What to See This Weekend: 'Burlesque,' 'Love and Other Drugs,' 'Tangled,' 'Faster'

Just in time for the Thanksgiving feast, your cineplex offers some new sizzling, saucy treats for grownups, as well as some tasty toons for those at the kids' table.

New and Noteworthy: 'Burlesque'

Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Cam Gigandet, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell
Directed by: Steve Antin
What's It About? Xtina stars as an aspiring singer/dancer who gets her big break in the Pussycat Dolls-style revue at a neo-burlesque club owned by Cher. Bell is the bitchy rival, 'Dancing With The Stars' pro Julianne Hough is the nice girl who helps Aguilera, Gigandet ('Twilight') is the poor love interest, Eric 'McSteamy' Dane is the rich love interest, Tucci is the stage-savvy mentor and Alan Cumming is (of course) the sexually ambiguous emcee.
Why Should You See It? It's Aguilera's first dramatic film role and Cher's first movie in ages. It's an old-fashioned movie musical of the kind hardly anyone makes anymore. There should be no shortage of camp, whether that's something you revel in or cackle at. Did we mention Cher? Well, we did, but she's officially a force of nature now, so ignore her at your peril.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Chicago,' 'Glee'

•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•Unscripted: Interview with Cher and Christina Aguilera (VIDEO)
•At the 'Burlesque' Premiere
•Reviews

'Burlesque' - Trailer No. 1

'Love and Other Drugs'

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal
Directed by: Edward Zwick
What's It About? Jamie Reidy's memoir 'Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman' may not sound like the stuff of romantic drama to you, but it's the source for this romance about a pharmaceutical sales rep (Gyllenhaal) who falls in love with a free spirit (Hathaway).
Why Should You See It? Reunited for the first time since they got naked together in 'Brokeback Mountain,' Hathaway and Gyllenhaal offer a rare, adult take on romance that includes plenty of frank sexuality, in which they discuss emotional issues with a candor and openness and casual attitude toward nudity seldom shown in mainstream romantic movies these days. Also, the stars spend a lot of time nude.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Sweet November,' 'Autumn in New York,' 'Love Story'

•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•Exclusive: Jake Gyllenhaal Remembers Co-star Jill Clayburgh

'Love and Other Drugs' - Trailer No. 1

'Tangled'

Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey
Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
What's It About? It's Disney's take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, in which the long-tressed princess (voiced by Moore) doesn't just wait to be swept off her feet. Instead, she must venture out of the tower to find her true love.
Why Should You See It? It bears the Disney stamp, it has strong advance buzz and it's reportedly the last time Disney will dip into the fairytale princess well.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'The Princess and the Frog,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'The Little Mermaid'

•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•'Tangled' Stars and Directors Talk PG Rating, 'Sassitude' and a Potential 'Chuck' Musical Episode
•'Tangled' Will Be Final Disney Fairytale - Is That a Good Thing?
• Reviews: Cinematical

'Tangled' - Trailer No. 2

'Faster'

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace, Carla Gugino
Directed by: George Tillman, Jr.
What's It About? Once he's released from a 10-year stretch, ex-con Driver (Johnson) immediately sets about crossing names off his revenge to-do list. Driver is pursued in turn by a burned-out cop (Thornton) and a slick hitman (Jackson-Cohen).
Why Should You See It? It's an action pic, it's called 'Faster,' it stars The Artist Formerly Known as The Rock -- what else do you need to know? Also, it's the only action movie opening this weekend.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'The Rundown,' 'Payback,' 'Kill Bill'

•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•Reviews

'Faster' - Trailer No. 2'

In Limited Release

'The King's Speech' is earning strong Oscar buzz for Colin Firth's performance as George VI, who finds himself unexpectedly on the English throne on the eve of World War II, and who enlists a speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) to help him inspire the nation.
Showtimes & Tickets | Stars Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Director Tom Hooper Talk 'The King's Speech' (VIDEO) | 'The King's Speech' Premiere (VIDEO)
'The Nutcracker in 3D,' from Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky, turns the classic Tchaikovsky Christmas ballet into an effects-laden live-action adventure, starring Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, and John Turturro.
Showtimes & Tickets
Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

•'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I' - See it again, for Dobby's sake. | Showtimes & Tickets
•'The Next Three Days' - Who'd win in a tag team match between Team 'Faster' (Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton) and Team 'Next Three Days' (Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson). Don't know, but we'd pay to watch. | Showtimes & Tickets
•'For Colored Girls' - Janet Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Phylicia Rashad -- where else are you going to see a cast like this? | Showtimes & Tickets
Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD This Week: 'Eat Pray Love' sounds like a Thanksgiving to-do list, but it's also Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's account of her round-the-world trek in search of gastronomic, spiritual, and romantic fulfillment. Julia Roberts is your genial guide for this glossy travelogue. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

Movie Homework: Once upon a time, 'Faster's' Billy Bob Thornton wasn't the world-weary cop chasing a fugitive, he was the fugitive. He plays a particularly brutal thug in 1991's 'One False Move,' which he also co-wrote. Bill Paxton is the cop, and Cynda Williams is the femme fatale who comes between them. A dark, haunting little thriller that deserves to be better known. Buy or rent the DVD

On My Netflix Queue: Usually, my favorite Thanksgiving movie, 1995's 'Home for the Holidays,' is a November staple on TV, but no one seems to be airing it this year, so it's time to rent Jodie Foster's underrated comedy about a Turkey Day celebration gone awry, as Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. discover once again how embarrassingly easy it is for our parents to make us into little children again. Buy or rent the DVD.
•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

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'Tangled' Brushes Past 'Harry Potter': Box Office Report December 3-5

No surprise that 'Tangled' brushed past 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I' to take the box office crown. For more striking box office news, you have to look further down the chart, for the stunning thud made by 'The Warrior's Way' (the week's only new wide release) and the astonishing leaps made by Natalie Portman's ballet drama 'Black Swan' during its limited-release debut.

According to studio estimates, 'Tangled' raked in $21.5 million this week, bringing its 12-day total to $96.5 million. Slipping 56 percent from last week, Disney's Rapunzel cartoon was still coasting on unanimously positive word-of-mouth and strong reviews, a more family-friendly rating than 'Deathly Hallows,' and those 3-D surcharges.

'Harry Potter,' which had been showing signs of slowed momentum as early as its second weekend (which was last week, when 'Tangled' came within a hair of beating it), fell faster than 'Tangled,' dropping 66 percent this weekend to an estimated $16.7 million. Still, it should easily pass $250 million in a couple of days, well within three weeks of its release.

Like 'Tangled,' other movies showing an impressively slow decline this weekend were 'Burlesque,' 'Unstoppable' and 'Love and Other Drugs.' 'Burlesque' danced into third place this weekend with an estimated $6.1 million, down just 49 percent from its debut last week. Despite middling reviews, the Cher-Christina Aguliera musical is getting strong word of mouth from its target audience, for whom it delivers on the campy spectacle its ads have promised. Its 12-day total is just shy of $27 million.

'Unstoppable' keeps living up to its name. The runaway train thriller tied for third place with 'Burlesque' with an estimated $6.1 million. (Final numbers released Monday will probably find one or the other pulling ahead.) That's down just 47 percent from last week, for a four-weekend total of $68.9 million.

'Love and Other Drugs' fell just 41 percent in its second weekend. It scored an estimated $5.7 million, good for fifth place. Like 'Burlesque,' it's overcome middling reviews with positive word-of-mouth, strong adult appeal, and plenty of hype over its steaminess. Its 12-day total is $22.6 million.

Hype is what 'The Warrior's Way' could have used more of. The only new movie this week that had even close to a wide release (in 1,622 theaters), the martial arts/western had been sitting on a shelf for nearly three years, had a star and a first-time director unknown in the U.S., opened without screening for critics, and may have confused viewers who didn't know what to expect from its genre-mixing. Plus, it was vying for action fans with the still-popular 'Unstoppable' and even last week's box office disappointment 'Faster,' which at least could boast a familiar leading man in Dwayne Johnson.

About all 'The Warrior's Way' had going for it was a lack of competition from other new wide releases. Predictions ran in the range of $5 million, but the film opened with an estimated $3.1 million, taking the No. 9 spot on the chart.

Just a few rungs down, at No. 13, 'Black Swan' opened with an estimated $1.4 million, an impressive number for just 18 screens. That's a per-screen average of $77,459, a number topped this year only by last week's release of 'The King's Speech' ($88,862 on each of four screens). Both movies are riding a wave of Oscar buzz ('Black Swan' for Portman's performance, 'King's Speech' for Colin Firth's), while 'Black Swan' has also enjoyed months of hype over Portman's torrid on-screen liaison with Mila Kunis. Watch for this one to vault up the chart as it goes nationwide over the next few weeks.

The full top 10:
1. 'Tangled,' $21.5 million (3,603 screens), $96.5 million total
2. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I,' $16.7 million (4,125), $244.2 million
3. 'Burlesque,' $6.1 million (3,037), $27.0 million
3. 'Unstoppable,' $6.1 million (3,152), $68.9 million
5. 'Love and Other Drugs,' $5.7 million (2,458), $22.6 million
6. 'Megamind,' $5.0 million (3,173), $136.7 million
7. 'Due Date,' $4.2 million (2,450), $91.0 million
8. 'Faster,' $3.8 million (2,470), $18.1 million
9. 'The Warrior's Way,' $3.1 million (1,622), new release
10. 'The Next Three Days,' $2.7 million (2,236), $18.4 million

•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

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