If you're doubting that Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" and Anne Hathaway-Kate Hudson comedy "Bride Wars" are going to do well at the box office, don't.

Both films have appeal built into their names. Warner Bros.' "Gran Torino" equals the name of a car equals male moviegoers. (Oh yes, there are guns, too.) That's before factoring in the star appeal of Eastwood--one rival studio honcho says that Eastwood is nothing short of a national treasure.

"Bride" equals bride equals female moviegoers. Never mind that the 20th Century Fox movie is getting stood up at the altar by reviewers. Just look at "Four Christmases," which was likewise chewed up and spit out by critics, yet it's gone on to gross north of $100 million at the domestic box office.

Here's my weekend box office preview.

Exclusive: IFC Films will announce later today that Steven Soderbergh's two-part "Che" biopic will not only expand to additional markets, but the two films will continue to be shown together. Originally, the two films were going to be released separately, but the awards run did well enough over the holiday season to warrant a change in plans. 

Here's the an early copy of the press release:

IFC FILMS TAKES “CHE” ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Roadshow Edition to open in 9 additional markets following sold out screenings in New York and Los Angeles

New York, NY, January 7, 2009 -- IFC Films, one of the leading independent and foreign film distributors, announced today that it will take “Che,” the Special Roadshow Edition on the road again to 9 additional markets on Friday, January 16^th following the huge success of the film in New York and Los Angeles.  In just three weeks, the film has grossed $244, 857 from single theater engagements with only two shows a day in New York and Los Angeles.

 “Che” had the highest week gross of 2008 at Landmark’s Nuart Theater in Los Angeles with a take of $26,130.  At the IFC Center in NY, “Che” had an amazing run with a first week gross of $37,451, setting a new record for the IFC Center as its top-grossing week ever. Its momentum continued to build in its second week, selling out 12 of its 14 shows, as its second week gross rose to $46,000.

 On January 16^th, “Che,” the Special Roadshow Edition, will unspool in 9 additional markets.  Like in New York and Los Angeles, the film will be shown in its entirety, commercial and trailer free with an intermission and limited edition program book at every screening.  The markets include:

Boston (Landmark Kendall), Chicago (Landmark Century Center), Dallas (Landmark Magnolia), Houston (City Cinemas Angelika), Minneapolis (Landmark Uptown), Philadelphia (Landmark Ritz 5), San Francisco (Landmark Embarcadero),Seattle (Landmark Varsity),  Washington DC (Landmark E Street).

From Sony:

CULVER CITY, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- At the motion picture box office, there is one man who keeps showing that nobody does it better: Bond. James Bond.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures'/Columbia Pictures' Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond adventure, has taken in over $167.1 million to become the most successful Bond film of all time in North America, surpassing the $167 million grossed domestically by Casino Royale, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, chairman of Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution. The film is still playing in 891 theaters in the United States. --More--

Variety's Michael Fleming is reporting that Mickey Rourke is in final talks to play the villain in Marvel Entertainment and Paramount's "Iron Man 2." 

"Iron Man" already helped resurrect Robert Downey Jr.'s career. In fact, it made him more of a star than ever before, in terms of sheer box office might. Maybe it will do the same for Rourke, whose currently in theaters with specialty pic "The Wrestler." 

Now that Disney has cut ties with Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia" franchise, some are speculating that 20th Century Fox is the natural next home.

Lest you forget, Fox and Walden have danced together before, via Fox-Walden.
 
So why did Disney give up the franchise? One possible point of contention between the Mouse House and Walden was release dates. The first "Narnia" film was released at Christmas, to great success. Disney, however, decided to open the second pic in May. Film made plenty of money, just not as much as the first one did.

By going to a new studio, Walden might be able to extract some sort of promise to release upcoming films--the next being "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"--during the year-end holidays.

Stay tuned.

There's no rest for the weary. 

Now that Nazi thriller "Valkyrie" has opened successfully in the U.S., Tom Cruise is getting ready to cross the ocean to promote the film's upcoming international launch. 

He'll be on hand for the German premiere on Jan. 20, as well as visit six other countries, including in Asia.

Bryan Singer shot much of "Valkyrie"--from United Artists and MGM--in Germany. Some German officials tried to block Singer's access because of Cruise being a Scientologist, as did relatives of Col. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, whom Cruise plays in the movie. They utimately relented, however.

"Valkyrie" has done way better than expected at the North American box office. It took plenty of heat for being pushed back several times. Plus, people love to handicap Tom Cruise's every move. Over the Christmas holidays, "Valkyrie" held steady at No. 4, behind "Marley & Me," "Bedtime Stories" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." On Monday, pic came in No. 3, with a running gross of $61.8 million. 

It will be interesting to see how the film plays overseas. Is Tom Cruise still beloved abroad? We'll know soon enough.

Check it out--Joe Biden and his wife apparently tried to go see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" at the theater, but it was sold out. At least, we think it was Biden...read for yourself.

Numbers can be crunched different ways when it comes analyzing the 2008 domestic box office. At Variety, we are using Jan. 2, 2008 through Jan. 1, 2009 to calculate how the year stacked up. It's only fair, since New Year's Day rightfully belongs to the Christmas season.

Bottom line: Total ticket sales equaled a record-breaking $9.63 billion, slightly ahead of the $9.62 earned in 2007. 

Attendance was down roughly 4%, however. 

So why are other publications coming up with different numbers? The New York Times says domestic box office revenues were down, albeit by less than 1%. Newspaper seems to be relying on Media By Numbers, which goes by the calendar year. It's hard to believe one or two days can make a difference, but they it does.

The Hollywood Reporter says that 2008 B.O. revs were up 2%. It appears THR is including this past weekend (Jan. 2-4) in its calculation. 

Confused? It's understandable.

However you dissect the numbers, it was a good year for the box office, money-wise. Whether you liked what the marquee offered is another story. (I enjoyed David Poland's take on the subject.)

The Christmas season was particularly prosperous for Hollywood, and especially 20th Century Fox, whose slice-of-life dramedy "Marley & Me" led the pack. 

Abroad, Hollywood also had a record year


.

The coin that films can amass during the Christmas-New Year's stretch is enough to make your jaw drop. Business is consistently good as kids and adults on vacation prowl theaters. It's no surprise that family films in particular do great weekday numbers.
 
Through Tuesday, the cume for 20th Century Fox's market leader "Marley & Me's" cume was $65.6 million, including a Tuesday gross of $7.3 million. The beauty for Fox is that "Marley" is getting business from nearly all demos, except perhaps younger tots.

But, quite honestly, several adult-skewing titles are doing great as well, such as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." 

One weak spot? Will Smith starrer "Seven Pounds" continues to struggle.

Here's the top 10 pics at the Tuesday box office:

1. Marley & Me (Fox, 12/25 release)
Tuesday gross: $7.3 million
Total gross: $65.6 million

2. Bedtime Stories (Disney, 12/25 release)
Tuesday gross: $6.6 million
Total gross: $51 million

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount/Warner Bros, 11/25 release)
Tuesday gross: $4.7 million
Total gross: $48.4 million

4. Valkyrie (MGM/United Artists, 12/25 release)
Tuesday gross: $3.8 million
Total gross: $37.4 million

5. Yes Man (Warner Bros., 12/19 release)
Tuesday gross: $3.7 million
Total gross: $57.3 million

6. Seven Pounds (Sony, 12/19 release)
Tuesday gross: $2.4 million
Total gross: $43.7 million

7. The Tale of Despereaux (Universal, 12/19 release)
Tuesday gross: $2.4 million
Total gross: $32.1 million

8. Twilight (Summit Entertainment, 11/21 release)
Tuesday gross: $1.3 million
Total gross: $170 million

9. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Fox, 12/12 release)
Tuesday gross: $1.3 million
Total gross: $66.1 million

10. Bolt (Disney, 11/21 release)
Tuesday gross: $1.1 million
Total gross: $104.5 million

Fox's Jennifer Aniston-Owen Wilson comedy "Marley & Me" made another $7.6 million on Monday for a five-day cume of $58.3 million! There's no slowing down this crowd pleaser.

The week between Christmas and New Year's can produce the best weekday grosses of the entire year, and this year is no exception. "Marley" was only down 22% from Sunday.

Disney's Adam Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories" came in No. 2 on Monday, grossing north of $6 million for a cume of somewhere around $44.6 million. It makes sense that "Bedtime" came in ahead of Paramount's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," since it's a family pic. Indeed, "Bedtime" declined less than 13% on Monday. (Some adults actually have to work the early part of this week.)

"Button" made north of $5 million on Monday or a cume of around $44 million. That's quite a showing. 

Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie" also continued to hold its own, grossing somewhere around $4 million for the day. Cume is north of $35 million.

All four pics opened Christmas Day. 

Placing fifth on Monday was Warner Bros.' Jim Carrey laffer "Yes Man." Comedy is another win for Warner Bros., whose year is the best on record in terms of box office revenues. Opening Dec. 19, film's cume is north of $53 million.

Saturday a.m.: Fox's losing streak at the box office is officially over. Studio's holiday release "Marley and Me" still was at No. 1 on Friday after a boffo opening on Christmas Day.
 
Everyone had thought Disney's Adam Sandler family comedy "Bedtime Stories" would win Christmas weekend, but "Marley" appears to have the race locked up.

The wild success of "Marley" really shouldn't be a surprise, however, considering the nation's obsession with dogs--any dog.
 
Paramount and Warner Bros.' dreamy romancer "The Curious Case of Benjamin" is beating expectations as well. Timing couldn't be better, since Academy voters are just starting to get their nominating ballots in the mail

8 a.m. Friday: Usually, Christmas Day is relatively light at the box office, but not this year. Twentieth Century Fox's Jennifer Aniston-Owen Wilson starrer "Marley and Me" opened to an estimated $14.8 million from 3,480 playdates to become the best opening ever for Dec. 25. 

Not only does "Marley" feature an adorable dog, it is rated PG, meaning it is appropriate for families.(Bring your hankies, however.)

Paramount's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"--toplining Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett--also overperformed, grossing an estimated $11.8 million from 2,988 runs to become the second best Christmas Day opening of all time.

Directed by David Fincher, "Button" has already picked up a number of key award noms.

Two titles did 40% to 50% more business than box office insiders expected. 

A record five films opened nationwide on Thursday. Disney family title "Bedtime Stories"--toplining Adam Sandler--grossed roughly $10.5 million from 3,651 theaters to place No. 3 for the day. Film should pick up the pace today as kids are freed up.

The big question is whether it can beat "Button" and come in No. 2 for the long Christmas weekend.

Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie," from United Artists/MGM, also found more holiday cheer that forecasted. Nazi thriller, directed by Bryan Singer, came in  No. 4 in its debut, grossing an estimated $8.5 million from 2,711 runs. 

The only title underperforming among the five Christmas Day openers was Lionsgate's "The Spirit," from Frank Miller. Title, placing No. 7 for the day, debuted to an estimated $4 million from 2,509 theaters.

Beating "Spirit" were holdovers "Yes Man," from Warner Bros., and Sony's "Seven Pounds." 

Toplining Jim Carrey, "Yes man" grossed an estimated $6 million from 3,434 playdates for a cume of more than $33 in its 7th day in release.

"Seven Pounds," starring Will Smith, grossed an estimated $4.8 million from 2,758 runs for a cume of $25.6 million in its 7th day. Film is a rare box office disappointment for a Smith.

You can already hear the chatter in the wake of the so-so opening of "Seven Pounds." Will Smith's winning box office run is over. Finished. Eighty-sixed. Done.

True, "Seven Pounds" only grossed $16 million in its debut, not much more than Smith starrer "Bad Boys" did a decade ago.
 
A big part of the reason was a major storm in the Northeast that made mincemeat of the Friday box office. Another reason is the storyline itself, which is something of a bummer. But I wouldn't count out the pic just yet. Let's see what happens over the next two weeks.
 
Why is that people want to declare a film dead based on one weekend? I'm not saying these forecasters are always wrong, but what's the point of all this predicting and bah humbugging? Where's the holiday spirit?

Here's my complete coverage of the weekend box office. And here's my separate story on specialty films.

Saturday night update: Jim Carrey's comedy "Yes Men" will likely gross $19 million for the weekend at the weekend box office; Will Smith's drama "Seven Pounds," $16.5 million. Both pics were soft due to terrible weather, as well as preoccupation with holiday shopping. Also, people might not want to be bummed out, even if Smith is the world's biggest box office star.

Brrrr...the Friday box office was decidely frosty as severe weather hurt many major moviegoing markets in the East. That's why distribution honchos were glued to the Weather Channel throughout Friday and Saturday morning. (I kid you not.). 

For instance, ticket sales were down a whopping 81% in Toronto and 45% in New York, compared to last Friday.

In markets where skies were clear, it was another story. Traffic was down only 1%--that's right, only 1%--in Los Angeles compared to a week ago, and 3% in San Francisco and Chicago.

That made life difficult for Warner Bros.' Jim Carrey laffer "Yes Man" and Sony's Will Smith drama "Seven Pounds," which came in at least $5 million shy of projections. That means they'll have to do great business today. However, there's more bad weather brewing, including a major storm in the Northwest, and a storm in the Midweast that's headed for the Northeast.

"Yes Man" beat "Seven Pounds" as expected, grossing $6.5 million, while Smith's movie earned $5.2 million.

IFC Films and Steven Soderbergh were so jazzed about ticket sales for "Che" last weekend that they've added another exclusive awards run of the epic Che Guevara biopic, which is actually two films.
 
"Che" will launch again for a two week run in New York on Dec. 24 at the IFC Center; and on Dec. 26 at the Landmark Nuart in Los Angeles. 
 
They'll also be a number of Q&As with Soderbergh and "Che" star Benicio Del Toro. After that, IFC Films will release the two films separately, and on Jan. 21, film be available on video-on-demand.

IFC's Mark Boxer, who heads distribution, said "Che" scored one of the top 10 screen averages of the year last weekend, despite being 4 hours and 30 minutes.

"We thought 'Che' would have a great deal of interest but to sell out in Los Angeles and New York City was beyond our expectations," Boxer notes.
 
Wouldn't it be something if "Che" actually worked, after no one dared buy it at Cannes or, more recently, Toronto? On the other hand, one weekend does not a box office success make. We'll have to see how it does over Christmas.