College Road Trip

Opening to the tune of over $45 million in box office sales this weekend, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who has nabbed the best opening weekend so far in 2008. The title previously belonged to the January release of Cloverfield which raked in $41 million. Twentieth Century Fox's senior VP of distribution Chris Aronson quipped about Horton's success, "It's a who-mongous opening."

In second place, pulling in way less than Horton's giant pile o' cash was last weekend's holdover, 10,000 B.C. with $16.4 million, followed by Never Back Down, a martial arts drama that took in $8.6 million. College Road Trip was No. 4, with oldie-but-goody Vantage Point rounding out the top five. New release Doomsday did poorer than was expected, coming in at No. 7 with $4.7 million.

This weekend it'll be interesting to see if any of the newbies will be able to knock off Horton's crown: Drillbit Taylor starring Owen Wilson, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns and the Joshua Jackson thriller Shutter will be the only real competitors.

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

• Sienna Miller is apparently engaged to Rhys Ifans after accepting his third proposal. — The Mirror
• 10,000 BC took the top spot at the weekend box office, followed by College Road Trip and Vantage Point. — BuzzSugar
• After expressing her desire for another child, Kimora Lee Simmons is apparently expecting a baby with her boyfriend, Djimon Hounsou! — Page Six
• Helena Christensen and Josh Hartnett have ended their relationship after dating for the past year. — Gatecrasher
• Pussycat Doll Carmit Bachar announced that she is leaving the group through a message on the band's website. — The Pussycat Dolls
• Lisa Marie Presley is suing a British newspaper that claimed she'd "gained weight like her father Elvis," when, in fact, she's pregnant with her third child. — Reuters
• ICYMI, Matt and Luciana Damon are expecting their second child!

The lion's share of box office dollars went to director Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C. which earned an estimated $35 million. This same weekend last year saw the outrageous success of 300, but while 10,000 B.C.'s opening comes nowhere near the debut weekend of that blockbuster, it still fulfilled studio expectations, Variety reports.

Disney's College Road Trip starring Raven-Simone and Martin Lawrence secured second place, despite poor reviews. Vantage Point and Semi-Pro took the third and fourth spots, respectively. Coming in at No. 5 was the R-rated bank heist thriller The Bank Job, which stars Jason Statham. The Other Boleyn Girl fell three spots this weekend to seventh place behind The Spiderwick Chronicles which was No. 6.

The charming Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day failed to crack the top ten (rounded out by Jumper, Step Up 2 the Street, and Fool's Gold) as it was only playing in limited release. Not an Oscar nominee in sight for the top 10 this week, so it looks like awards season might officially be over.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

I should start by saying I understand that what I think is funny is probably different than what a ten-year-old kid thinks is funny. However, I'm going to base this review on the fact that parents have to go to these things, too. For an adult, College Road Trip, starring Raven Symone and comedian Martin Lawrence, is an exhausting experience. But when I noticed the little girl in the seat next to me could hardly contain her laughter, I realized I was watching the movie equivalent of a drum set: the kids love it, but heaven help the parents who have to listen to that racket.

Directed by Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions), the movie has a simple premise: a bright high school senior named Melanie Porter (Simone) wants to go to Georgetown University. Her overprotective police chief father would rather she attend Northwestern as it is located close to their suburban Chicago home. When Melanie gets her chance to interview at Georgetown, her father volunteers to drive her there with the hope of persuading her against that school through all kinds of wacky, strange plotting. It's not the simple minded storyline, nor the one-dimensional characters that makes this movie so perplexing, but what everyone involved with this film considers funny.

For more about why I think you should approach this movie with caution, read more