Summer blockbuster movies are marketed to entertain, but what does it take for these flicks to extend beyond flashy car chases and huge explosions to grab a nomination for the biggest night in Hollywood?

The Warner Bros.’ seasonal comedy “Four Christmases” took a huge helping of the weekend Box Office,  taking in an estimated $31.7 million in Friday-Sunday grosses, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Vince Vaughn-Reese Witherspoon vehicle has taken in an approximately $46.7 million since arriving in theaters on Wednesday, one of three films positioned to make full use of a holiday-lengthened weekend.
Disney’s CG-animated feature “Bolt” had a saw a surprising 1% increase from its opening totals a week earlier, registering $26.6 million to rise from third to second place at the Box …

Disney’s “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” spent its second straight weekend at the top of the Box Office charts, although the film grossed 64% less than its opening total last week.
The Weinstein Co.’s R-rated comedy “Zack and Miri,” starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, opened with $10.7 million.
In overall Box Office results, the weekend’s $84 million gross was a considerable 37% decline from grosses rung up over the same weekend last year, according to Nielsen EDI. 
Below are Box Office totals for the weekend of October 31- November 2, 2008, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS(MILLIONS)

1
High …

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” the new Disney film featuring conversing canines, took in an estimated $29 million over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
The total was Disney’s biggest October opening, easily surpassing opening weekend earnings for “Ladder 49″ ($22.1 million) in 2004.
DreamWorks/Paramount’s thriller “Eagle Eye” had another impressive showing in its second weekend, taking in an estimated $17.7 million. 
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of October 3-5, 2008, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
(by gross earnings)
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND EARNINGS
(Oct. 3-5)
GROSS EARNINGS
($ MILLIONS)

1
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
 WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$29,300,465
$29.3

2
Eagle Eye
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$17,709,817
$54.6

3
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
SONY PICTURES
$11,311,751
$11.3

4
Nights In Rodanthe
WARNER BROS.
$7,368,259
$25.1

5
Appaloosa
WARNER BROS.
$5,050,310
$5.6

6
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$4,561,227
$32.2

7
Burn After …

“Eagle Eye”, the terrorism-themed thriller from Dreamworks/Paramount, took in an estimated $29.2 million between Friday and Sunday, to open strongly at the top of the U.S. Box Office this weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Nights in Rodanthe,”  starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, came in second, earning $13.6 million.
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of September 26-28, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Eagle Eye
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$29,150,721
$29.2

2
Nights In Rodanthe
WARNER BROS.
$13,418,454
$13.4

3
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$6,966,711
$25.7

4
Fireproof
IDP DISTRIBUTION
$6,804,764
$6.8

5
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$6,196,269
$45.6

6
Igor
MGM STUDIOS
$5,383,912
$14.2

7
My Best Friend’s Girl
LIONSGATE
$3,882,912
$14.6

8
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$3,709,480
$34.7

9
Miracle At St. Anna
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$3,477,996
$3.5

10
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$3,125,620
$32.8

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

“Lakeview Terrace”, the new thriller from Sony Pictures, starring Samuel L. Jackson, claimed the top spot at the Box Office, earning $15.6 million in its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Coen brothers comedy “Burn After Reading” dropped to second place, after earning $11.3 million when it opened last weekend. 
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of September 19 to 21, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$15,004,672
$15.0

2
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$11,028,257
$36.1

3
My Best Friend’s Girl
LIONSGATE
$8,265,357
$8.3

4
Igor
MGM STUDIOS
$7,803,347
$7.8

5
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$7,424,479
$28.5

6
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$7,271,899
$28.1

7
The Women
PICTUREHOUSE
$5,417,779
$19.3

8
Ghost Town
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$5,012,315
$5.0

9
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$2,915,174
$521.9

10
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$2,662,650
$45.6

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

The Coen brothers’ new comedy “Burn After Reading” beat pre-release expectations, taking in an estimated $19.4 million on its debut weekend and topping the Box Office charts for September 12-14, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI, as well as a full weekend box-office wrap-up from The Hollywood Reporter.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$19,128,001
$19.1

2
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$17,381,218
$17.4

3
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$16,288,361
$16.3

4
The Women
PICTUREHOUSE
$10,115,121
$10.1

5
Tropic Thunder
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$4,183,405
$103.0

6
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$4,154,427
$42.0

7
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$4,128,153
$517.8

8
Bangkok Dangerous
LIONSGATE
$3,031,307
$10.6

9
Traitor
OVERTURE FILMS
$2,131,639
$20.7

10
Death Race
UNIVERSAL
$2,056,415
$33.2

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

In the lowest grossing movie weekend since 2003, Lionsgate’s “Bangkok Dangerous” claimed the top spot at the Box Office over the weekend.  The film earned an estimated $7.8 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI, as of Monday, September 8, 2008.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS

1
Bangkok Dangerous
LIONSGATE
$7,783,266
$7.8

2
Tropic Thunder
DREAMWORKS / PARAMOUNT
$7,230,710
$96.5

3
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$5,515,119
$512.0

4
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$5,512,870
$36.6

5
Traitor
OVERTURE FILMS
$4,274,297
$17.3

6
Babylon A.D.
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$4,180,570
$17.4

7
Death Race
UNIVERSAL
$3,710,915
$29.9

8
Disaster Movie
LIONSGATE
$3,031,307
$10.6

9
Mamma Mia!
UNIVERSAL
$2,855,945
$136.4

10
Pineapple Express
SONY PICTURES
$2,255,875
$84.0

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

A significant percentage of R-rated dramas would earn more at the box office with a PG-13 rating, The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday.
Those findings come from a new Nielsen PreView study that compared the box-office performances of 400 R-rated and PG-13 films released between September 2005 and December 2007.
Nielsen’s analysis found that 34% of all R-rated drama titles would have performed better with a PG-13 rating, while about 17% of all comedies would benefit from a less restrictive rating. 
In contrast, few horror movies would have achieved higher gross earnings with a PG-13 rating, according to the …