'Puss in Boots' preens in the top spot

By Sarah Sluis

Despite early Halloween festivities and a Northeast snowstorm, Puss in Boots pounced on the first place spot this weekend with $34 million. The Shrek spinoff didn't have a blockbuster opening weekend, but what it will have is time. Happy Feet Two comes out on Nov. 18, giving Puss in Boots two more weekends to build positive word-of-mouth without competition. 82% of Rotten Tomatoes critics gave the movie a "positive" rating, and similar sentiments from families and kids will allow this CG-animated film to hold strong. A drop of more than 30% next week would be unlikely.

By releasing two weeks before Halloween, Paranormal Activity 3 should have had two blockbuster weekends before its horror material became a little less timely. Instead, the sequel fell 65% in its second outing to $18.5 million. That was still enough for the horror picture to land the second place spot, but it's surprising so see such a big drop even when the movie was placed in the traditional "scarefest" slot.

The sci-fi actioner In Time opened in line with expectations with $12 million. The modestly budgeted feature shouldn't have a difficult time making back its investment. Despite pockets of high interest among Hunter S. Thompson fans, The Rum Diary underperformed with a $5 million weekend.

Most titles in the top ten dropped 50-60% except for Courageous. When Christian-themed movies are a hit, they tend to play for a long, long time, and Courageous is no exception. The movie dipped just 27% to add another $1.8 million to its cumulative gross, which is approaching $30 million after a month in release.

At the last minute, Sony slashed Anonymous's release to just 265 screens. Even on so few screens, not many people showed up. The Shakespeare action-drama averaged $3,700 per screen, slightly less than the debut of In Time. Could the movie have sustained that average across thousands of screens? If so, it could have ended up with closer to $10 million, but presumably with higher distribution costs and the chance the movie would be labeled a "flop" and tainted in the home entertainment market.

The Sundance pickup Like Crazy had an impressive $30,000 per-screen average at four locations. Paramount Vantage must have done their job well publicizing this stripped-down romance. Another Sundance selection, Martha Marcy May Marlene, went up 75% from last week. In 32 locations, the cult drama averaged $7,500 per location.

This Friday, the recession-tinged Tower Heist will go up against A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, the third Harold & Kumar movie and the first in three years.

'Puss in Boots' prepares to conquer box office

By Sarah Sluis

Paramount pushed the release of Puss in Boots (3,952 theatres) forward one week, making the CG-animated feature the first so-called "holiday" movie poised to take advantage of mounting ticket sales around Thanksgiving. Though the Shrek spin-off may post lower returns opening weekend because many kids will be celebrating Halloween in advance of the Monday holiday, prognosticators believe the movie should earn $35-39 million, with a decent chance of topping $40 million. 72% of the screens will be in 3D, apparently with good reason. In Todd McCarthy's THR review, he "enthusiastically recommended" a 3D viewing, noting that "the filmmakers have diligently applied themselves to conceiving the shots...[to] make use of 3D as a constructive tool and not just a gimmick."

Coming off its $54 million opening last week, Paranormal Activity 3 should continue to hold strong and grab the number two spot, especially as people celebrate the spooky holiday with a spine-tingling thrill ride.

The sci-fi actioner In Time (3,122 theatres) is tracking to open slightly above $10 million. Only 35% of Rotten Tomatoes critics gave positive ratings, but they may hold less sway among the under 25s who are showing the most interest in seeing the movie, which stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried as people living in a world where no one ages after they turn twenty-five, allowing those with money to live forever.

Fans of Hunter S. Thompson, especially college students, should turn out in force for The Rum Diary (2,272 theatres), which stars Johnny Depp. The rollicking drama, which was delayed for some time, should earn slightly over or under the $10 million mark. David Noh praised the "glamour, wit and surprising adventure," which the movie "delivers in spades."

The Shakespeare action-drama Anonymous was supposed to open wide, but Sony made an unusual last-minute decision to cut back the release to just 265 theatres. THR's Kirk Honeycutt liked the movie, but his summary is enough the count me out. "The film grabs at historical facts, mangles them into a plot worthy of a John le Carr spy novel and takes the viewer on a breathtaking ride through ye olde London," he says of the "rousing" period drama.

Sundance pickup Like Crazy will open in four theatres. The jump cut-laden romance exudes realism and also unfolds unpredictably. Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin star in the indie, which may be worth seeing in a theatre. The crowd I saw the romance with had audible reactions to scenes, which always makes the moviegoing experience more enjoyable.

Janie Jones will open in New York and Seattle. The Tribeca Film Festival selection centers on a rock star and his teen daughter (Abigail Breslin) by a groupie. When the mother drops out of the picture, father and daughter bond.

On Monday we'll see if pre-Halloween festivities brought down the opening weekend of Puss in Boots or boosted the performance of Paranormal Activity 3.

Trailer report: 'In Time,' set in a world where money buys immortality

By Sarah Sluis

Now that there's talk of a double-dip recession, movies that touch on class differences and offer revenge fantasies will be perfectly poised to scoop up the people responding to the zeitgeist. Into this environment comes In Time (formerly titled I'm.Mortal and Now), positing a world in which the rich can live forever and the poor die young, to prevent overpopulation. Yes, now is indeed a great time for class antagonism. Andrew Niccol, the auteur behind the most emotinally resonant futurisic movies, Gattaca (writer/director) and The Truman Show (screenplay), writes and directs the futuristic sci-fi tale. Here's the trailer:

Five things to know about In Time

1. It's coming out in a not-so-good time slot, October 28. I can't explain why, since that weekend is usually reserved for horror films taking advantage of the pre-Halloween weekend. Then again, Niccol's movies have a history of being dumped. His best, Gattaca, played for just three weeks, yet it's among the finest sci-fi movies I've seen--watch New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott's revisiting of the film to learn more.

2. Casting! Vincent Kartheiser, who plays "Mad Men"'s Pete Campbell, plays a spoiled villain, a role we already know he's good at. After Justin Timberlake turned in an excellent performance in The Social Network, it's great to see him building his career further. Amanda Seyfried, who's mostly played charming, wields a gun in this flick, a welcome addition to her star image.

3. The creepy opening introduction. Seconds into the trailer, Kartheiser indicates three nearly identical 25-year-old women, introducing them as his wife, mother-in-law, and daughter. It hits just the right unsettling note I look for in my dystopias. And could it be a coincidence that the countdown clocks are located on the left forearm, the same place where the Nazis tattooed serial numbers on their Jewish prisoners?

4. Roger Deakins is the cinematographer. The recepient of the 2011 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award, Deakins is known for his longtime work with the Coen Brothers and his mastery as a cinematographer. Gattaca also had a strong visual look, which In Time appears to continue.

5. Niccol as an auteur. As solid as The Truman Show and Gattaca are, I haven't seen Lord of War or S1mOne, which seemed like such a laughable concept--a virtual actress! That was one road I didn't want to go down. But then again, people just discovered that a new member of a Japanese pop band was created by a computer. She will "perform" in concerts via hologram. Could Niccol simply be ahead of his time? After all, The Truman Show released well before reality shows took over our televisions.

Niccol's work also has consistency from film to film, and repetition is one mark of an auteur. Gattaca and The Truman Show both use travel into the unknown space of the ocean as turning points for the characters and powerful metaphors. In Time (what I know from the trailer) and Gattaca both feature suicidal rich people who give what they had at birth to a scrappy poor person who can actually use the gifts. These stories feel personal, a rarity in Hollywood. Though the trailer features gun fights and car chases, which Niccol's previous movies have been light on, I hope his moving insights into futuristic societies shine through. I'll take that over Paranormal Activity 3 any day.