With a head start, 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' set to dominate

By Sarah Sluis

The autobots and decepticons battle for the third time in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (4,011 theatres). While the new film is getting better reviews than the much-maligned second, it appears audiences are tiring of the toy-based series. The Wednesday opening earned $37.3 million, the highest opening that day this year, but that puts the sequel far behind the $62 million Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made last year. We hear the flattening of Chicago is terrific, but the franchise as a whole hews to "juvenile standards" and remains a "merchandise-driven series," according to critic Maitland McDonagh.

Adult viewers may appreciate seeing Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts paired up in Larry Crowne (2,972 theatres), but they shouldn't set their sights too high. Critic Kevin Lally deems the recession-themed tale a "well-intentioned but low-energy comedy" that's way too "conventional." Hanks and Roberts' "warm regard for each other still shines through," but audiences may find themselves sighing as they cross the finish line of the movie, which counts a scooter as one of its greatest comic assets.

When critic David Noh channeled his inner tween, he pronounced Monte Carlo (2,472 theaters) "cotton candy." The "none-too-fresh plot" borrows from Billy Wilder-scripted Midnight and the plot of The Prince and the Pauper, but it's probably all new to the twelve-and-under set. Starring Disney workhorse Selena Gomez, "Gossip Girl's" Leighton Meester, and Hollywood royalty Katie Cassidy, the movie is sure to "delight" girls with its European travel fantasy.

Not much is releasing on the specialty circuit, but high school bullying dark comedy Terri has earned 81% positive accolades from Rotten Tomatoes critics. Noh was not one of them, calling the movie offensively quirky without anything "remotely funny or emotionally true." Ouch.

On Tuesday, we'll count the winners and losers of the four-day weekend. Make sure your viewings this weekend include some good old-fashioned fireworks.

Hollywood does a 180 with 'Monte Carlo'

By Sarah Sluis

Whenever movies are dramatically recast, it says something about the climate of development in Hollywood. There weren't enough dramatic action parts for women, so Angelina Jolie simply took on a male role in the upcoming spy thriller Salt, which had originally been imagined for Tom Cruise.

Now tweeners are having their day. The upcoming travel adventure movie Monte Carlo has been recast a whole generation younger. Nicole Kidman was originally supposed to lead a cast of three women (including, according to rumors, Julia Roberts) who decide to abandon their shoestring travel plans in Paris and head to Monte Carlo, where they pretend to be glamorous and wealthy women.

Now the role is going to Selena Gomez (Disney's "Wizards of Waverly

Place") with Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl") in talks to co-star, and at least one other big casting decision in the works. That's a far cry from the source material, which, according to Amazon.com, followed "four middle-aged friends from New Jersey [who] decide to spice up their lackluster lives." Kidman, who was originally attached to star and take a producing credit, may continue her involvement with a supporting role.

The Fox 2000 project will be directed by Thomas Bezucha. He has previously helmed The Family Stone (2005) and Big Eden (2000), both of which he wrote independently. He also has a writing credit on Monte Carlo, but the movie is an adaptation and has been through the hands of several screenwriters.

What could have caused such a seismic generational switch? Several tween sensations have grabbed Hollywood's attention. Besides the obvious success of Twilight, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds excited exhibitors back in 2008 when it made a record-breaking debut on the normally barren Super Bowl weekend. The High School Musical franchise seemingly came out of nowhere. I was among the puzzled to check the iTunes store a few years ago and discover the top ten songs had been hijacked by a Disney TV movie. Teens, armed with gift cards from the recent holiday season, exercised their purchasing power in a medium older generations had barely caught up with. Nicholas Sparks-type romances first wowed with the younger-skewing The Notebook, and his latest adaptation, Dear John, has already racked up $73 million. Whether it's a vampire romance, a musical, concert, or romantic weepie, they all had something in common: a young female audience.

Now, movies put into development are releasing at a breakneck pace. Twilight star Robert Pattinson will star in weepie romance Remember Me (March 12), followed by another Nicholas Sparks adaptation, this time starring Miley Cyrus: The Last Song (March 31). The Runaways, starring another Twilight lead, Kristen Stewart, opens March 19th before expanding on April 9th to hordes of interested Twilight fans. Tame-looking romance Letters to Juliet (May 14) comes next, followed by the biggest franchise of them all: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30). With the exception of edgy indie The Runaways, most of these movies will be PG or PG-13, featuring younger stars and more innocent romances than those older gals in Sex and the City 2 (May 28). Oddly enough, there are no tween-type movies in the second half of the year, though their quick, inexpensive production schedules could mean more will appear on the release slate later on in 2010. Tween-to-teen movies are coming out in force. No longer will teens be confined to high school-centered romances or aspiration romcoms with characters in their 20s or 30s. Now, it's just a matter of seeing how crowded this party can get before some of the movies start tanking at the box office.