'21 Jump Street' lands at number one

This week's success is 21 Jump Street, a feature version of the 1980s TV series. With strong support from under-25s, which gave the movie an "A" rating, the undercover-cops-in-schools movie soared to the top with $35 million. It's second to Jackass 3D as the best opening for an R-rated comedy opening outside of summer. Male audience members were only a slight majority (53%), leading some to conclude that Channing Tatum (star of romance The Vow) attracted female viewers who wanted to see more of the attractive leading man.

Will Ferrell's Spanish-language Casa de Mi Padre performed surprisingly well, cracking the top ten with $2.2 million. 68% of the audience was Hispanic, and the comedy was attended equally by males and females. Next week the picture will expand further, so we'll see if its opening-weekend success was a fluke or a sign of things to come.

The Duplass Brothers' Jeff Who Lives at Home reeled in a $3,300 per-screen average for a total of $840,000. That's not bad for the low-budget indie, which stars Jason Segel and Ed Helms. I doubt the picture will reach Cyrus' $7 million total.

Friends with Kids held on to its audience with just a 26% decrease from last week. The comedy, which centers on 30/40-somethings, their relationships, and their kids, earned $1.5 million as it added additional markets. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen upped its box office by 101% as it expanded into more locations. With a $7,000 per-screen average, the Emily Blunt-Ewan McGregor picture totaled $455,000.

The latest Nicolas Cage actioner is going straight to video. Seeking Justice earned $260,000--a $1,100 per-screen average--and woefully failed to ignite.

This Friday, the much-anticipated The Hunger Games will hit theatres. No other studios were foolish enough to try to schedule a movie to go up against a series showing the same promise as Twilight.

'21 Jump Street' shoots for the top spot

This weekend is all about comedies. 21 Jump Street (3,121 theatres) is the widest release of the bunch. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star in this retread of the '80s TV series about cops going undercover in a local high school. Critical reaction has been surprisingly positive given the project's could-be-awful origins. 88% of Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a fresh rating, and the comedy has a slightly more tepid 70 rating on Metacritic. FJI critic David Noh was not one of the movie's fans, dismissing it as "crassly conceived commercial offal." The opposing view seems to be that if you buy into some of the more ridiculous premises, the comedy will take you on a good ride--just don't think too hard. Tracking suggests an opening above $20 million, with a strong possibility that it will best the third week of The Lorax.

Will Ferrell speaks entirely in Spanish in the subtitled Casa de Mi Padre (382 theatres). Critic Kevin Lally didn't care for the "eccentric but flat comedy," which "feels just like one of those lame, self-amused ["SNL"] sketches, mercilessly padded out to feature length." It's something of a dark horse candidate at the box office. Lionsgate partner Pantelion, which is Hispanic-focused, will certainly try to optimize the theatres in the targeted release--but will audiences bite?

The latest indie from the prolific Duplass Brothers, Jeff Who Lives at Home (254 theatres) also has an unknown factor. Along with Casa de Mi Padre, it's not expected to earn more than a couple million.  I enjoyed the quirky movie, but my guest despised it--so this isn't the safest pick for a group outing. Our critic Marsha McCreadie was warmed by the "gentle yet spunky comedy." It also may be one of the last movies to make use of AOL instant messenger.

After earning $2 million last week, Friends with Kids expands into 640 theatres. Its slow rollout may be buoyed by audiences' positive response to the comedy centered on life stages like marriage and kids.

Those on Nicolas Cage career-spiral watch can check out Seeking Justice (230 theatres), "a goofy little thriller that jettisons logic anytime it interferes with squeezing in more paranoia," according to THR's John DeFore. Next stop: Redbox, if it can even snag a slot.

Arthouse lovers can check out The Kid with a Bike (3 theatres), the well-reviewed "gentle" drama from the Dardenne Brothers. Critic Jon Frosch praises the "beautifully wrought story of a troubled boy and the stranger who saves him."

On Monday, we'll see which comedies sparked among audiences and which fell flat, and if The Lorax continues on a pace to top $200 million.

'John Carter' faces uphill battle against 'The Lorax'

Disney may have a flop on its hands. John Carter (3,749 theatres, including 3D and IMAX screens), is a "big-budget adaptation [that] delivers epic scale and effects" but has some major flaws, according to FJI critic Daniel Eagan. "Too reminiscent of previous films to impress older viewers, and too lightweight to dazzle fantasy fans," the CG/live-action mix is on par to deliver $30 million this weekend, when $50 million would be more likely to help Disney recoup its reported $250 million budget. Many have faulted Disney's marketing campaign. One, the title originally was more revealing, John Carter of Mars, but was reportedly shortened after Mars Needs Moms bombed. I was confused by a giant billboard that only showed the CG alien. Was this a CG movie? The coolest part for me is that the movie centers on a Civil War soldier who's transported to Mars, yet I've seen no antiquated military garb or battles in the trailer. There's a strong possibility that The Lorax may beat John Carter this weekend. John Carter is exactly the kind of movie that does well overseas, but audiences at home may give this film a pass.

If you're interested in time travel, check out A Thousand Words (1,890 theatres). The Eddie Murphy movie has been shelved for the past four years. Murphy plays a man who finds out he only has a thousand words left to speak. High concept, and most likely low on anything else. This would-be family comedy should earn somewhere slightly north of $5 million.

Indie darling Elizabeth Olsen stars in Silent House (2,124 theatres), a haunted house movie with the "gimmick" of being filmed in one continuous take. Our critic Maitland McDonagh panned the "derivative thriller." In particular, the "big twist" will be evident to horror fans "long before it arrives."

Friends with Kids (374 theatres) is rather "studied and forced" compared to Bridesmaids. The two comedies share a number of cast numbers, but unfortunately the "funny lines" are accompanied by an "awful lot of unoriginal, would-be side-splitters," according to critic David Noh. Many are expecting the comedy, which centers on two friends who decide to raise a child together, to be popular among the date-night crowd.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (18 theatres) starts out as an "appealing" romantic comedy before changing "midstream."  According to critic Kevin Lally, it's a "promising replica of the golden era of screen comedy that becomes mired in increasingly unwelcome narrative muck," a real "missed opportunity." Still, CBS Films hopes positive word-of-mouth will give momentum to their planned platform release.

Anyone who identifies as a "foodie" should check out Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The documentary about a famous Japanese sushi chef is the "Planet Earth" of sushi, and it will also make you feel more thoughtful about what you consume, though the chef's philosophy far predates the local, slow-food movement.

On Monday, we'll see if John Carter will be sunk by its high budget or if overseas returns keep it afloat.

Lionsgate sets its sights on Toronto selection 'Friends with Kids'

By Sarah Sluis

After the success of Bridesmaids, it's no surprise that Lionsgate is considering buying Toronto selection Friends with Kids. The parent-centered romantic comedy includes four cast members of Bridesmaids and channels its eye-raising humor. The story centers on two best friends (director/writer Jennifer Westfeldt and Adam Scott) who decide to raise a child with each other while pursuing their own romantic interests. Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have come out generally in favor of the film, but their praise is slightly muted--and not always in agreement.

"Although the comic riffs about parenting and alternative families easily rep the pic's sharpest dialogue and strike a chord with more mature audiences, they co-exist uneasily with Westfeldt's inclusion of a more crude brand of humor," Variety reports. In contrast, THR notes that "the film also borrows from the Bridesmaids playbook with its mild smattering of raunch, which won't hurt its commercial chances."

The movie's also drawn numerous comparisons to sitcoms, though no one can agree exactly what kind.

"Unfolding in a glib, familiar sitcom universe" the movie is a combination of "Friends," "Seinfeld" and "Judd Apatow crass patter" according to Variety. After calling the movie a "successful sitcom," IndieWIRE situates the movie among the "progressive families" featured in the sitcoms "Will & Grace" and "Modern Family." Apparently the humor is original enough to elicit more than one comparison.

The criticism that most makes me want to see the movie is THR's mention that Westfeldt finds "fresh insights" about parenthood and "nuanced consideration of the many ways in which having children changes adults' lives, going beyond the standard comedy terrain of sleep deprivation, frazzled nerves and diaper disasters." Variety hints at this as well, mentioning one instance that's "beautifully evocative of what it means to be a parent." I hate seeing comedies that are stuffed full of tired clichs and sterotypes. The funniest things in life are true, so the best comedy in my book draws from everyday life.

In addition to Westfeldt and Scott as the lead characters, Jon Hamm (Westfeldt's longtime romantic partner), Kristen Wiig, Chris Dowd, and Maya Rudolph (all from Bridesmaids), along with Megan Fox and Edward Burns, round out the cast. Because of its rising-star actors and friendly, easy-to-digest plotting, Friends with Kids could be one of the festival's top-dollar acquisitions.