Archive for January, 2009

7. The Tale of Despereaux – $8.9M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Tiny and graced with oversized ears, Despereaux was born too big for his little world. Refusing to live his life cowering, he befriends a Princess named Pea and learns to read (rather than eat) books -- reveling in stories of knights, dragons and fair maidens. Banished from Mouseworld for being more man than mouse, Despereaux is rescued by another outcast, Roscuro, who also wants to hear the tales. But when the Princess dismisses Roscuro\'s friendship, he becomes the ultimate rat and plots revenge with fellow outsider Mig. After Pea is kidnapped, Despereaux discovers he is the only one who can rescue her...and that even the tiniest mouse can find the courage of a knight in shining armor.

6. Seven Pounds – $13.2M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Gabriele Muccino (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS) directs this tale of a man devastated by a tragedy in his past who is seeking redemption. To the outside world, Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is a cordial, atypically helpful agent for the Internal Revenue Service. But when he\'s alone, Ben is tormented by a tragic incident in his past, sinking into grief. He\'s even cut off communication with his beloved brother (Michael Ealy). Nevertheless, Ben is especially interested in strangers with challenging circumstances. He\'s taken particular interest in Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a lovely young woman with congenital heart disease who is being audited by the IRS. Ben finds himself falling for Emily, and has to choose the best way to follow his heart.<br><br>Smith wears Ben\'s heart on his sleeve, the pain of his past loss and his impending future apparent in his face both when he is alone and when he begins to feel happiness--which he doesn\'t think he deserved--with Emily. He also nails Ben\'s pleasant work persona, masking his pain as he charms strangers and earns their trust. Dawson is beguiling as Emily, whose only wish is to have more time to experience life, especially once she finds love with Ben. With flashbacks mixed into the story, SEVEN POUNDS takes a circuitous route, saving some surprises for its end. Woody Harrelson appears as a blind man, and Barry Pepper plays Ben\'s best friend and confidante, Dan.

5. Yes Man – $16.7M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Jim Carrey returns to hilarious form with this romantic comedy in the same vein as the Carrey classic LIAR LIAR. After a few stints in more serious features like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE NUMBER 23, Carrey seems right at home playing Carl, a divorcé who starts out the film depressed and withdrawn, scared of taking a risk on life. Pressured by his best friend, Peter (Bradley Cooper), to get his act together or risk living a lonely life, Carl attends a New Age self-help seminar intended to change "no men" like Carl into "yes men" willing to meet life\'s challenges with gusto. Carl is reluctant at first, but finds the seminar to be ultimately life-changing when he\'s coerced into giving the "say yes" attitude a try. As the first opportunity to say yes presents itself, Carl hesitantly utters the three-letter word, setting the stage for a domino effect of good rewards, and giving Carrey a platform to show off his comic chops. But over time Carl realizes that saying yes to everything indiscriminately can reap results as complicated and messy as his life had become when saying "no" was his norm. <br><br>The always-quirky Zooey Deschanel adds her signature charm as Carl\'s love interest, Allison. An unlikely match at first glance, the pair actually develop great chemistry as the story progresses, the actors playing off each other\'s different styles of humor. Rhys Darby also shines as Carl\'s loveable but clueless boss, and THAT 70s SHOW\'s Danny Masterson appears as another one of Carl\'s friends. While YES MAN marks no major departure from Carrey\'s previous work, the sweet crowd pleaser manages to showcase two sides of its leading man.

4. Valkyrie – $21.0M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
In a country in the grips of evil, in a police state where every move is being watched, in a world where justice and honor have been subverted, a group of men hidden inside the highest reaches of power decide to take action. Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and the daring and ingenious plot to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known.<br><br> A proud military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is a loyal officer who serves his country all the while hoping that someone will find a way to stop Hitler before Europe and Germany are destroyed. Realizing that time is running out, he decides that he must take action himself and joins the German resistance. Armed with a cunning strategy to use Hitler\'s own emergency plan - known as Operation Valkyrie - these men plot to assassinate the dictator and overthrow his Nazi government from the inside.<br><br> With everything in place, with the future of the world, the fate of millions and the lives of his wife and children hanging in the balance, von Stauffenberg is thrust from being one of many who oppose Hitler to the one who must kill Hitler himself.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – $26.9M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man\'s life can be.

2. Bedtime Stories – $27.5M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Adam Sandler stars as a man whose nighttime tales do more than just put his nephew to sleep; instead, his imaginative stories become reality. This fantasy comedy for the whole family is directed by HAIRSPRAY helmer Adam Shankman.

1. Marley and Me – $36.4M

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
John Grogan\'s bestselling book about his Labrador retriever bounds onto the screen with MARLEY AND ME. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star as a couple who adopts the badly behaved but much-loved dog. Oscar-winner Alan Arkin costars in this comedy from director David Frankel (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA).