Last year's box office got off to such a sluggish start that even a weekend total in which all of the top-12 films combined grossed less than $100 million can look pretty good by comparison. Such was the case last weekend when the 12 films at the top of the box office earned just $98.3 million. Nevertheless, that was still considerably better than the $92.40 million that the top 12 earned a year ago, when Warner Bros.' The Rite opened with $14.79 million. Last weekend's top film was Open Road's The Grey, which opened with $19.67 million — at the high end of analysts' forecasts. Lionsgate's One for the Money was close behind with an $11.75-million debut. Fox's Red Tails followed with $10.37 million, dropping a modest 45 percent in its second week. Summit Entertainment's Man on a Ledge claimed fifth place with $8 million. Four weeks into the New Year, revenue is up 11.76 percent for all studios, while attendance is up 12.47 percent. The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):1. The Grey, Open Road, $19,665,101, (New); 2. Underworld: Awakening, Sony/Screen Gems, $12,352,802, 2 Wks. ($44,978,415); 3. One for the Money, Lionsgate, $11,750,000, (New); 4. Red Tails, Fox, $10,370,323, 2 Wks. ($33,750,118); 5. Man on a Ledge, Summit, $8,001,932, (New)); 6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Warner Bros., $6,980,448, 6 Wks. ($20,941,702); 7. Contraband, Universal, $6,704,360, 3 Wks. ($56,573,860); 8. The Descendants, Fox Searchlight, $6,405,285, 11 Wks. ($58,703,299); 9. Beauty and the Beast (3D Re-release), Disney, $5,307,807, 3 Wks. ($41,110,138); 10. Haywire, Relativity Media, $4,002,760, 2 Wks. ($15,281,962).

Source: Studio Briefing

An open casting call for women under five feet tall and men under five feet four inches to appear as extras in the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, had to be abruptly canceled in New Zealand today (Tuesday) when more than 3,000 people turned up. According to Nz Newswire, the producers had expected 1,200 at most, but as the crowd continued to grow, fears for their safety arose. Police were called to keep order, but a decision was made to shut down the area nevertheless when cars gridlocked next to the audition area and those trying to park were brought to a halt by chocked-off entrances to the lots. The company said that all further auditions for extras will be conducted over the Internet.

Source: Studio Briefing

Netflix may be focusing most of its energy to promote its streaming service, but its DVD-by-mail service is nearly five times more profitable, Home Media magazine reported on Monday. The trade publication on Monday observed that DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals via the mail accounted for $194 million in profit in 2011, representing 52 percent of gross receipts, while the streaming service brought in $52 million, or 11 percent of the gross. Home Media commented: "The discrepancy underscores an inconvenient truth for Netflix. Namely that while the future may belong to streaming, the present still is very much a disc-driven business, no matter how much management wants to spin it otherwise."

Source: Studio Briefing

In an apparent effort to land a preemptive strike against Netflix just as the online movie renter ramps up its service in the U.K., News Corp-controlled BSkyB said today (Tuesday) that it plans to launch an Internet version of its Sky Movies package. Customers will be be able to pay for a monthly subscription that will allow them to watch an unlimited number of movies, or they will be able to pay for individual movies, the Wall Street Journal reported. In addition, the satellite company says that it plans to use the service to offer sports events and other special programming to viewers — all at a price significantly below Netflix's. Moreover, BSkyB's streaming service will not require that users subscribe to its cable service. BSkyB has a distinct advantage over Netflix since it has deals with most of the U.S. studios for relatively new movies. Netflix, on the other hand, offers mostly old "catalog" titles in the U.K.

Source: Studio Briefing

It's not yet quite in the black, but The Grey got off to a terrific start over the weekend, wolfing down an estimated $20 million and coming in at the high end of early forecasts. Even after the film debuted on Friday with a better-than-decent $6.5 million, most pundits were still predicting that it would not earn more than $17 million over the three days. The Grey, which reportedly cost Open Road Studio around $34 million to make, owed much of its success, analysts said, to the face and name of Liam Neeson, who has become something of an action hero in recent years, appearing on its posters, flyers, and TV commercials. Coming in second was last week's winner, Underworld: Awakening, which raked in about $12.5 million and edged out the debuting One for the Money, with $11.75 million. Put an asterisk next to the latter figure, however, since it involves a disputed formula involving discounted ticket sales through Groupon, in which the studio, Lionsgate, agreed to make up the difference to theaters for all of the Groupon discounts. It was not immediately clear whether the Lionsgate contribution — if it actually took place — was included in the $11.75 million figure. Coming in fourth was the George Lucas-produced Red Tails, which collected around $10.4 million in its second week. Rounding out the top five was Summit Entertainment's Man on a Ledge, which debuted with about $8.3 million. With $3.5 million in its seventh week, Paramount's Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol crossed the $200-million mark. It has now grossed $202.57 million.The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:1. The Grey, $20 million; 2. Underworld: Awakening, $12.5 million; 3. One for the Money, $11.8 million; 4. Red Tails, $10.4 million; 5. Man on a Ledge, $8.3 million; 6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, $7.1 million; 7. The Descendants, $6.6 million; 8. Contraband, $6.5 million; 9. Beauty and the Beast, $5.3 million; 10. Haywire, $4 million. UpdateFinal Figures for the Top Five Films1. The Grey, $19,665,1012. Underworld: Awakening, $12,352,8023. One for the Money, $11,750,0004. Red Tails, $10,370,3235. Man on a Ledge, $8,001,932

Source: Studio Briefing

The ability of DreamWorks to continue turning out costly productions may be tested in coming weeks as it exhausts its first round of financing, including its $325 million from partner Reliance Entertainment and a matching $325-million loan from J.P. Morgan Securities. According to the New York Times, while the original deal called for Reliance and Morgan to continue their funding, the dicey U.S. economy has forced DreamWorks to seek out additional funding elsewhere, a difficult task given the precarious condition of some investors and lenders. In a statement to the Times, DreamWorks and Reliance said, "Our relationship has always been structured to allow us to adapt to changing market conditions and to create the best chance for success for all parties involved." But such an adaptation, the Times observed, citing people familiar with the situation, may require DreamWorks to reduce its slate of films or limit itself to "potentially less impressive projects." Commented the newspaper: "Whether DreamWorks would even be interested in making lower-risk, lower-profile movies, however, is far from clear."

Source: Studio Briefing

If movie theaters can release potential blockbusters at midnight on the day of their release why couldn't stores selling DVDs follow a similar tactic? That apparently is the thinking of Walmart stores, the largest sales outlet for DVDs in the country — it reportedly accounts for 40 percent of all DVD and Blu-ray sales — which announced Monday that it will open more than 2,700 outlets before midnight on February 10 to put on sale a special Walmart-only edition of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 (Bella's Wedding Special Edition). It said the package will be priced at $22.96 for standard DVD and $26.96 for Blu-ray. It also plans to offer the soundtrack CD, a "dance poster," and the Stephenie Meyer book versions of each of the Twilight movies. In a statement, Walmart entertainment exec Seong Ohm said, "We're excited to give the millions of Twilight fans a place to unite, celebrate and receive exclusive Breaking Dawn collectibles at a great price." Not to be outdone, Walmart rival Target has announced plans to hold a similar midnight sale (11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.) on February 10.

Source: Studio Briefing

The national boards of each of the primary TV and movie performers' unions, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), have overwhelming approved a merger plan. While in the past AFTRA members have supported such a merger, SAG members have shot it down. This time, however, SAG members, who have seen television producers increasingly sign deals with AFTRA, appear ready to assent to the merger. Its board voted 87 percent to approve and only 13 percent to disapprove. (The AFTRA board voted 94 percent for approval.) In a statement, SAG President Ken Howard said, "Professional performers are now an important step closer to the strongest union representation possible. Just as our boards have, I believe our members will decisively approve this merger." Details of the merger were not immediately disclosed, but in a joint email to members of the two unions, Howard and AFTRA President Roberta Reardon said that they will launch a new joint website on February 3 that will "provide members all the information they'll want to consider before casting their votes."

Source: Studio Briefing

Cast members of The Help helped themselves to three top SAG Awards on Sunday, including best cast, the equivalent to best film in other awards competitions. Viola Davis won the best actress award, while Octavia Spencer was named best supporting actress. The two have been nominated for Oscars in the same categories. The best actor prize was handed out to Jean Dujardin for his nearly wordless role in The Artist, while Christopher Plummer was named best supporting actor for his role in Beginners. In the separate Directors Guild Awards, The Artist director Michel Hazanavicous took the top honor along with James Marsh, who won the documentary prize for Project Nim, about a chimp raised like a human.

Source: Studio Briefing