What to See This Weekend: 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' 'The Tourist,' 'The Fighter'

Travel these days can be a nightmare, and we're not just talking TSA patdowns. Just ask the Pevensie kids about their dangerous cruise in the new 'Narnia' movie, or Johnny Depp about his vacation gone horribly awry in 'The Tourist.'

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' (PG)

Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton
Directed by: Michael Apted
Genre(s): Action - Family - Fantasy
What's It About? In the third installment of the C.S. Lewis fantasy series, the Pevensie siblings return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace and travel with Prince Caspian aboard his ship, the Dawn Treader, toward the edge of the world. More on what it's about
Why Should You See It? Come for the dazzling visuals and magical creatures, stay for the spiritual allegory. Plus, it's the only major family-fantasy spectacle of the season (well, there's also 'Harry Potter,' but you've already seen it, right?), and you're eager to see Swinton reprise her role as the wicked, wintry White Witch. Did we mention that it's in 3-D?
You Might Like It If You Like: The first two 'Narnia' movies, the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy

Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews
Family Film Guide: 'Narnia' | Cast Interviews
Director Michael Apted on Future Sequels

Watch a Scene From the Movie and Mr. Moviefone's Six Second Review

'The Tourist' (PG-13)

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Dalton
Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Genre(s): Drama - Thriller
What's It About? During a trip to Europe, lovelorn Frank (Depp) crosses paths with alluring Elise (Jolie), who entraps him in a web of mystery and international intrigue.
Why Should You See It? To learn whether or not Depp + Jolie = more hotness than the screen can handle. Also because Jolie is, by now, an old pro at the femme fatale/international-woman-of-mystery thing.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Salt,' 'Nick of Time,' 'Wanted'

Showtimes and Ticket | Reviews

Watch the 'Tourist' Trailer
In Limited Release

'The Fighter' (R), which tells the true story of lightweight champ "Irish" Micky Ward, should be a cut above the usual boxing drama, thanks to performances by Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale that are already being touted for Oscar consideration.

Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer | Six Second Review | Christian Bale Interview

'The Tempest' (PG-13), a Shakespeare adaptation by visionary stage director Julie Taymor ('Frida'), has two ideas that sound brilliant on paper: make the aging sorcerer Prospero a woman, and give the role to Helen Mirren.

Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer | Read Our Review

'The Company Men' (R) is a timely drama about losing your job, featuring three white-collar guys (Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones) in different stages of their careers who are forced to cope with massive layoffs at their company.

Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer | Read Our Review

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

•'Black Swan' -- Catch up with the Natalie Portman performance no one can stop talking about, as this ballet drama expands to theaters nationwide. | Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer
•'Tangled' -- Can't book passage to Narnia this weekend? There are still plenty of princesses, warriors and magical creatures in Disney's something-for-everyone version of the Rapunzel tale. | Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer
•'I Love You Phillip Morris' -- This conman-meets-convict prison-cell romance isn't for everyone, but it may contain the performance of Jim Carrey's career. | Showtimes & Tickets | Watch the Trailer

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD This Week: Didn't grasp all the plot complexities of 'Inception' the first time around? Or the second? Or third? Now that you can watch the mind-bending dreams-within-dreams thriller at home, with your finger on the rewind button, all should become clear. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

Movie Homework: What was C.S. Lewis thinking? How did a man who conveyed Christian faith so easily to children in the 'Narnia' books cope in his own life when his faith was tested by deep personal loss? 'Shadowlands' offers an intimate look at the life of the British academic, focusing specifically on the tragic romance between Lewis (played by Anthony Hopkins) and an American woman, Joy Gresham (Debra Winger). Buy or rent the DVD

On Our Netflix Queue: Why isn't 'Love Actually' considered a Christmas movie? Sure, it's a romantic comedy (actually, several simultaneous romantic comedies in one), but the whole thing takes place in the weeks counting down to Christmas, with the plotlines all neatly wrapped up on Christmas Eve like presents under the tree. Time to watch it again with your loved ones. Buy or rent the DVD

•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

View the original article here

'Narnia: Dawn Treader' Barely Treads Water, Wins Weak Box Office

Maybe potential moviegoers were too busy Christmas shopping this weekend to think much about travel, or travel-themed movies. Far fewer than expected booked passage with either of the weekend's wide releases, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' and 'The Tourist.' 'Narnia' won the box office weekend with an estimated $24.5 million, but given the expectations for 'Dawn Treader,' that's barely treading water.

Not that anyone expected 'Dawn Treader' to do as well as the first two 'Narnia' movies. 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' opened with $65.6 million on this same weekend five years ago, while 'Prince Caspian' debuted with $55 million in 2008. With the apparent downward trend, the nearly three-year wait between sequels, middling reviews and competition for the fantasy/family audience from 'Tangled' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I,' 'Dawn Treader' faced stormy seas. Still, the series' fanbase (including Christian viewers who appreciate C.S. Lewis' spiritual allegories) and the 3-D surcharge were expected to boost 'Dawn Treader' to a debut between $38 and $45 million.

That it opened with just over half of its projected sales has to be considered a major disappointment both for the franchise and for Fox, which picked up the 'Narnia' banner after Disney dropped it. 'Wardrobe' worked its magic toward a $291.7 domestic total, while 'Caspian' topped out at $141.6 million. 'Dawn Treader' will have trouble cracking $100 million domestically, which will continue Fox's year-long losing streak; the studio hasn't had a film crack the $100 million mark since 2009's 'Avatar.'

'The Tourist' opened in second place with an estimated $17.0 million. That also has to be considered a disappointment, since the combined star power of Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, as well as the dearth of competition in the adult thriller niche, had led to expectations of an opening around $25 million. Apparently, pretty faces were not enough to overcome weak word-of-mouth. At least Sony should be able to count on better returns overseas, where Depp and Jolie's names should carry greater weight. (Fox, too, can probably count on overseas receipts to rescue 'Dawn Treader.')

'Tangled' maintained a lock on the family audience, coming in third with an estimated $14.6 million, down just 33 percent from last weekend. In three weeks, Disney's Rapunzel cartoon has taken in $115.6 million.

'Harry Potter' is falling faster. It came in fourth with an estimated $8.5 million, about half what it earned last week, when it was overtaken by 'Tangled.' Still, it's earned $257.7 million in four weeks and could cross $300 million by the time it leaves theaters.

In fifth place, 'Unstoppable' is still nearly that, slowing down just 37 percent this weekend. The runaway train thriller grossed an estimated $3.8 million, for a five-week total of $74.3 million.

On the limited-release front, Mark Wahlberg's Oscar hopeful 'The Fighter' opened with a knockout per-screen average of $80,000 on four screens, for an estimated total of $320,000. That's not quite as much as the 2010 record set two weeks ago by the opening of 'The King's Speech' ($88,862 on each of four screens), but it's enough to edge out 'Black Swan,' which opened last week with a per-screen average of $77,459 at 18 venues. (For comparison's sake, 'Dawn Treader' averaged $6,892 per screen, the biggest per-screen figure of any of the current wide-release movies.)

Still, don't cry for 'Black Swan.' Natalie Portman's Academy-Award-seeking ballet thriller added 72 more screens this weekend and vaulted up to No. 6 on the box office chart with an estimated $3.3 million. That's $37,022 per venue; maybe 'Dawn Treader' and 'Tourist' would have grossed six times as much if they'd featured fragile, tightly wound, bisexual ballerinas.

The full top 10:
1. 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,' $24.5 million (3,555 screens), new release
2. 'The Tourist,' $17.0 million (2,756), new release
3. 'Tangled,' $14.6 million (3,565), $115.6 million total
4. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I,' $8.5 million (3,577), $257.7 million
5. 'Unstoppable,' $3.81 million (2,967), $74.3 million
6. 'Black Swan,' $3.3 million (90), $5.6 million
7. 'Burlesque,' $3.2 million (2,876), $32.6 million
8. 'Love and Other Drugs,' $3.0 million (2,240), $27.6 million
9. 'Due Date,' $2.55 million (1,990), $94.9 million
10. 'Megamind,' $2.51 million (2,425), $140.2 million

•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

View the original article here