Will Smith Is On Top Of The World

Will Smith has been voted the top money-making movie star of 2008 in an annual poll of US cinema owners and film buyers. Think lots and lots of dollar signs! Smith, star of Hancock and Seven Pounds, is only the second African-American actor after Sidney Poitier to top the Quigley poll, which has been running for 76 years.

What an amazing accomplishment, we bet he's having a happy new year! He's so great though, Will Smith seems like such a likeable guy, how could you not be happy for the actor? Other actors on the list? Robert Downey Jr came second, Christian Bale third and Shia LaBeouf fourth.

Weekend Box Office Results

The weekend relied mostly on the star power of Jim Carrey and Will Smith, who have been among the very few actors that could attract audiences in the past, but the movies they headlined, Yes Man and Seven Pounds respectively, didn't stand out otherwise. What we mean to say is, it was a pretty weak box office overall this weekend. Everyone is holiday shopping, that's why! Here are the top five movies in the box office from this weekend Dec. 19th-21st:

1. Yes Man

2. Seven Pounds

3. The Tale of Desperaux

4. The Day The Earth Stood Still

5. Four Christmases

Madagascar 2 Premiere!

What a good-looking celebrity family! (Well, minus Fergie in there, she's not part of the Smith family). Will Smith, his wife and two children attended the big Hollywood premiere of “Madascar: Escape 2 Africa,” held at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood.

Other celebrities to attend the premiere were comedian Ben Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor. Plus, Chris Rock was spotted on the red carpet with his wife Malaak Compton toting along their adorable daughters. What a family affair this event turned out to be, we love it! Most of these celebs lended their voices to the second installment of the kid-friendly animated movie. This cool pictures makes for our Monday morning PCM Picture of the Day!

Superheroes top box office

It was a good weekend for Hellboy, as the film Hellboy II: The Golden Army topped the weekend box office, taking in $35.9 million.

Last week's No. 1, Will Smith's Hancock, dropped to No. 2, but still grossed $33.3 million over the weekend. Ticket sales fell less than 50 percent, helping the poorly-reviewed film remain near the top, according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations.

In third place was Brendan Fraser with the film Journey to the Center of the Earth, a 3-D remake of the original. It took in $20.6 million in ticket sales, knocking the animated hit flick WALL-E to fourth.

Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy's film Meet Dave came in a disappointing seventh, taking in only $5.3 million. It marks Murphy's lowest total for a debut since 2002's The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

Last month Murphy announced that Meet Dave would mark his movie retirement. He said he wished to return to the stage to do stand-up comedy.


The weekend box office top 10 (according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations):
1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $35.9 million
2. Hancock, $33 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth, $20.6 million
4. WALL-E, $18.5 million
5. Wanted, $11.6 million
6. Get Smart, $7.1 million
7. Meet Dave, $5.3 million
8. Kung Fu Panda, $4.3 million
9. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, $2.4 million
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $2.3 million

Hancock tops holiday box office

Will Smith's "Hancock" topped the July 4 holiday weekend box office, becoming Smith's fifth movie to do so.

"Will Smith, Mom, apple pie and the Fourth of July. It doesn’t get any better," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "People just so relate to him and the characters that he plays. They totally embraced it as something different, something fresh."

"Hancock" also marks Smith's seventh straight movie to open at No. 1.

The poorly-reviewed superhero flick earned $66 million over the weekend, increasing its total in ticket sales to $107.3 million since its Tuesday evening opening.

Last weekend's No. 1, Disney-Pixar's "Wall-E," was bumped to the second spot this weekend, with $33.4 million in ticket sales. The family-friendly animated flick has made $128.1 million in its 10 days in theaters.

Overall, ticket sales were down for the first time in a month, as well as down four percent since Fourth of July of 2007.

But revenues for this summer are two percent ahead of last summer's record pace, when revenues topped $4 billion for the first time in history.


Weekend Top 10, courtesy of estimates from Exhibitor Relations:

1. Hancock, $66 million
2. WALL-E, $33.4 million
3. Wanted, $20.6 million
4. Get Smart, $11.1 million
5. Kung Fu Panda, $7.5 million
6. The Incredible Hulk, $5 million
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $3.9 million
8. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, $3.6 million
9. Sex and the City, $2.3 million
10. You Don't Mess With the Zohan, $2 million

Connor Cruise Will be in a Movie

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s thirteen-year-old adopted son, Connor, is following the career path of his parents.

Connor Cruise has a small, non-speaking role in Will Smith’s upcoming drama Seven Pounds. Connor will be playing Smith as boy, and filmed his part in the movie over a two-day-period in March.

Also starring Rosario Dawson, Seven Pounds is being directed by Gabriele Muccino and is about a man who influences the lives of seven strangers.

In addition to Connor, Kidman and Cruise also have another adopted child, fifteen-year-old-Isabella. Nicole is currently expecting a baby with her husband, country singer Keith Urban, and Cruise’s daughter with Katie Holmes, Suri, just celebrated her second birthday.

Will Smith defending Hitler?!?!? This means trouble!

A Scottish newspaper is reporting that during an interview Smith made an alleged suggestion/comment in defense of Adolf Hitler, which in turn infuriated the Jewish community and has the Jewish Defense league calling for Sen. Barack Obama to repudiate Smith's comments and theaters to pull his newest film "I am Legend". Click here to read the full story on TMZ.com
Perhaps, the title of the film should be changed from "I am Legend", to "I'm in Trouble"
Will Smith has since released a statement regarding the incident and calls the claims of the Scottish paper ludicrous and untrue.

Will Smith looks at the Bright Side of Life

Actor Will Smith said that Adolph Hitler “... didn't wake up going, ‘Let me do the most evil thing I can so today.’ I think he woke up one morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good.’”
The box office champ and star of "I Am Legend" offended more than a few folks with the statement; the Jewish Defense League said that Smith's words "spit on the memory of every person murdered by the Nazis. His disgusting words stick a knife in the backs of every veteran who fought (and sometimes died) to save the world from the intentions of Adolf Hitler."

After the firestorm, Will clarified himself with the following:
"It is an awful and disgusting lie. It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation. Adolph Hitler was a vile, heinous, vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet."

I Am Legend Success @ Box Office!

Despite mostly negative reviews, Will Smith’s latest film, I Am Legend, is raking it in at the U.S. box office this weekend.

The flick generated $30 million on Friday and is expected to take in $80 million total this weekend. The movie may be good enough for the biggest December opening ever.

You can't go wrong with Will Smith, go check it out !