Critically speaking, 2011 may have been Adam Sandler‘s worst year ever.  His two main vehicles, Just Go With It and Jack & Jill, were panned.  As a producer, his name is also on Zookeeper and (most damningly) Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star.  The Razzies recognized his efforts with a record 11 nominations.  For those keeping track, this shatters the record set by Eddie Murphy and his 5 nominations for Norbit in 2007.  New Year’s Eve, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 join Jack & Jill and Bucky Larson as the 5 contenders for Worst Picture.  Hit the jump for the full list.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced today that 39 eligible songs will contend for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Important to note is that a relatively recent rule change states that songs must be judged in the capacity that they appear in each film. In early January the voting body will get together and watch clips from each eligible movie in which the 39 songs are featured, after which they will determine the nominees. The list of eligible songs include three tracks from The Muppets, Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s song “Gathering Stories” (which director Cameron Crowe co-wrote) from We Bought a Zoo, and composer/songwriter/eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken’s “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m partial to Jonsi’s work or “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, but we’ll see how the Academy’s taste stacks up towards the end of January.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of eligible songs. The 84th Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 24th.

After seeing the movie modifier ‘3D’ lose almost all of its cache over the past year or so, who knew that an animated re-issue with that three dimensional makeover could roar this loud at the box office?  Doubling even the most sanguine early projections, Disney’s The Lion King 3D took in an estimated $29.3 million this weekend from its 2,330 (mostly 3D) locations to become this weekend’s undisputed box office ruler.

Estimates are in for Friday’s box office, and they indicate a robust return to the big screen for one of Disney’s most iconic features.  With a reported $8.8 million from 2,330 locations, the 3D re-issue of The Lion King is on track to win the weekend with $18 million.  That represents a significant jump from earlier projections, which had the family favorite taking in between $10 and $15 million.  In second place, Contagion took a relatively modest 42% hit entering its sophomore frame – putting it well ahead of the weekend’s three new titles.  Of those, Drive had the best showing with an estimated $4 million from 2,886 venues – though the film’s projected $10 million weekend would put it a bit below expectations.  Finally, Straw Dogs and I Don’t Know How She Does It fared about as well as anyone could expect on this low voltage weekend.  Neither newbie is expected to gross much more than $6 million by Sunday.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

We have a trio of new posters to bring your way this morning. First up, we have the one sheet from writer/director Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary. Starring Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart, the film sees Depp return to the world of Hunter S. Thompson and tells the story of a journalist who finds his writing voice and integrity while working in Puerto Rico. Up next is a poster for the comedy I Don’t Know How She Does It starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnan. I can’t say the poster does much for me but, to be fair, it would have to be pretty stellar for my interest to rise above sea level.

Finally, we also have a new poster for the financial thriller Margin Call starring Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci and Zachary Quinto. While the promo is kind of bland, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the film. For those who haven’t already, I recommend clicking here and here to read Steve’s exclusive interviews with the cast and writer/director J.C. Chandor at Sundance. Check out each of the new posters after the jump. The Rum Diary opens on October 28th. I Don’t Know How She Does It opens on September 16th and Margin Call hits theaters on October 21st.

The first trailer for the Sarah Jessica Parker-starred I Don’t Know How She Does It has gone online. The romantic comedy, directed by Douglas McGrath (Emma) and written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), is based on the book by Allison Pearson, which tells the story of a working mom (Parker) trying to balance the many competing elements of her life. While it doesn’t necessarily look like a home run, the trailer seems a bit more promising than your standard “Kate Hudson is crazy but no one seems to notice” fare, if only because of the fantastic cast.

Parker stars alongside Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Kelsey Grammar, Christina Hendricks, Olivia Munn, Seth Meyers and Jane Curtin. The Weinstein Company will release the flick on September 16^th. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

The Weinstein Company has announced release dates for four of their upcoming films.  Deadline reports that  Our Idiot Brother (formerly My Idiot Brother—I guess “our” tested better with focus groups) is set for August 26th.  The adaptation of Allison Pearson’s novel I Don’t Know How She Does It will replace Piranha 3DD on September 16th, and Piranha 3DD is swimming to Thanksgiving week with a November 23rd where the marketing writes itself.  Finally, the biggest release date shift is Apollo 18.  The found-footage sci-fi thriller was set to have a lightning-fast turn around and hit theaters earlier this month.  That obviously didn’t happen and TWC shifted the date to April 22nd.  Now TWC has rescheduled the film all the way back to January 6, 2012.  Ouch.

Hit the jump for a synopsis on each film and what they’ll be going up against on their new release dates.

Greg Kinnear and Jane Curtin are the latest additions to the adaptation of Allison Pearson’s novel I Don’t Know How She Does It.  The current cast includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Bronsnan and Kelsey Grammar, as well as recent additions Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Olivia Munn (The Daily Show), and Seth Meyers (SNL). Douglas McGrath (Infamous) directs from a script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada).

I Don’t Know How She Does It tells the story of a working mom (Parker) trying to balance the many competing elements of her life. Variety reports that Kinnear will play Parker’s husband, while Curtin will take on the role of Kinnear’s mother. The Weinstein Company will produce.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of Pearson’s novel.