson, Victor Wade, Sean Stranks
• The Dark Knight - IMAX Gotham City Scapes
  Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Temple Heart
  Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton, David Weitzberg
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Avalanche Sequence
  Mike Meaker, Rich Mahon, Jason Iverson, Sho Hasegawa
• Synecdoche, New York - Created Environment
  Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner

• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
  Stuart Lashley, Arundi Asregadoo, Mark Curtis, Richard Baker
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Benjamin Comes Together Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo
• Iron Man � Head Under Display - HUD Compositing
  Jonathan Rothbart, Dav Rauch, Kyle McCulloch, Kent Seki
• Quantum of Solace - Sienna Chase and Fight Sequence
  Anthony Smith, Christian Kaestner, Adrian Metzelaar, Jon Thum

• The Dark Knight
  Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe
• The Dark Knight - Garbage Truck Crash Mechanical Effects
  Scott Beverly, Robert Spurlock, Jon Warren, Brian Kelly Hahn
• Defiance - Special Effects
  Neil Corbould, Steve Warner, Anne Maria Walters, Alan Young

The rumor first started back on March 18 and I quickly received a rude email from Disney publicists telling me the rumor was "entirely false" and told me I had no integrity in reporting it. In April the rumor showed up again. No nasty email that time. Now, we have confirmation the film originally slated for a May 7, 2010 is in for a bumpy ride.

Apparently the Disney departure puts the cast and director in doubt. Michael Apted was set to take over for Andrew Adamson and production was supposed to begin in Spring, but everything is now up for grabs. The THR article points out Walden's relationship with Fox, but also mentions how Prince Caspian cost $200 million to produce, a hefty price tag for an incoming studio knowing the second film did less than half of the business of the first.

Will another studio step in? Does anyone care?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/oscar-visual-effects-short-list-revealed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to get a nod, if not for its great visual effects for the snubbing of Zodiac in the same category last year that say The Golden Compass beat out Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

I would also expect Hellboy II to get a nomination. Even though I don't like the film, the effects are phenomenal. And I will guess the third spot will go to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for no other reason than because the Academy loves to throw a mediocre film in the mix. Last year it was Golden Compass, before that it was Click and before that it was The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It's just the natural order of things. On top of that Roger Ebert called it "the best in the series." That has to count for something doesn't it?

• Australia
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Cloverfield
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• The Day the Earth Stood Still
• Hancock
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• The Incredible Hulk
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
• Quantum of Solace
• The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
	Deciding which film to start this edition of ON DVD TODAY with was not an easy one so I just took a look at the top seller at Amazon and Prince Caspian came out on top. For those that read my recent Blu-ray review you know I am not too keen on this flick the second time around and Sara really seems to loathe it in her DVD review. So, should you buy it? If you like long films that render themselves boring by the time you see it a second time then by all means step up to the plate.

Wanted
	This is a title I can understand more people picking up, but as I said in my Blu-ray review, I still recommend you rent before you buy. This is a fun film for action enthusiasts and it is one that could grow on some folks, but that's going to be a case-by-case basis as I can see some people thinking the absurd nature of it all is too much to bear. The one thing I find to be odd is that the single disc edition is the highest selling edition at Amazon with the Blu-ray right behind it with the two-disc DVD not even in the top 12 for this week. Then again, it isn't too surprising considering the primary audience for this flick are going to be 18-year-old male gamers who all own a PS3 and are therefore picking up the Blu-ray version instead of teh two-disc DVD, which is currently sitting at #16 on Amazon's sales chart for this week.

The X-Files: I Want To Believe
	I was supposed to receive a Blu-ray review copy of this flick, but it never arrived. Reviews weren't good but it seemed die-hard fans tended to enjoy it (at least the ones that run the fansites). I enjoyed the first film, but unfortunately can't give you an opinion on the sequel.

Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition)
	Now here is a film to own if you don't already. By clicking on the Buy Now link you can decide between the Blu-ray and the DVD edition. I was (and still am) expecting a review copy of the Blu-ray version and currently own the originally released HD DVD and think everyone should own some kind of copy of this film, it is truly one of the greats.

The Shawshank Redemption
	Speaking of the greats, here is a title that seems to have been one of the "upcoming" Blu-ray titles for a long, long time and it finally arrives. I already own the special edition DVD and can't imagine what owning it high-definition would do for the viewing process, but if you don't own it I can't imagine a better time to pick up a copy. Either that or just turn on TNT where it plays almost on a continuous loop.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition)
	About six months ago or so I caught this flick for the first time on the NetFlix Instant Play feature and while I mildly enjoyed it I see no reason to own it, especially in a bloated special edition that will offer up a bunch of features I don't want to watch.

Step Brothers
	I hated this film to the tune of a D- review. David just reviewed the Blu-ray version and seems to enjoy the hell out of it. Okay, I'm cool with that - I don't get it, but whatever floats your boat. Personally, when Will Ferrell started rubbing his balls on a set of drums I officially checked out. I didn't know that is how 40-year-olds behave and the comedy blew right by me.

Austin Powers Collection: Shagadelic Edition, Loaded with Extra Mojo
	Apparently this set is shagadelic and has some extra mojo, but does anyone really care enough about Austin Powers to actually want to own the trilogy of films in high definition?

The Longshots
	It was either include this in the main list or toss it into the "Even More" section. For some reason I thought it would be less work to hammer out a couple of sentences so here is the new Ice Cube film directed by Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. It's all about the nookie.

• Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews
• Saturday Night Live - The Complete Fourth Season
• Law and Order: The Sixth Year
• Home Alone [Blu-ray]
• La Femme Nikita [Blu-ray]
• The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [Blu-ray]
• Fly Me to the Moon
• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
• Stranger Than Fiction (Special Edition + BD Live) [Blu-ray]

• Beverly Hills Chihuahua (buy now)
  Releasing on March 3, 2009
• Repo! The Genetic Opera
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Max Payne (Special Edition)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Max Payne
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Saw V (Unrated Collector's Edition)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Saw V (Unrated Director's Cut)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Saw V
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• W. (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• Eagle Eye (2-Disc Special Edition) (buy now)
  Releasing on December 28, 2008
• Eagle Eye (buy now)
  Releasing on December 28, 2008
• Frozen River (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• Midnight Meat Train (Director's Cut) (buy now)
  Releasing on February 17, 2009

• Beverly Hills Chihuahua (buy now)
  Releasing on March 3, 2009
• Repo! The Genetic Opera
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Max Payne (Special Edition)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Saw V (Unrated Director's Cut)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• W. (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• A Time to Kill (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• The Pelican Brief (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• Eagle Eye (buy now)
  Releasing on December 28, 2008
• Midnight Meat Train (Director's Cut) (buy now)
  Releasing on February 17, 2009
• The Rundown (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• Doom (Unrated) (buy now)
  Releasing on February 10, 2009
• Drumline (Special Edition) (buy now)
  Releasing on January 27, 2009
• Antwone Fisher (buy now)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009
• Unfaithful (buy now)
  Releasing on January 20, 2009

First for the film, a feature I was rather kind to upon its theatrical release and gave it a "B", which seems to fall in line with the majority view of the film. It was certainly an improvement on the first film, which I cannot even get through from start to finish, and I think I became overly wowed by the fact Prince Caspian had throat-slitting mice and actual beheadings in a supposedly PG-rated film. I would have loved to be there when parents had to explain why the cute little mouse was killing everyone to their five-year-old, but I guess when it's Disney the MPAA comes down a little kinder. However, the second time around it is impossible to maintain interest in this film as I constantly found myself wandering my apartment and checking my email as the film played on. And coming in at just under 2 hours and 30 minutes it is just too long to ever return to.

On Blu-ray the film does, however, look and sound phenomenal. Even with Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, the one thing that stood out above all others was the impressive set and production design. Narnia looks like a place you would love to escape to, even if the snowy lamp post in the first film is far more inviting than the forest in Prince Caspian. Both are extremely beautiful and the Blu-ray picture certainly does it justice.

On top of the feature film, the first disc includes an audio commentary with director Andrew Adamson (and the little kiddies) and an interactive feature they refer to as "Circle-Vision" taking a look at the Castle Raid scene. The "Circle-Vision" feature is where this release begins to get ahead of itself as it is just too annoying for the value it offers. What you get is a pretty cool 360-degree recreation of the castle set and as you navigate around it you can get factoids and behind-the-scenes featurettes discussing the making of the scene. You will learn nothing that seems remotely new, especially if you have explored the vast amount of behind-the-scenes goodies available on the Lord of the Rings extended editions, or if you ever watched the bonus features on the first Narnia release and this trend continues onto the second disc.

The best way to describe the majority of the disc two features is to say they are "too long" and they all feel as if you have seen them before and can predict what everyone is going to say. "Inside Narnia", a typical making-of feature runs 34 minutes and offers nothing new to folks that watch special features on a regular basis. "Sets of Narnia" runs 23 minutes and acts as if a castle set is something new. The problem is that while the castle in Prince Caspian is technically new, it isn't new to the point that folks go, "Wow, now that is a cool castle." Instead they see a castle, as they should, and the film becomes about what happens in the castle. In the case of Caspian none of it is interesting enough to enjoy more than once. The locations, on the other hand, are quite impressive, but they are all in the movie and hearing about how they found a beach is hardly interesting.

The "Big Movie Comes to a Small Town" feature is mildly interesting as they take the search for a river and approach it from the point of view of the small town neighboring it, which turns out to be the Soca river in Bovec, Slovenia. This means bringing in crews of nearly 1,200 people into a small picturesque town where nature is preserved. It's interesting for about two minutes, but at 23 minutes I really don't know what they were thinking. Do the people that watch these have nothing else to do? It's my job, what's your excuse?

Then the features get trimmed down a bit with a 10-minute look at the pre-vis, a mind-numbing 5 minutes where the cast and crew talk about their favorite talking creature, ten deleted scenes with introductions from Adamson, a three minute blooper reel in which lines are flubbed and Minotaurs trip and three other generic featurettes looking at "the duel" and a pair of makeup features. It's your typical bag of making-of features when it comes to fantasy film releases, if you have seen one you've pretty much seen them all and this one is no different.

Overall I am sure Narnia fans will scoop this up and enjoy every minute of it, but I can't imagine them getting too excited about anything more than the film itself since not enough is offered outside of the film to make this release all that special. Prince Caspian certainly isn't special and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has become a blip on the radar following its triumphant $291 million theatrical run, a run that garnered Prince Caspian a measley $141 million in comparison.

Several sites recently updated their pages and as you can see from the image above the WALL�E push is full steam ahead. My favorite bit of news is the addition of the script to Vicky Cristina Barcelona to the Weinstein Co.'s Highlights site.

Below you will get links to the award sites, links to each film here on RopeofSilicon and where it applies a link to each of the scripts currently available.

• Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  • Download the Script
• Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?

• The Secret Life of Bees
• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Wrestler

• Bolt
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year
• Miracle at St. Anna
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• WALL�E

• Changeling
  • Download the Script
• Frost/Nixon
  • Download the Script
• Mamma Mia!
• Tale of Despereux

• The Duchess
  • Download the Script
• Defiance
  • Download the Script
• Revolutionary Road

• The Dark Knight
• Gran Torino

• Nothing But The Truth
• What Doesn't Kill You

• The Visitor
• Last Chance Harvey

• Doubt
• Happy-Go-Lucky

He points out Peter Gabriel's "Down to Earth" from WALL�E, Jennifer Hudson's "All Dressed Up in Love" from Sex and the City, "The Call" by Regina Spektor from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and the dark horse chance that Hamlet 2's "Sexy Jesus" would get a nod after a hard push by Focus.

Tapley comes to the obvious conclusion based on the fact that no one is humming any of those songs at the moment leaving the field wide open.

I left while the credits were rolling on The House Bunny last night, but I believe Katherine McPhee's "I Know What Boys Like" is an original track made for the film as it carries the film's original title. I also believe Fergie's "Labels or Love" from Sex and the City was original. Seemed to me that song got more love than Hudson's.

I can't imagine High School Musical 3 will get any love even though one of Tapley's commentors believes it can't be ignored. But Guy Lodge, one of Tapley's contributors does bring up a title that deserves our attention.

How about Jack White and Alicia Keys teaming up for the theme song to Quantum of Solace? I mean, these two are a couple of fantastic musicians and isn't it about time another Bond theme was nominated for an Oscar? Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the last time in 1981 with Bill Conti's "For Your Eyes Only"?

Is there anything I have missed? Do you think Danny Elfman's decision to go vocal on the soundtrack for Wanted has a chance?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/box_office_wrap_up_jun_13_jun_15_2008

Steve Mason at Fantasy Moguls is reporting Friday box-office estimates showing that Hulk will make an estimated $21 million this Friday and The Happening took in an estimated $12.8 million.

Tracking had The Happening performing extremely poorly and bad reviews and what appears to be critical hatred for M. Night Shyamalan weren't going to help. However, it appears tracking and critics don't determine what interests the public as Night's film may end up raking in $31.2 million this weekend, considerably more than most believed it would bring in. Mason himself declared in a headline on Thursday, "Happening Doomed to $18M-$23M!" Good to see the audiences are willing to give a film a chance even if most critics didn't.

It actually appeared even Fox wasn't giving the film a chance as I have been informed of at least two midnight screenings of The Happening were canceled (one in L.A. and another in Florida). Not sure if the theaters were closing them to provide more screenings of Hulk, but word out of Florida was that it was Fox's call. Doesn't make sense to me.

In other news it still looks like we won't have a $300 million film for 2008 once the weekend ends. Iron Man is likely to finish around $298 million with Indiana Jones finishing around $275 million, and I am beginning to think Indy doesn't have a chance of making it, but Iron Man obviously will.

Sex and the City will crack the $125 million mark and Kung Fu Panda continues to perform well and will come close to hitting the $120 million mark in only its second weekend.

Below are Mason's complete early Friday estimates, and Laremy will be here on Sunday to give you the full recap and snarky remarks.

1. The Incredible Hulk (Universal) - $21 million
2. The Happening (Fox) - $12.8 million
3. Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks) - $10.25 million
4. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) - $6.1 million
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) - $3.65 million
6. Sex and the City (Warner Bros.) - $3.6 million
7. Iron Man (Paramount) - $1.55 million
8. The Strangers (Rogue Releasing) - $1.48 million
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) - $1.07 million
10. What Happens in Vegas (20th Century Fox) - $783,455

As Mason points out, Panda will actually place around #5 all-time in terms of best non-sequel opening weekends should the $55 million estimate hold-up. Above it would be four Pixar films with a fifth just below it in the form of Ratatouille. Considering Pixar films sell simply based on the fact that they are Pixar films and animated sequels are always expected to open big this is great news for DreamWorks and I couldn't be happier since Kung Fu Panda is one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time.

And, despite horrible reviews (and somehow some positive ones), Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with the Zohan opened Friday with $13.25 million and Mason expects that to grow to $36.25 million for the weekend. This number actually beats last year's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and#038; Larry by just over $2 million and falls short of the equally awful Click by just under $4 million.

The other two films I was most interested in were Sex and the City in its second weekend along with Universal's The Strangers.

Sex and the City is estimated to have pulled in $7.8 million on Friday and is expected to managed $23.5 million for the weekend already giving the flick a box-office total over $100 million in just under a week of release. The Strangers hangs tough with $3 million on Friday and an anticipated $9.1 million for the weekend.

Now, to check for any entries into the $300 million club. Unfortunately we don't have any entrants yet and we won't by the end of the weekend as Iron Man earned another $2.2 milly on Friday and is expected to make $8 million for the weekend raising its cumulative total to $289.37 million. As for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull it will also still have some work to do as Indy scrounged up $6.5 million on Friday and is expected to take in a total of $23.75 million for the weekend raising his cume to $253.97 million. Work is left to do indeed.

Check below for Fantasy Moguls' complete early Friday estimates and stay tuned Sunday when we bring you a complete recap of the weekend.

1. Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks) - $17.75 million
2. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) - $13.25 million
3. Sex and the City (Warner Bros.) � $7.8 million
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) � $6.5 million
5. The Strangers (Rogue Releasing) � $3 million
6. Iron Man (Paramount) � $2.2 million
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) � $1.76 million
8. What Happens in Vegas (20th Century Fox) � $1.26 million
9. Baby Mama (Universal) � $415,000
10. Made of Honor (Sony) � $400,000

Taking that into consideration, what am I to think of The Incredible Hulk, which actually seems to have a much higher awareness rate than even Iron Man did? On top of that it appears the younger crowd is clamoring to see the film. The two strongest demos in terms of awareness are 24-and#038;-Under and 25-34s, according to MovieTickets.com. Is Hulk a legitimate contender for the top five at the Summer 2008 box-office?

Here's a snapshot of the top five so far according to Box-Office Mojo as of 4:30 PST on June 5:

1. Iron Man $278,733,064 after 4.5 Weeks
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $223,025,853 after 1.5 Weeks
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian $117,769,673 after 2.5 Weeks
4. Sex and the City $68,056,238 after .5 Weeks
5. What Happens in Vegas $67,341,818 after 3.5 Weeks

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. Iron Man
3. Hancock
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
5. The Dark Knight

How about we add WALL�E, Kung Fu Panda, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Tropic Thunder to that list.

Truth be told, it is still wide open for a major winner. Consider that last year the top four films all grossed over $300 million with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix barely missing that mark with $292 million. Will either Indy or Iron Man hit $300 million? Considering Indy made $44.7m just last week I think that is an obvious answer and Iron Man made $13.5m last week, which means it is going to be close. I don't think Narnia or Sex and the City have too much gas left in the tank and What Happens in Vegas is just a space filler for now.

Only time will tell, and I think I am in agreement with most folks out there thinking that The Dark Knight can't get here soon enough.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/box_office_wrap_up_may_30_jun_1_2008

This new number puts that "All-time Thursday" record back in the warehouse and pulls the "All-time Five-Day Opener" record out of the box and the $148.24M number would put Indy 4 in the five slot just above Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($147.5) and just below Spider-Man 2 ($152.4).

However, it looks like Indy is going to have no chance of meeting our very own Box-Office Oracle's lofty $158.6 million 4-day total as the film is currently estimated to hit $123.2 million for the Memorial Day weekend.

As for the rest of the competition, Narnia looks to secure the #2 slot after a rather lackluster opening for the Disney sequel. Iron Man remains strong at #3 and #4 and #5 look to be the same as last week with What Happens in Vegas and Speed Racer.

The complete Friday estimates are listed below. I may be back throughout the weekend should things change, but we will definitely give you a complete recap of the holiday weekend on Monday.

1. Indiana Jones and#038; The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) - $30.8 million
2. Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) - $6.48 million
3. Iron Man (Paramount) - $5.29 million
4. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) - $3.08 million
5. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) - $1.3 million
6. Made of Honor (Sony) - $1.1 million
7. Baby Mama (Universal) - $1 million
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) - $450,000
9. Harold and#038; Kumar Escape From Guantanamo (Warner Bros) - $270,000
10. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) - $170,000

The magic number appeared to be somewhere around $74-77 million for the sequel to the smash hit The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and some were even expecting almost $80 million. However, it appears my earlier speculation that not many knew or even cared about the film turned out to be true as it earned a meager $19.3 million on Friday and is expected to end the weekend around $51.3 million. Not a good sign for a film that has to have a budget somewhere north of $150 million considering the first film was budgeted at $180 million.

Last week it was teh $120 million budgeted Speed Racer that was dealt the death blow as kids films can't seem to hit their mark or just aren't interesting for their intended audience.

Perhaps it is the fact that Speed Racer was pushed as a film from the guys behind The Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta, all R-rated films, or in Caspian's position the fact that a PG-rated film features throat slicing mice and even a beheading. Yeah, the MPAA must have been paid off on this one as the rating reasoning of "for epic battle action and violence" doesn't really spell out either of those things.

So, it looks like Iron Man continues to remain the Summer 2008 lone hit as it still pulled in $9.25 million on Friday and is expected to remain at #2 for the weekend with an estimated $33 million brining it's total near $225 million in only three weeks.

What Happens in Vegas continues to edge out Speed Racer at #3 and #4 respectively and the top five is rounded out by Made of Honor.

We will be back tomorrow with the complete recap, but for now here are all of Friday's estimated results.

1. Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) - $18 million
2. Iron Man (Paramount) � $9.25 million
3. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) - $4.65 million
4. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) - $2.4 million
5. Made of Honor (Sony) - $1.65 million
6. Baby Mama (Universal) � $1.36 million
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) - $775,000
8. Harold and#038; Kumar Escape from Guantanamo (Warner Bros) - $560,000
9. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) - $250,000
10. The Visitor (Overture Films) - $160,000

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• Doomsday
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• 21
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• Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition)
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• Chaos Theory
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• Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns
  Releasing on July 1st, 2008

• Doomsday (Blu-ray)
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• 21 (Blu-ray)
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• Persepolis (Blu-ray)
  Releasing on June 24th, 2008
• Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition) (Blu-ray)
  Releasing on September 9th, 2008
• Men in Black (Blu-ray)
  Releasing on June 17th, 2008

I was then contacted by Disney telling me the rumor was "entirely false" and that I had no integrity in posting it. Rude comments from the magical world of Mickey Mouse aside it now seems like the rumor may actually be true, at least for current Narnia producer Mark Johnson who, according to First Showing made an appearance at the New York Comic Con this weekend that they have "no plans" at the moment to continue on past Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Seems interesting doesn't it. I hope my integrity is still intact with this article as well.

It makes perfect sense for the series to end after three films since the majority of people hardly know the "Narnia" series outside of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". I have already seen a massive decline in interest in this summer's Prince Caspian compared to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and I can't see it increasing all that much more for Dawn Treader. Also, once Dawn Treader starts shooting later this fall for a May 2010 release the kids are going to be considerably older and might not fit the roles they originally started.

Who knows, money and success breed sequels, and if the next two Narnia installments are successful I think the franchise will continue in some shape or form. Perhaps they could bring George Lucas in to create animated films.

Hopefully this post will be followed up by a threatening email from Disney telling me how I have no "journalistic integrity" and how I should go to the studio before posting such a story. Because they are more than happy to give me all the information on all projects. Yay!]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/narnia_fans_arent_going_to_be_happy_about_this_news
UPDATE: Disney sent me an email telling me that I have no "integrity" for posting what they refer to as a "rumor". They then tell me this "rumor" is false and ask me to rescind it. Rescind a rumor? Really?

I never once said this was report was fact and used several question marks, as well as referred to the box-office power of the first film. Hopefully Disney will use some integrity when contacting me again and hopefully read a little closer next time.

Just so you know, Disney is saying this "rumor" is "entirely false".

At last year's Comic Con the producers of the Narnia series promised all seven of C.S. Lewis' films would be turned into feature films and fans could expect one ever year for the next six years. Then The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was moved from 2008 to 2009 and the interest in this year's Prince Caspian, opening on May 16th, seems to be minimal. Is it any surprise that Jim Hill Media is reporting that Disney may be abandoning the franchise after three films?

Actually, yes, it is... The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made $291 million at the domestic box-office alone. The tracking numbers on Prince Caspian must be dismal for Disney to even be considering abandoning the franchise.

What's the alternative? Pixar is planning John Carter from Mars as they point out all the websites that have been registered by Walt Disney Company. The plan is to turn the Edgar Rice Burroughs literary franchise into a film trilogy. Mark Andrews has apparently finished a first draft of the screenplay and it was well received.

Jim Hill reports should Prince Caspian falter at the box Disney may move immediatly on John Carter.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/watch_the_super_bowl_lxii_movie_trailers
For the first time in a few years the Super Bowl is set to be the place where movie studios do a little movie showcasing as two trailers from this year's Super Bowl LXII have already come online and more are set to do the same.

As each trailer becomes available we will be updating this article with either the trailer itself or links to each trailer available online. The latest one added will be on Page One, paging through the article will give you the rest of the trailers.

These are just flash player links:

• VANTAGE POINT
• DRILLBIT TAYLOR