Lincoln

Lincoln

Daniel Day-Lewis scored a best actor win at the Oscars for his portrayal of the 16th president in this critically acclaimed historical film from director Steven Spielberg. The movie takes place over the months before Lincoln's assassination, documenting the time he spent working to abolish slavery and end the Civil War. Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt costar. The DVD comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette.

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Killing Them Softly

Professional hit man Jackie (Brad Pitt) gets called in to take out two amateur robbers who hit up the wrong card game in this dark thriller. Set in the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the film isn't a straightforward mob movie. Yet despite an all-star cast that includes James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, and Ray Liotta, the characters and story at times get overshadowed by the gratuitous violence. DVD extras include a making-of featurette and deleted scenes.

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See one more new release after the jump.

Best supporting actress nominee Sally Field is up for her third Academy Award, and for Lincoln, she had a considerable acting challenge in playing a famous first lady. Field talked about the demands of playing her at today's Oscars Luncheon and discussed how she approached the job.

On which emotion she tapped into to play Mary Todd: "She was a very colorful personality. . . . I'm an actor. It's hard to say how you really become the character you want to become. Certainly I have had some opportunities in my life, not as many as I'd like, to play really complicated characters, and you don't tap into any one emotion. You try to live in this place. . . . I can't say I tapped into any one emotion. She was a highly emotional being. She always was; that's what they always said about her. I just did my work."

On her love of documentaries: "I think it's really important that documentaries be in the mainstream. I think this year is a sterling example of absolutely wonderful documentaries. Everybody should see them."

Despite a huge drop in ticket sales, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey managed to stay at the top of the box office for the second weekend in a row, taking in $36.7 million. Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher opened in second place with $15.6 million, and This is 40 debuted in third with $12 million. Rise of the Guardians and Lincoln rounded out the top five, with $5.9 million and $5.6 million, respectively.

Looks like Middle-earth has a lot of fans: Peter Jackson's epic adaptation The Hobbit earned $84.8 million in its opening weekend, setting a new record for the best December opening weekend. It also set a record for one-day opening, reaping $34.5 million on Friday and besting the previous record, coincidentally held by 2003's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In a steep drop-off, Rise of the Guardians came in second with $7.4 million, followed by Lincoln with $7.2 million. Last week's champ, Skyfall, slipped to fourth with $7 million, followed by Life of Pi with $5.4 million.

Skyfall reclaimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, earning $11 million and bringing the hit's domestic total to $261.6 million. The box office was among of the weakest of the year as Rise of the Guardians took second place with $10.5 million, Breaking Dawn Part 2 followed with $9.2 million, Lincoln took in $9.1 million, and Life of Pi rounded out the top five with $8.3 million. Gerard Butler's soccer-dad comedy Playing For Keeps drew a mere $6 million, while the week's other new opener, Hyde Park on Hudson, earned $83,300 in its limited release of only four theaters nationwide.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 continued its box-office domination this weekend, earning $17.4 million and bringing the film's total domestic haul to $254.6 million. In fact, all of last week's top five remained steadily at their same ranks this weekend. Runner-up Skyfall took in $17 million, Lincoln and Rise of the Guardians each earned $13.5 million, and Life of Pi rounded out the top five with $12 million. The new releases didn't fare so well: horror flick The Collection pulled in $3.4 million, and Killing Them Softly opened with $7 million, making the thriller the lowest opening Brad Pitt film in over a decade.

Last week's big opener, Breaking Dawn Part 2, remained in the No. 1 spot this weekend, taking in $43 million and bringing its total gross to $227 million, adding to what was the biggest Thanksgiving weekend at the box office ever. Skyfall held tight to second place with $36 million, and Lincoln also stayed at No. 3 with $25 million — thanks to an 18 percent increase in ticket sales over last week. New animated release Rise of the Guardians took in $24 million, and fellow new release Life of Pi earned $22 million and the fifth place spot. The week's other new releases, Red Dawn and Hitchcock, took in $14.6 million and $301,000, respectively.

Not to be confused with the brow-raising Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Steven Spielberg's epic historical drama is a portrait of the 16th president of the United States during the apex of his tenure, the passage of the 13th Amendment. The tensions of the Civil War and the imminent emancipation of slaves makes for a thrilling movie — and a compelling ebook, too. Lincoln: Discover the Story (free) is an interactive companion to the film, full of historical details, comments from the filmmakers, and gorgeous stills from the movie.

The 66-page iBook for iPad also includes art, actor interviews, music, and a full-fledged timeline of the period. Reacquaint yourself with American history before watching the film, or relive all the drama again after viewing. Though Lincoln came in at number three during its opening weekend with heavy competition from Twilight and James Bond, its early Academy Award buzz makes this one app not to miss.

Well, it looks like the Twilight Saga will be going out in style — at the box office, anyway. Breaking Dawn Part 2 took in a whopping $141.3 million in its opening weekend, leaving the rest of the movies in the dust. Last week's winner, Skyfall, dropped to second with $41.5 million, while Lincoln benefited from its wide release, earning an impressive $21 million. Wreck-It Ralph slipped to fourth with $18.3 million, while Flight rounded out the top five with $8.6 million. Other newcomers Silver Linings Playbook and Anna Karenina took in less than a half million each but are expected to fare much better once they expand.