WHAT'S NEW: We don't expect the unusual box-office surge that accompanied last weekend's January afterthoughts to continue this time around, but we know better than to underestimate action/horror franchises and Brendan Fraser curios regardless of their release dates. Take Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the latest entry in the gothic trash canon that loses Kate Beckinsale but retains Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy in the service of werewolves-versus-vampires schlock that should overachieve slightly at $28.8 million. The week's other new wide release, Warner's Inkheart, won't finish anywhere near that, though the PG-rated Fraser/Helen Mirren fantasy should challenge the redoubtable Paul Blart: Mall Cop in the neighborhood of $16.3 million.

Also opening: Outlander, a forgettable something about Vikings with Jim Caviezel; the oversexed splatter entry Donkey Punch; and major award-season expansions for The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Rachel Getting Married, The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire.

THE BIG LOSER: Revolutionary Road's nearly 900-screen expansion would have occurred whether or not Oscar abandoned it in its snubby wake. But that dismissal — combined with the expansions of actual nominees (all of which have the added benefit of being, you know, watchable) will handily undercut its new ubiquity, nudging it below $4 million and accelerating its land-speed record to DVD oblivion.

THE UNDERDOG: Speaking of oblivion, The Weinstein Company would have liked nothing more for its long-shelved Elmore Leonard adaptation Killshot, a mess no one can necessarily endorse but which should benefit from the tailwind of Mickey Rourke's Wrestler nomination. Even on five screens and with no marketing to speak of, there is just enough of an audience alienated by the mid-winter movie doldrums around them to nudge this into the $45,000 range. Which might suck for Rourke, who could do without the bad word-of-mouth as Academy voters prep their ballots.

FOR SHUT-INS: It's not looking so good this week on the DVD front, where the modestly well-reviewed The Express goes to war with Saw V, Amusement, City of Ember, Max Payne, Repo! The Genetic Opera, and, by popular-ish demand, The Powerpuff Girls: The Complete Series. All the more reason to see Killshot, we guess.

1. The Dark Knight - $43.8 million
It would seem that nothing—not untimely deaths, not huffy kin brushings, prurient pirating, not even a hero who sounds like an obscene caller with emphysema—seems capable of toppling The Dark Knight from its gargoyle perch. A third-week drop of a modest 42% gave it a close-but-comfortable win over the widely favored The Mummy: General Tso's Revenge. All hail the Knight!

2. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - $42.45 million
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth - $6.875 million
It may not have beaten The Dark Knight domestically, but Rob Cohen's return to incinerating vast sums of money making popcorn entertainment—his first since 2005's sociopathic-fighter-jet classic Stealth—did manage to accomplish one amazing thing: it gave Brendan Fraser two titles in the top five. That's quite a feat, only previously accomplished by the likes of The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Jenna Jameson, and Jesus, on completely different charts.

3. Step Brothers - $16.3 million
We pass things along now to YouTube cultural commentator Devann Sheuerman for her insightful review. We promise she's better than Ben Lyons.

4. Mamma Mia! - $13.121 million
Oh, quit resisting it already: You love Mamma Mia!, and you don't care who knows it! C'mon, everyone: Let's have a Mamma Mia! karaoke party!

6. Swing Vote - $6.3 million
Kevin Costner's self-produced comeback bid, a political comedy in which One Man Really Can Make a Difference™, failed to connect with audiences, who couldn't help but notice from its marketing campaign that it appeared to be a political comedy starring Kevin Costner in which One Man Really Can Make a Difference™.

Honorable Mention: Midnight Meat Train - $32,000
Lionsgate dumped this oozing-bag-of-movie-parts on 102 screens accessible only by unicorn cavalry, resulting in an unmeaty $313-per-screen average.

• WEEKEND BOX OFFICE August 1–3, 2008 [Box Office Mojo]

boomp3.com

The Mummy: Tomb Of the Dragon Emperor star Brendan Fraser used the oldest excuse in the book ("I'm the star of the films that this ride is based on!") to get ahead in line for the "Revenge Of The Mummy" ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Fraser flexed a few muscles and signed some autographs for the park's guests until his pen ran out of ink. Fraser then explained that the ride needed his final approval before being officially opened to the public, then cut in front of a whole pack of 9-year-old boys who had slept in line for the ride overnight.

[Photo Credit: Splash Pics]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

WHAT'S NEW: This is a good weekend to maybe paint the house or just drink — a lot — as Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Meet Dave jockey for Top 5 position against holdovers Hancock and Wall-E. We admit: We walked out of Golden Army's LA Film Festival premiere, annoyed with its wisecracking self-awareness and degradation of Selma Blair — but that's just us, it seems, as director Guillermo del Toro and his magical make-believe realm of creatures and bad screenwriting have dazzled most critics and are likely to nab $40 million over the next three days. Journey, meanwhile, which places Fraser in 3-D, PG-rated peril somewhere near what looks suspiciously like the Warner Bros. lot, will be lucky to surpass Wall-E for third place around $27 million.

It's a crowded weekend for indies and art houses as well, with the documentary Oscar hopeful Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired making its "official" theatrical debut after a sub-sonic run in April. The Spencer Breslin/Cuba Gooding Jr. balding-teen dramedy Harold also opens, as does Death-Defying Acts, the Weinstein Company shelf-casualty starring Guy Pearce as Harry Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the con woman who falls for him.

THE BIG LOSER: Speaking of jilted premieres, you can reasonably take Murphy's Meet Dave no-show at face value; the spiritual heir of Norbit should still break $20 million, but if Murphy's latest multi-role hackwork doesn't stop the travesty of Beverly Hills Cop IV in its developmentally-disabled tracks, we don't know what will. Oh, who are we kidding? They'll probably start shooting on Monday, box office (and worn-out welcomes) be damned.

THE UNDERDOG: We recommend the ensemble drama Garden Party with a few reservations: filmmaker Jason Freeland's forced script could use a dialogue polish or eight; it's got more twee sound cues than a Moldy Peaches set; and if wanna-be dreams come true this fast in LA, then we should all be doing lines off each other's asses today by happy hour. That said, the low-profile cast — particularly Vinessa Shaw as a cutthroat realtor (with a past, natch), Willa Holland as a teen looking for her absentee mother or a decent job, whichever comes first, and the endlessly fascinating Patrick Fischler as a skeevy, unassuming porn photographer — does quite a bit with not a lot. And there's a bonus: The most awkwardly choreographed gay-bar dance sequence since Cruising. You heard it here first.

FOR SHUT-INS: Among this week's notable DVD releases: the gross-out psych-horror thriller The Ruins; the pig-nosed Christina Ricci rom-com Penelope; the not-eagerly awaited MTV! Award! Winner! Step Up 2: The Streets; and the masterful Dallas: The Complete Ninth Season.

So what do you think? Anything good on TV this weekend, or any books you might recommend? Or is the Eddie Murphy completist in you racing to the multiplex as we speak. Be honest — nobody is judged here! Well, sort of. Anyway, when is The Dark Knight opening again?

boomp3.com

Brendan Fraser, star of the upcoming Journey To The Center Of The Earth, noticed a mysterious wet spot appearing on his designer t-shirt after posing with a child. Fraser gave the child a glare and asked him to explain the stain, but the child said that the wet spot was there when Fraser picked him up.

[Photo Credit: INF Daily]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

• WATCH VIDEO

Fraser has already filmed a cameo as the grizzled, handle-bar-mustached, vest-but-no-shirt wearing Marine, Gung Ho. And the role of Shipwreck, a sailor-suited Navy seal with a parrot on his shoulder is being offered to Dwayne quote-unquote "The Rock" Johnson.

Evidently the "Don't ask don't tell policy" doesn't extend into the Joe army. And perhaps it doesn't extend into C.O.B.R.A. either. After all, Cobra Commander wore cape and spoke with a lisp. And hopefuly that's how the recently-cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play him. So now you know... and knowing is half the battle.

• Fraser Gung-Ho For G.I. Joe And The Rock To Get Shipwrecked? [Latino Review]

Brendan Fraser and his wife Afton, married since 1998, are going their separate ways.

The Mummy star, 39, announced through his publicist Wednesday that the couple are ending their marriage.

"They continue to maintain a close and caring friendship," representative Ina Treciokas said in a statement, the Associated Press reports.

The Frasers have three children: Griffin, Holden and Leland.

The Frasers also have five dogs: Centaur, Viking, Dumbledore, Shaemus O'Shanter, and The Guy At The End Of A Perfect Day For Bananafish Who Blows His Brains Out, The Dog Version. Flowers and condolences should be sent to the various trailers where the towering Canuck will be conducting his "Pounding 30 Starlets in 30 Days" tour.

Brendan Fraser, Wife Split After Nine Years [People]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=338140&view=rss&microfeed=true · Brendan Fraser is happy to cash a huge paycheck for yet another Mummy sequel, but heroine Rachel Weisz abandons the franchise, realizing that her Oscar affords her the chance to do some projects that don't involve her screaming at a tennis ball at the end of a stick representing the giant scarab that will be added months later by an effects house. [Variety]
· Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are in "final negotiations" to return for the Da Vinci Code prequel Angels and Demons, presumably for amounts of money so staggering you would instantly become incontinent upon seeing them discussed in print. [THR]
· Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington will star in The Great Debaters (think Pride, but with debaters and two Oscar winners instead of swimmers and Terence Howard), which Washington will also direct. [Variety]
· 27.9 million viewers tune in for their last glimpse of Haley Scarnato's legs on Idol; Phil Stacey gets one more week to try and escape elimination by hiding his batlike ears and strangely shaped, clean-shaven cranium under a silly hat. [THR]
· Nielsen discovers a discovers a hidden community of Lost fans who screw up their weekly viewer-tabulation efforts by catching up with the show on the weekends via DVR. [Variety]

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