1. Jennifer Aniston is done with your questions about Brad Pitt. (For now.) Outperforming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by more than $12 million — and setting a Christmas-release record in the process — confirms Aniston's box-office ownage over her ex-husband and should establish some self-sustained breathing room going forward. Until Pitt and Angelina Jolie both earn Oscar nominations next month, naturally, and the cycle begins anew. Enjoy it while you can, Jen.

2. Owen Wilson may never have to promote a film again. Already softball-averse in his first interviews since attempting suicide in 2007, Wilson can simply follow the Marley Model of letting his co-stars do the heavy-lifting / disrobing / cute-puppy thing while he retires to reclusive leading-mandom.

3. David Frankel is for real. The son of a former executive editor of the NYT, director Frankel has done nothing but make money for Fox since his feature debut The Devil Wears Prada. His formula: Adapt sources efficiently, cast intelligently, and let the principals do the rest — even the kids and dogs. It's a lot harder than it looks. Next up: The baseball procedural Moneyball, adapted from another best-seller and rumored to feature Pitt in the lead.

4. Fox is the hottest studio in town. After a year-long string of embarrassing flops and underachievers — including the recent, devastating one-two punch of Australia and Day the Earth Stood Still — the studio heads into 2009 with a likely repeater at #1 and a Watchmen judgment that could net it upwards of $50 million next spring. Without doing anything. If luck is the residue of design, then Fox's engineers are entitled to a raise.

5. The dog dies. Who knew? Oh.

• 'Marley' leads holiday box office pack [Variety]

(All figures come from Big Hollywood.)

1. Marley & Me - $13.9 million
Jennifer Aniston's Marley P.R. blitz—featuring dozens of discomforting conversations about yoga positions, half-Windsor knots, and sexual uses for pureed liver—appears to have done the trick. The film, a heart string-tugging story of how a disobedient pet made one family's life immeasurably richer, has logged the highest Christmas Day opening of all time—surely giving Fox reason enough to proceed with its planned sequel, 101 Marleys & Us.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - $11.1 million
This meandering tale of man who was born smelling of VapoRub and egg salad sandwiches, and died smelling like powder and mashed bananas, is second-highest Xmas day opener of all time. It should be on track for a $45 million four-day weekend if its 2988 screens are expanded to the planned 3500, filling hundreds of abandoned ghost theaters once meant for the monkeysaur adventures of Delgo and friends.

3. Bedtime Stories - $9.75 million
Many expected this fantastical family film, featuring Adam Sandler as a loving uncle who discovers a remote control that can bring his wildest imaginings to life (wait—wrong omnipotent Sandler movie), to be the weekend's big earner. Still, expect Disney to act thrilled about its performance, with a statement gushing, "In a field crowded with major holiday releases, ours was the only film in the top five to feature both a gumball hailstorm, a chariot race, and Adam Sandler talking in that high-pitched baby voice that kills us every time. We couldn't be prouder."

4. Valkyrie - $7.35 million
Tom Cruise's latest starring vehicle seems to have indeed found an audience among history buffs, who craved a Führer-detonation thriller this Christmas. Estimates have the four-day take hitting as high as $30 million—a number robust enough to coax MGM employees off their Century City window ledges and onto New Year's Eve dance floors for champagne toasts to their favorite one-eyed, one-handed, Hitler-hunting superstar.

5. The Spirit - $3.15 million
You know your so-bad-it's-bad-unless-you're-tanked-and-then-it's-actually-pretty-good movie is underperforming when its star's snotty Kleenex is grossing higher than its per-screen average.

The Top Five Chinese Dishes Consumed Later by the Jews Who Saw Them:
1. Beef with Broccoli
2. Pork Fried Rice
3. Kung Pao Chicken
4. General Tsao's Chicken
5. Hot and Sour Soup

• Big Hollywood

WHAT'S NEW: High stakes are hardly unusual for a holiday frame, but their sheer volume in 2008 is slightly disturbing: Last week's new-movie nomads shall be consumed wholly by a pack of heavyweight predators in wide release. Their top grosser should be Disney's Bedtime Stories, a sizable stride in the slow Eddie Murphyfication of Adam Sandler, playing a novice storytelling uncle who is shocked when his tales come to life. Hijinks ensue while conjuring the most explicit double entendres he can imagine, thus leaving both the kiddies and himself fulfilled when the gumball rain outside yields a ball-gum flood requiring Keri Russell's careful attention. Expect Stories to win the long weekend with $39.9 million.

The bourgeois-white-assholes-and-their-crazy-fucking-dog tearjerker Marley & Me won't be that far behind at $35.7 million, defying Disney's covert spoiler ops to steer people to their own family offfering. Behind that, look for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to officially launch its Oscar crusade with $22.6 million, hindered by its nearly three-hour length and more-than-expected siphoning off by Valkyrie (which we'll get to in a bit). At the bottom of the scrum you'll find The Spirit, Frank Miller's spectacularly awful adaptation of Will Eisner's comics classic, pocketing $11.9 million for Lionsgate. Also opening in limited release: The Cannes darling, Oscar-probable animated documentary from Israel, Waltz With Bashir.

THE BIG LOSER: There aren't enough pejoratives in the world to pile onto Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes's misbegotten attempt to steal another Oscar while the Academy reaches for its collective Kleenex. Or checks its watch; the reunion of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is an interminable slog that, with any justice, should see its early, positive numbers reverse dramatically as Los Angeles and New York audiences flee theaters in search of refunds. What more can we say? Oh — lots.

THE UNDERDOG: We probably have no right to place a Tom Cruise film in this spot — especially one so expensively ubiquitous of late. But after all those months of speculation and dread surrounding Bryan Singer's $90 million thriller about the failed plot to kill Hitler, let's be fair: Valkyrie is a solid if weird popcorn thriller. The first act drags, Singer gets a little too cute for anyone's good (may we never again be subjected to his spinny Phonograph-Cam™), and you never do totally sink into Cruise and castmates Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Kenneth Branagh as English-speaking German officers. Still, the assassination conspiracy and its momentary glimmer of success is a captivating fluke of history handled articulately and tastefully — and sure, entertainingly — by Singer and Cruise. Even if you don't contribute to its $18.2 million opening, it's worth a look in the weeks ahead.

FOR SHUT-INS: This week's new DVD releases include the Statham-y holiday favorite Death Race, the underrated Coen Brothers caper Burn After Reading, Anna Faris's Playboy commercial-cum-college comedy The House Bunny, and a couple of the year's most notorious indie flops, The Women and Hamlet 2. Gather the family, and have a great holiday weekend!

A throwaway remark can never be just a throwaway remark for Aniston — not near the end of her high-stakes Uncool Press Tour 2008, and not even with a subject as seemingly harmless as baby food up for discussion. Closing out an anecdote recalling the layers of pureed liver that attracted the Marley dogs to her and Owen Wilson, the actress dares to suggest her golden epidermis has "had more baby-food slathered on it than..." We leave you with her ensuing cliffhanger, which we can only imagine is a reference to the more famously reproductive among us — not that we know anyone like that. Or maybe it's just a self-tanning jibe she thought better of at the last-minute. Anyone's guess; yours are welcome below. [Late Night with Conan O'Brien]

This is no doubt an improvement over that less-than-inspiring Marley trailer from last summer, but on the other hand, we thought everyone knew Marley died in the end, thus reducing this crude campaign to near-Crapening levels of stating the obvious. When someone finally takes his Krylon to the posters for Seven Pounds, though, please let us know. We're still trying to figure that twist out. [/Film]

1. Woody Was Owen's Personal Madam: Back in March 2007, when Owen and Kate were still in Phase One of their double act of a relationship, Wilson reportedly went on a Hawaiian vacation with his partner in paparazzi-bashing crime Harrelson, who owns a crash pad on the island. And the first sign of trouble in paradise came when Wilson was said to be hooking up with a Kate-lookalike coincidentally introduced to him in Hawaii by the Woodster.

2. Woody's Bare Butt Possibly More Scrumptious Than Kate's: And who can forget the, well, unforgettable sight of Harrelson's own set of natural born relationship-killers: the buns seen 'round the world while skinny-dipping with Wilson on a mid-Marley And Me, mid-Kate & Owen: The Sequel jaunt to Miami. Even Kate herself has pointed out her own lack of assets, and no matter how straight the Wilson is, who wouldn't be distracted from their current paramour's figure when face-to-ass with that behind?

3. Wildcats: Speaking of Woody's behind, both it and he made their film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats, where Harrelson played Krushinski, the token dumb football player to Goldie's token ironic Chick Who "Gets" Sports role (see also: Bend It Like Beckham, A League Of Their Own or Blue Crush). As the NY Times noted in their review, this was "very much Miss Hawn's movie," the trailer speaks for itself when it comes to showing how Kate's mom dominated gum-chewing Woody's first chance to show his stuff, and despite its memorable spot in '80s cult classic sports movies, the film holds a 15% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Whether or not Woody blames his dim debut on The Family is just a thought, but anyone as proud of their backside as he is might be miffed that its first shot at stardom was overshadowed by Goldie and her "sunny," "sexism-attuned" performance.

[Photo Credits: Celeb Pulp, Ecorazzi]

• WOODY HARRELSON IS DELIGHTED THAT OWEN WILSON AND KATE HUDSON ARE HISTORY [Janet Charlton's Hollywood]

First, we get a glimpse of the odd couple reclining side by side among the greenery of the Four Seasons, where In Touch reports Aniston and Mayer spent the weekend together. We must award points to Aniston for that impressive hair flip, and to Mayer for those tattoos. Singer of girly songs he may be, but we like the arm art.

And then John goes in a little closer. Aniston seems unfazed. Though we are not — more points awarded to Aniston for those gams. We finally understand why expensive full-leg waxes are worth paying extra for.

Finally, a very romantic-y shot of the pair dining outside by the ocean. Matching poses, matching "thinking" expressions. Does it really matter that they were probably just intensely discussing the pros and cons of various frizz-control creams or, more likely, nothing at all?

[Photo credits: Bauer-Griffin via In Touch]

• IN TOUCH EXCLUSIVE: JEN'S HOT NEW ROMANCE WITH JOHN MAYER [In Touch]

Unlike Paramount's extensive marketing effort for Drillbit, Fox Searchlight depends on publicity to boost most of its theatrical release campaigns. With little free media (and good but not gushing reviews) for The Darjeeling Limited, the film came and went quickly, grossing just $11.9 million domestically and slightly more overseas.

Disney chose a different strategy with December 2006's Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto, whose release came on the heels of the actor-filmmaker's notorious anti-Semitic arrest rant. ... Although Gibson and CNN's Anderson Cooper famously didn't quite hit it off, the filmmaker was able to talk about his movie more than might have been expected.

The authors also note the strength of Hugh Grant's rebound from solicitation charges in 1995, and the subsequent $70 million take for his film Nine Months. It all makes sense on paper, which is the only kind of sense Fox will need this Christmas when it approaches the release of the currently in-production Wilson/Jennifer Aniston comedy Marley & Me. That's a duo with a ton of baggage, but that's part of what the studio paid for. (That doesn't even include the bump in the insurance budget — a number we'd be interested in knowing, and not a wholly separate issue from whether or not the studio can publicize its film in the end.) We don't think it's going too far out on a limb to presume Wilson will be on the promotional hook for the the holidays, is it?

• Owen Wilson sits out 'Drillbit Taylor' promotion [LAT]

The 28-year-old blonde actress was spotted visiting the 39-year-old actor at his Malibu, California home on Monday, following his appearance at the Oscars the night before. And on Saturday morning, Wilson was photographed leaving Hudson's Pacific Palisades home, before reuniting with the actress later that day at 5pm at his own home."

Finally, some good news on the trouble-laden star front! After a year filled with overdoses, manic meltdowns and senseless gun battles with Eddie Munster, we're glad to see that notorious slacker Owen Wilson is setting a positive example for how the drug-and-drink obsessed Young Hollywood set can comeback from Difficult Setbacks™. Are you listening, Dr. Drew? Scrap Daniel Baldwin from Season Two of Celebrity Rehab and see if you can't convince Owen Wilson to come on board as the group's mentor; we're sure that Verne Troyer would appreciate the opportunity to network with the shaggiest of the Wilson siblings.

• BACK ON? KATE HUDSON 'REKINDLES HER ROMANCE' WITH TROUBLED EX OWEN WILSON [Daily Mail]

That's right, with flagrant disregard for W.C. Fields' timeless advice never to act with children or animals, Owen will be playing the lead in the film adaptation of John Grogan's best seller Marley & Me—a story about a Wilsonesque dude who adopts the world's worst Labrador retriever. So what does Grogan think about this inspired bit of casting? So sayeth the author, "I'm actually really thrilled to have Owen Wilson portray me. We don't look anything alike but I think his personality will be a great fit to my own."

You know, who are we to be all snarky about this? If we went through whatever it is Owen went through, we probably wouldn't much feel like challenging ourselves either. Besides, the eternally single Jennifer Aniston's also in it, and she's still kinda hot, right? See you in the theater!

• Owen Wilson Ready to Head Back to Work [People.com]