11.17.08: A Quantum of Box Office, a new Harry Potter trailer, and more

BOX OFFICE WRAP-UP

Not only did Quantum of Solace post the biggest Bond opening weekend numbers in history, but its $70.4 million opening was 74% higher than even Casino Royale's (although much of the credit must be given to earlier film's transformation of the series). Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa unsurprisingly came in second, while Role Models did remarkably well, dropping a mere 38.9% and claiming the #3 spot. High School Musical 3 and Changeling rounded out the top 5.  Next weekend brings an interesting showdown between the kid-friendly 3-D flick Bolt and the vampire phenom Twilight, which looks great to fans and like... well, looks less good to the rest of us. I'll give this one to Twilight. (Box Office Mojo)

MONDAY TRAILERAMA

• The new Harry Potter trailer looks great – but the trailers always look great for this well-oiled series. As long as it's better than the so-so Order of the Phoenix I'll be happy.  But It's the last movie with... well... darn, I guess some of you haven't read the books.  But SOMEONE IN THIS TRAILER DIES... mwahahahaha....

• The Day The Earth Stood Still has released a trailer that at last, AT LAST shows us some new footage.  If I had to watch that interrogation scene one more friggin' time... oddly enough the old trailer was attached to Quantum of Solace when I saw it this weekend.  And the promised Watchmen trailer was entirely MIA.  Bastards.

• The Playlist has a new trailer for the DiCaprio-Winslet starring Revolutionary Road, along with some info about the featured song ('cause that's what The Playlist does).

• There's a new trailer for The Spirit that does nothing to dismiss the specter of Sin City or to attract new viewers.  "I am the Octopus!  I have eight of everything!" Does that mean an $8 million opening weekend, too?

• Lastly, while Bitch Slap may never see the inside of a theater, you gotta admire a film that wears its T&A on its sleeve and isn't afraid to go for the cheesy gusto.  NSFW, by the way.  The rating card says it's "PG-DD".  Get it? 

ODDS AND ENDS

• Superfan director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, The Hobbit) is producing a stop-motion animation version of Pinnochio based on a 2002 version of the story by author/illustrator Gris Grimly. (Variety)

• Zack Snyder calls The Dark Knight a pansy and Matthew Goode admits to his physical shortcomings in this new Watchmen behind-the-scenes video. (MTV vio io9)

• Aaron "Two Face" Eckhart is humanity's last hope in Battle: Los Angeles, which sees a bunch of marines take on some nasty aliens. (Empire)

• Happy Feet 2 is a go, and the Aussies are all a-flutter over a new digital production facility that will be built for the film. (Latino Review)

• Fifth Element fans, rejoice: Collider believes that director Luc Besson will soon be filming another sci-fi film – possibly a trilogy.

• There is a sub-section of fandom that never got over their dinosaur phase and transferred that love for things larger and more powerful than their parents to giant robot stories.  Transformers may be the most famous example, but among the afflicted Robotech is more revered.  The story is "set in the future, at a time when Earth has developed a series of giant robots, using technology from an alien spacecraft that crashed in the South Pacific. When an alien civilisation attempts to invade Earth, the fightback centres around two young pilots, who must harness the technology and save the world." Toby Maguire is now producing a big screen adaptation, and may star. (Empire)

• The Wrestler has a new poster, and Mickey Rourke tells the inside tale of how he scored Guns N' Roses and Bruce Springsteen tunes for the film.

• If you care at all about film technology then you must read this article about the RED cameras, which promise to one day make professional-level image capturing relatively as affordable as today's editing software. (CrunchGear)