This week on Blu-ray another Disney classic is released from the vault, an Oscar contender hits home video, and an in-depth look at the film vs. digital debate comes to HD.  Briefly:

• Alex Cross [Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet] – $19.86 (50% off)
• Cabaret [Blu-ray] – $18.86 (33% off)
• Celeste and Jesse Forever [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (44% off)
• Deadfall [Blu-ray] – $24.99 (17% off)
• Flight (Two-Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (50% off)
• Here Comes the Boom (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (44% off)
• House of Cards Trilogy: The Original UK Series Remastered [Blu-ray] – $44.86 (10% off)
• A Late Quartet [Blu-ray] – $20.86 (30% off)
• Peter Pan (Three-Disc Diamond Edition: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy + Storybook App) – $27.99 (38% off)
• Side by Side [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (33% off)
• Star Is Born [Blu-ray] – $18.50 (34% off)

Hit the jump for special features details.

Even with five new movies competing at this weekend’s box office, Taken 2 had no trouble holding on to first place for a second week in a row. The action movie edged out Ben Affleck’s Argo and Friday’s first-place horror feature Sinister, though each put up strong debut numbers. The picture was not as rosy for the remaining three new releases, including Sony’s comedy Here Comes the Boom with Kevin James.

Five, count ‘em, five new releases entered the box office race on Friday, though it looks like none of them will be able to unseat Taken 2 by the time weekend estimates are out. First on Friday was Sinister with an estimated $7.5 million from 2,527 runs. With Paranormal Activity 4 waiting in the wings, the R-rated horror movie barely registered a week ago; but with a scary-effective marketing campaign and well-attended late shows, Sinister took the lead on its first day out. By Sunday, however, Sinister should fall behind Taken 2 and Argo. The well-reviewed feature from director Ben Affleck placed third with an estimated $5.9 million from 3,232 runs on Friday and is expected to get close to $20 million by weekend’s end. Among wide releases, Here Comes the Boom had the most trouble. Opening in 3,014 locations, the comedy placed fifth with an estimated $3.6 million. The final two players in Friday’s box office crush fell below the top five. CBS Films’ Seven Psychopaths earned an estimated $1.4 million for ninth place from 1,480 locations while Atlas Shrugged: Part II, in a head-scratching 1,012 runs, failed to crack  $1 million.

Henry Winkler is a man of many talents. Most widely known for his acting resume (Happy Days, The Waterboy), Winkler has also doubled as director, producer, children’s novelist, amateur photographer and even – fly fisherman. In this weekend’s Here Comes The Boom, he adds another notch to his tally: composer. Winkler costars in the picture as Marty Streb, the idealistic music teacher of a flailing high school. When the school is forced to cut its budget, Marty’s job is put into jeopardy and his continued employment rests on the slovenly shoulders of a disgruntled co-teacher (Kevin James). Winkler injects Marty with a real wide-eyed sense of innocence and warm-hearted genteelness. In the actor’s hands, Marty’s bizarre behavior not only feels real, but more so – earned. Even more impressive than the performance: Winkler conducted the film’s own musical set pieces himself.

In the following interview with Henry Winkler, he discusses his newfound job as conductor, his penchant for amateur photography and his role on the new season of Arrested Development. For the full interview, hit the jump.

Here Comes The Boom marks a transitional point in Kevin James career. The film blends the slapstick/absurdist comedy James is known for (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop) with a newfound emotional and dramatic context. James stars as Scott Voss, a worn-down teacher, who almost by-accident volunteers to save the Arts Program at his flailing high school. Somehow MMA Fighting becomes his only solution to raise the appropriate sums. The film alternates between comic set pieces of James fighting (i.e. getting his ass kicked) and more poignant moments on the nature of public education in the country. It’s a film where James for the most part – plays ‘straight man’, the cast around him (Henry Winkler, Salma Hayek) given more room to go ‘wacky’ and/or ‘funny’. It’s an interesting change of pace for James, especially given the fact that he co-wrote the film and part for himself.  Click here for all our previous coverage.

In the following interview with Kevin James, he discusses the process of writing for himself, taking a punch (and a kick or two) for the film and previews the upcoming Kevin Hart costarring Valet Guys. For the full interview hit the jump.

We’ve got a number of new posters to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Trouble with the Curve – Clint Eastwood stars in this baseball drama as an aging pro scout who brings his reluctant daughter (Amy Adams) along on one last recruiting trip.  The film opens on September 28th.
• Here Comes the Boom – The comedy stars Kevin James as a high school science teacher who becomes an MMA fighters.  The film also stars Salma Hayek and opens on October 12th.
• 10 Years – This ensemble comedy stars Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Chris Pratt and more as a group of friends gathering for their high school reunion.  The film opens on September 14th.
• Let Go – The ensemble indie dramedy stars Kevin Hart, Gillian Jacobs, and David Denman and tells the intertwining stories of three offbeat characters.  The film hits DVD and VOD on August 21st.
• Cirque Du Soleil: World’s Away – This original story is told through performances by Cirque Du Soleil.  The film opens on December 21st.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

The first trailer for Kevin James’ (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) new picture, Here Comes the Boom has gone online.  James stars as a high school science teacher who gets mixed up in the violent world of mixed martial arts in order to earn money to save school projects from budget cuts.  While James has become known for being part of Adam Sandler’s cadre (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Grown Ups, Hotel Transylvania and Grown Ups 2), he hasn’t exactly stood out for the right reasons in his non-Sandler works (Paul Blart: Mall Cop, The Dilemma and Zookeeper).  Will Here Comes the Boom prove any different?

Zookeeper director Frank Coraci’s Here Comes the Boom, starring James, Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Melissa Peterman, Greg Germann, Joe Rogan, Reggie Lee and Bas Rutten, opens October 12th.  Hit the jump for the trailer and synopsis.

While walking around at this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, I’ve been taking tons of pictures of all the posters/banners/theater standees that have been on display.  For those unaware, CinemaCon is a convention put on for theater owners in order to get a look at what the studios have to offer for the rest of the year, and where vendors can show new products for theaters to buy.  It’s basically Comic-Con for theater owners.  Besides showing off never before seen footage, the studios often bring the cast and the filmmakers.  Over the course of a few days, Hollywood comes to Las Vegas.

While a lot of the banners are just logos, I think they’re still worth checking out.  Also, it’s important to note that the posters/displays change during the week so you never know when something cool will premiere.  Hit the jump for posters/banners for a ton of movies including James Bond Skyfall, Dark Shadows, Moonrise Kingdom, Sparkle, That’s My Boy, Sinister, The Amazing Spider-Man, House at the End of the Street, The Host, Battleship, Looper, Step Up Revolution, Ted, Sinister, Here Comes the Boom, and so many more.

Sony has released official synopses for the new James Bond film Skyfall, the Kevin James “comedy” Here Comes the Boom, the Adam Sandler “comedy” I Hate You Dad (or “Donny’s Boy“, although I prefer “I Hate You Dad” so I’ll stick with that one for now), the other Adam Sandler “comedy” Hotel Transylvania, and the remake of Total Recall.  Reading the synopsis for Total Recall, I’m not exactly sure how much it will differ from the original other than keeping the action off of Mars.  As for Skyfall, the premise sounds terrific and hopefully director Sam Mendes and his talented cast can deliver.

Hit the jump to check out the synopses.

The October 28 release date of Anonymous is fast approaching, but Sony is making a last-minute change in the distribution plan.  Pre-release surveys predict a weak opening weekend (under $5 million) if Anonymous were thrust into the unforgiving expectations of a wide release.   Instead, per Company Town, Sony will scale back the open the film in just 250 theaters rather than thousands.  Anonymous came out of Toronto with surprisingly positive early reviews for a Roland Emmerich picture.  Sony distribution president Rory Bruer explained the plan: “We love the picture and think it’s going to get great word of mouth.  We’re committed to expanding it until it plays wide.”  The Shakespearean tale at the center of Anonymous could play well in the arthouses—I am very curious to see how the platform plays out.

Hit the jump for details on the postponement of Kathryn Bigelow’s Bin Laden movie and the move of the Kevin James MMA comedy Here Comes the Boom.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this afternoon. First up actress Carly Craig (Hall Pass) has joined the burgeoning cast of the Farrelly brothers’ The Three Stooges. The flick, currently filming, stars Will Sasso as Curly, Sean Hayes as Larry, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Jane Lynch, Larry David, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Collins, Craig Bierko and the recently announced Jennifer Hudson. Variety reports that Craig will play the wife of Collins’ character, who as a couple adopt the Stooges as children. This marks the second Farrelly film for Craig, as she also appeared in 2007’s The Heartbreak Kid.

Next up, the host of CMT’s reality competition show The Singing Bee, Melissa Peterman, has joined the Kevin James “comedy” Here Comes the Boom. The film centers on a high school biology teacher who moonlights as a mixed martial arts fighter in order to raise money to save the school’s art program. Variety reports that Peterman will play the wife of Gary Valentine’s character, who as a couple are trying to reignite their romantic spark after having kids. Frank Coraci (Click) directs from a script by Kevin James and Allan Loeb. Here Comes the Boom hits theaters July 27^th, 2012.

Sony has just announced a few new 2012 release dates and they include their Total Recall remake (August 3, 2012), I Hate You, Dad (June 22) and Here Comes the Boom (July 27). Commenting on the announcement, Jeff Blake, chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures said:

“Not only do we have two of our most exciting franchises back in theaters with Men in Black 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man, but the three movies we added to the slate today round out a fantastic schedule.  We love comedy in the summer and you can’t ask for better stars than Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Total Recall has us excited not only because of its incredible pedigree – we love the original story and the first film – but we think this new project will really hit home with a new generation of moviegoers.”

Hit the jump for new synopses and more info on each film:

It’s not surprising that Sony Pictures would want to stay friends with Kevin James.  Paul Blart: Mall Cop raked in $183 million worldwide and countless tears for humanity off a budget of $26 million.  The next Sony/James collaboration, The Zookeeper, was recently pushed back from October to next summer because the studio thinks it will be a major blockbuster.

Now Variety reports that the studio and actor will reunite again for the action comedy Here Comes the Boom.  Plot details are being kept under wraps.  I don’t know which is sadder: that it has a plot or that it’s considered so mind-blowing that you’re not ready to even know what it’s about.  James co-wrote the script with Rock Reuben and will also serve as a producer on the film alongside Adam Sandler and Todd Garner.  Salma Hayek is circling the role of the film’s female lead.