Many thought this Easter weekend was going to be a slam dunk for Tyler Perry and his third film to be based on the popular “Madea” character.  However, it was a blue macaw and his feathered friends who fended off the competition. Rio came in at the number one spot for the second weekend in a row.  The film made $26.8M, bringing its two week total to $81M.

Madea was a close second, with Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family making $25.8.  That is a very solid opening weekend total, but it is only the fourth largest debut from Tyler Perry, and it is lower than the two previous Madea movies.

The audience skewed heavily toward African American women over the age of 25, which is very typical for one of Perry’s films.  The film got a coveted “A” grade from audience members polled by CinemaScore. It should also be noted that Madea’s Big Happy Family had the highest per/screen average of the weekend ($11,254).

After critic reviews started coming in as less than stellar, there was some fear that Water for Elephants would under-perform, but it came in about where expected. The romance starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon made about $17.5M and got an “A-” grade from viewers.

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Just a short while after it was announced Pixar’s upcoming sequel to 2001′s Monsters Inc. will actually be a prequel, it looks like Pixar and Disney may have spoken too soon, as the film is now getting pushed back to 2013.

We’re not looking at a massive push, just 6 or 7 months. According to THR, that hasn’t stopped Disney from filling up that prime open box office time.

Disney is pushing back the release of Pixar’s sequel Monsters University from Nov. 2, 2012 to June 21, 2013. As a result, Disney toon Reboot Ralph will now open Nov. 2, 2012 — Monsters’ old date — instead of March 12, 2013.

Within several hours, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation announced they were moving The Croods from March 1, 2013, to March 22, 2013.

Needless to say, both November and now the following June are going to be pretty big months for animation fans, especially families. Sadly, this does mean that fans of Billy Crystal and John Goodman’s characters from the original will have to wait that much longer.

Audiences collectively thumbed their noses at the new box office releases this past weekend, paving the way for a three week old release to top the box office.  Gnomeo and Juliet only dropped 26% in its third week to nab the number one spot with a puny $14.1 million.

That brings its three week total to $75 million; not too shabby for a film featuring garden gnomes. The film was bolstered by a jump of 101% (yep, you read that right) from Friday to Saturday night.  Families seem to be clamoring for something to take the kiddos to.  That bodes very well for Rango, a film that will open next weekend and features the voice talent of Johnny Depp.

Hall Pass was widely predicted to be a slam dunk at the box office, but the newest film from the Farrelly brothers only made $13.4 million. That’s quite a bit short of their best opening weekend back in 2001, when Shallow Hal debuted to $22 million during its opening weekend. Many were hoping this would signal a rebirth of the duo at the box office. A less than stellar B- from cinemascore means this film won’t be in theaters long. Catch it while you can.

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Who wouldn’t want to see a movie starring the dream cast of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine and Maggie Smith, with cameos by Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton, Patrick Stewart and Hulk Hogan? They had me at James McAvoy.

Throw in some Shakespeare source material and music by Elton John, and one would think we were set. But Gnomeo and Juliet does the seeming impossible—takes all of these phenomenal elements and churns out a movie that’s only sporadically entertaining and completely forgettable. Unlike its durable garden decoration characters, this movie will wash out of your brain with the first drizzle.

Gnomeo and Juliet’s first and biggest problem is its lack of original, engaging characters. Gnomeo, Gnomeo, wherefore art thou, Gnomeo? Who knows, but he’s just your standard love-stricken youth determined to prove himself to the world and win his girl, while Juliet is your standard spunky heroine who’s trapped in a narrow female role but has the ninja skills to fight out.

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Those who remember the original Rocky and Bullwinkle show remember two sister franchises fondly. Those being Dudley Do-Right about a bumbling Canadian protagonist and his wins against the evil Snidley Whiplash, and then there was Peabody and Sherman. The latter was about a super-genius talking dog and his teen boy sidekick who would hop in the WABAC time machine and learn about various triumphs and follies in history.

Do-Right got his 15 minutes of Hollywood fame in the form of a Brandan Frazer adaptation, and now it’s Peabody and Sherman’s turn. It looks like Dreamworks is moving ahead with their completely CG adaptation, and have now cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. From EW.

The project was just announced internally to the DreamWorks staff, with Robert Downey Jr. signed to voice the super-smart, bespectacled canine.

The new animated feature, planned for 2014, aims to bring the duo back to the pop culture mainstream. “Certainly for Boomers, they’re in the sweet spot of our childhood animation memories, but beyond there it gets a little bit, well, not quite as familiar,” says director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King).

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Megamind is the latest animated 3D offering from DreamWorks Animation studios. It  is cute and  clever, but it has the disadvantage of coming out after Despicable Me, another animated film that was released earlier this year. Ultimately, that leaves Megamind feeling a bit stale and not particularly original, but it should provide for a fine family night out at the movies.

Will Ferrell is well cast as the voice of Megamind, a villain who has gone toe to toe with his nemesis “Metro Man” (voiced by Brad Pitt) for decades. They have been vying for bragging rights over Metro City, the place they both call home.

A charming opening sequence shows a flashback of  the two characters as infants, when they were sent to earth (separately) from other planets. Metro Man is embraced as a gift from the gods by his surrogate parents, and is blessed with the chiseled good looks of a movie star.  He grows up  adored and admired by all who come in contact with him.

In stark contrast, Megamind grows up misunderstood and under-appreciated in a prison, saddled with a bulbous head and blue coloring.  His only friend is a minion (David Cross) who is sent to earth with him. Megamind was not always a villain; it is only after getting beat down time after time by his peers that he embraces his inner evil. It becomes his coping mechanism of sorts.

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Yesterday, we brought you 3 awesomely hilarious clips from next weekend’s big animated release, Megamind, and if you didn’t think that was enough, we have 3 more for you.

We have more than enough faith in most things super hero these days, but when the film is opening against Skyline and Due Date, expect it to either blow everything out of the water, or get left behind in a race between Hangover fans and sci-fi fans.

Megamind has enough name credit behind itself to make a big enough splash, but fighting names like Robert Downey Jr. and a bunch of explosions, it may be a tough sell for November.

If you’re still teetering on which movie to spend your $10 on, check out some great new clips for the film after the jump, and be sure to make your decision by November 5th.

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Feel like the superhero hasn’t gotten enough play this year? Neither have we. Sure, Iron Man 2, Kick-Ass, and countless other genre films hit theaters this year, but those were all months ago, so let’s look to the now. And there’s nothing more “now” than Dreamwork’s Megamind.

Starring an gigantic voice cast of Will Ferrell, David Cross, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt, the film takes the classic “good vs. evil” idea to a whole new place as the villain actually becomes the hero in this zany sci fi animated film.

We’ve got a bunch of new clips that we’ll be bringing you over the next week, starting with three pretty funny ones today. Be sure to check them out after the jump, and catch Megamind in theaters on November 5th.

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This week’s pick salutes Steven Spielberg’s epic Saving Private Ryan (1998) which tells the story of an eight man rifle squad which is chosen to find and safely bring back Pvt. Ryan after it is discovered that his three older brothers have all died in combat just days apart from one another. The film stars Tom Hanks (Capt. John H. Miller, Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion), Tom Sizemore (Sgt. Mike Horvath), Ed Burns (Pfc. Richard Reiben), Jeremy Davies (Cpl. Timothy E. Upham), Barry Pepper (Pvt. Daniel Jackson), Adam Goldberg (Pvt. Stanley Mellish), Vin Diesel (Pfc. Adrian Caparzo), Giovanni Ribisi (Pvt. Irwin Wade), and Matt Damon (Pvt. James Ryan).

Saving Private Ryan is best known for its first thirty minute opening which is one of the most brutal depictions of combat ever put on film. Elements of Capt. Miller’s (Hanks) battalion prepare for the assault on Omaha Beach on the fateful morning of June 6, 1944. While the assault force approaches the Normandy coast aboard the landing craft, each man is preparing themselves for the inevitable. Many men are seasick, while many pray silently to themselves.

The operator of the boat alerts them that they will hit the beach in just thirty seconds. Miller instructs his men to move fast and to clear the “murder hole” (the opening of the craft). When the ramp hits, you are immediately plunged into the intense combat. Rows of men are cut down from German machine gun fire before they can even leave the craft. Other men are instructed to jump over the sides, only to drown due to the amount of heavy equipment many troops carried into combat.

Miller helps a fellow soldier ashore while they make their way through the maze of anti-tank traps and dead bodies at the water’s edge. The camera is submerged under the water, and then surfaces. The use of sound in this scene is fantastic. When submerged, the scene is tranquil and peaceful but when on the surface, you are subjected to the sound of machine gun fire, explosions, and bullet ricochets off of men and the tank traps that were placed to keep American armored vehicles from reaching the beach.

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Every good super hero tale needs an even better origin story. Well, the same goes for super villain tales, and that’s quite clear as the release date for Dreamworks’ twist on the classic “Good vs. Evil” battle in Megamind starring Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt.

With Madagascar director Tom McGrath taking the helm and a very impressive voice cast including Ferrell, Pitt, Tina Fey, David Cross, and Jonah Hill, there is very little stopping this film from becoming the next Incredibles, which is exactly what Dreamworks is hoping for.

Nickelodeon also has faith in the film, as they’ve released the first five minutes of the film online, which gives us an inside look at the origin of both Metro Man and Megamind. Of course there are allusions to other great comic tales, just done with that Will Ferrell style of humor.

Check out the first five minutes after the jump and catch Megamind in theaters and 3D on November 5th.

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I Am Number Four is a movie based on a young-adult novel written by James Frey (of A Million Little Pieces fame.) It is an action/thriller about a teen (played by Alex Pettyfer) who is running for his life, frequently changing identities and bouncing from town to town to elude his would-be assassins.

Official Synopsis: John (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed…he is Number Four.

D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) directs the film, which also stars Timothy Olyphont. It is produced by Michael Bay.

The movie I Am Number Four will not be coming out until February, but we have a new featurette from Dreamworks to share with you.

In this clip, Caruso explains how nine children were sent to earth from another planet and hidden amongst the general population. The nine have special powers, but they do not know exactly what those are.  You can see the clip after the jump.

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Some might say that this summer’s biggest and best animated film was Toy Story 3, but I beg to differ. Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon brought so much to the table and surprised me in so many ways.

It pulled at my heartstrings, made me smile so wide it almost hurt, and just left me satisfied. Plus, it’s about dragons. Dragons are awesome.

While Pixar reigns supreme with their countless Oscars and widespread critical acclaim, I really feel that Dreamworks, with films released this summer like How to Train Your Dragon and Despicable Me, are slowly sneaking up on them. Which is why I was very excited to hear that How To Train Your Dragon will be soaring from the big screen to your television.

According to Ain’t It Cool News, Cartoon Network has decided to turn How to Train Your Dragon into a television show. No word yet on whether or not any of the cast members of the film, which include Jay Baruschel, Gerard Butler, and Jonah Hill, will reprise their roles for the television show, or when the show will even be released.

This is certainly exciting news that the universe of How To Train Your Dragon will continue on, both on television and in a film sequel slated for 2013.