Moviegoers say 'Yes Man' to Jim Carrey comedy

The comedy "Yes Man," in which rubber-faced actor Jim Carrey changes his life by agreeing to everything, topped the US and Canadian box office over the weekend, final industry figures showed Monday.
The film raked in 18.2 million dollars in its Friday to Sunday debut weekend, the ticket sales tracking company Exhibitor Relations reported.
In second place was another film debut, the drama "Seven Pounds" starring Will Smith as a man haunted by a secret. The movie pulled in 14.8 million dollars -- the weakest opening of a Will Smith movie in nearly a decade, according to specialty press.
The animated flick "The Tale of Despereaux," based on a popular children's book of the same name about a big-eared mouse with great curiosity and ambitions, earned 10.1 million dollars for third place in its opening week.
Last week's number one, science fiction thriller "The Day the Earth Stood Still," dropped to fourth place. The Fox re-make of a 1951 cult classic, which stars Keanu Reeves as an alien that comes to earth, took in 9.8 million dollars for a two-week total of 48 million dollars.
The comedy "Four Christmases," starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as a couple struggling to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas, ranked fifth. The Warner Bros. movie earned 7.7 million dollars, for a haul of 100 million since it opened four weeks ago, Exhibitor Relations said.
Teen vampire movie "Twilight" ended up in sixth place, pulling in 5.1 million dollars and pushing its total earnings to 158 million dollars since opening.
Disney's animated "Bolt" was ranked seventh, earning 4.1 million dollars over the weekend with its saga of a dog who grows up thinking he has superhero powers, only to find out he does not.
"Slumdog Millionaire" from British director Danny Boyle, the tale of an boy who grows up in the Mumbai slums to become a contestant on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" ranked eight with more than 3 million dollars in revenues, followed by the Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman romantic epic "Australia," with 2.1 million dollars in earnings.
The latest James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," came in 10th with just over two million dollars, for a total six-week haul of 161 million dollars.
Weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada reached 80.7 million dollars, a steep 46 percent drop from the more than 151 million dollars reported in ticket sales in the same period last year.
Specialty press noted that there were several factors affecting ticket sales, including bad weather hitting much of North America, shoppers on last-minute Christmas errands, and the effects of the global financial meltdown.

ABS-CBN throws Christmas Party '08

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. celebrated the holiday season with members of the entertainment press Tuesday, December 2 in a party held at the 13th floor of the network's ELJ Building in Quezon City.Ms. Cory Vidanes, ABS-CBN Managing Director for TV Production, said the Christmas party was the network's way of acknowledging the help and support given by the entertainment press. "I'd like to greet you a Merry Christmas. This party is our way of saying thank you for everything you've done for ABS-CBN," Vidanes told the members of the press who attended the event. Bong Osorio, ABS-CBN Corporation Communications head, also extended his appreciation and yuletide greetings."Thanks for coming, and I hope that we have a merry and joyful night," Osorio said.The guests started arriving as early as 6 p.m. and upon entering, they received their loot bags, drew their instant prizes and had their photos taken. The food, non-stop music, games and raffle draws were organized by ABS-CBN Corporate Communications directors – Lorelie Dionisio-Piravalsamy, Kathy Solis and Kane Choa.Celebrities like Cristine Reyes of television series "Eva Fonda," and Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Grand Star Dreamer Laarni Lozada were present, as well as the other Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Scholars like Bugoy Drilon, Miguel Mendoza, Liezel Garcia, Van Pojas, Cristina Pastor, Sen Nichols, Bea Muñoz, Chivas Malunda, Christian Alvear, Iñaki Salvador, Bunny Malunda and Sheng Belmonte."Singing Bee" singers OJ Mariano and Michael were also present, as well as acoustic singer RJ Jimenez. The top 3 of PDA Little Dreamer -- Philip, Angelo and Amy -- also performed and entertained the press.For the party raffle, ABS-CBN stars like Bangs Garcia, Joem Bascon, Saicy Aguila, Melissa Ricks, Meagan Young and Donita Rose were there to draw the winners, as well as the Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus housemates -- Ejay, Robi, Valerie and Nicole.The party, which lasted almost four hours, was hosted by comedienne K Brosas and comedian Empoy Marquez.

For more info, please visit this site for more updates and relevant links.