Not even close. For the second weekend in a row, DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is America’s number one attraction; down just 41% with an estimate of $35.5 million. Though down a much more substantial 60%, Fox’s Prometheus managed to hold on to second place thanks to two widely underperforming debuts. Those would be Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy which, even when combined, couldn’t come close to challenging for first place.

After posting a strong start on Friday, Cars 2 went on to finish the weekend with an estimated $68 million from its 4,115 locations.  That was more than double what its closest competitor, Bad Teacher, took in; but not quite enough to get the sequel higher than fifth place on the list of All-Time Pixar Studio champions.

As we enter 2011, Quentin Tarantino has revealed his top ten films of 2010.  The list includes the usual suspects (Toy Story 3, The Social Network) along with some fun surprises like Tangled and, shall we say “peculiar” surprises like Robin Hood.  Tarantino didn’t provide any comment on his choices, but said of his number ten pick, Enter the Void,

“Hands down best credit scene of the year? Maybe best credit scene of the decade. One of the greatest in cinema history.”

Hit the jump for Tarantino’s list along with a look at the opening credits for Enter the Void.

Tom Cruise is a movie star, still, but only just. He of couch jumping and scientology fame went from being the definitive American leading man into a subject of parody – partly of his own making. All stars eventually go through a period where their fan base outgrows or changes on them, but there is definitely a dividing line with Cruise. And yet he is still a star, and a film like Knight and Day highlights that fact. Throughout the film, Cruise gives off the smile and charm that made him famous, in a role that plays (albeit briefly) with his reputation of being a little unhinged. He costars with Cameron Diaz in a film about a secret agent who keeps dragging along Diaz while being chased by bad agents (headed up by Peter Sarsgaard. My review of Knight and Day on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Paul Dano’s career has been defined by strong performances opposite award-winning actors.  The stunning list of his high-profile onscreen pairings range from his breakthrough, Indie Spirit Award-winning turn for Best Debut Performance in 2001’s L.I.E. as the target of a pedophile, played by fellow nominee Brian Cox, to his portrayal of a nihilistic teen as part of Little Miss Sunshine’s 2007 SAG Award winning ensemble where he shared a backseat in the Hoover’s family van with Alan Arkin in the 76-year-old’s Oscar-winning performance, to his performance of a preacher and his twin (Paul and Eli Sunday) opposite eventual Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis’ unhinged oil man Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.

Collider caught up with the 26-year-old to discuss his latest big screen partnership in The Extra Man, which opened in Los Angeles this past weekend to continue its national rollout, opposite Kevin Kline.  Hit the jump for the interview’s transcript and audio, along with stories of his early work with several Oscar winners, Daniel Day-Lewis’ intensity, whether he’ll work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, his take on the Broadway musical adaptation of Little Miss Sunshine and the danger of dressing in drag, on screen.

The disappointing box office for Knight and Day ($74 million domestic; $190 million worldwide) has led Paramount to cut Tom Cruise’s up-front salary for Mission: Impossible 4.  Vulture reports that Cruise has “agreed to be paid ‘scale’ (that is, Screen Actors Guild minimum payment) for his acting in the franchise’s fourth installment, but will “get a nice back-end after cash break-even.”  Basically, Cruise gets nothing up-front but will make money after the studio recoups its investment.  With an expected budget of $135 million and let’s say another $135m for P&A, Cruise still probably comes out with a fat paycheck.

I’ll leave the arguments about Tom Cruise’s star power to others.  I’m not his agent or an executive.  I think he’s a good actor with plenty of charisma and he basically carried Knight and Day.  I’m glad that he’ll return for Mission: Impossible 4 (which comes out on December 16, 2011) and I’m even happier that Brad Bird (The Incredibles) is directing.

Yesterday Fox rolled out Knight and Day nationwide. Now, we all know that there are two occasions when studios typically employ the Wednesday opening: before a big holiday and in the event of an event – a Harry Potter movie, say, or an installment in the Twilight Saga. We are still weeks away from our next holiday and Knight and Day, despite its appealing leads, is certainly no Eclipse, so how did that early opening work out? From its 3,042 theatres the action-comedy pulled in an estimated $3.8 million. That’s roughly half of what Fox was hoping for so… not too well. Not only did it miss ranking close to the top 50 all-time Wednesday debuts, Knight and Day was also well below last Wednesday’s $5.2 million, non-opening total for The Karate Kid. At this point it looks like Cruise and Cameron will rank a very distant third by weekend’s end, but you should check back just to be safe.

It’s amazing what you can do with charisma.  It can elevate a mediocre movie to greatness and elevate a bad movie to mediocrity.  Knight and Day is a case of the latter.  The film’s overly-long, paper-thin plot and misogynistic undertones are combated by Tom Cruise’s sheer force of personality, his chemistry with co-star Cameron Diaz, and James Mangold’s skill for shooting exciting set pieces.  These elements combine to make Knight and Day a better movie than it should be, but unfortunately aren’t enough to make it as good as it could be.

With Knight and Day getting ready to come out this week, 20th Century Fox has provided us with 5 clips, about 5 minutes of B-Roll (Behind the Scenes Footage), and an on set interview with Tom Cruise.  While I usually don’t post studio provided interviews, with how little press Cruise has done with the online community, I figured some of you might like to hear him talk about making the film and why he got involved.

Even though some of you have lost interest in Cruise as an action star, I’m still a fan of his work and hope this is the start of a new chapter in his career.  On a separate note, I’ve heard the movie is a lot of fun.  Judge for yourself after the jump:

Go ahead and file this one under “kinda cute.”  In a low-key effort at viral marketing for Knight and Day, Fox has released behind-the-scenes footage of stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz laying down some mad tricks with a CG soccer ball.

The action-comedy features the duo as a fugitive couple fleeing through international locales; Knight and Day was recently moved up two days for a June 23rd release.  Hit the jump to see the clip.

CBS Films originally slotted Beastly for July 30th, which would have pit star Vanessa Hudgens against boyfriend/High School Musical co-star Zac Efron and his project Charlie St. Cloud.  In an effort to avoid forcing fans into such a Sophie’s choice, THR reports that Beastly will now debut nearly eight months later on March 18, 2011.  The studio wrote on the Beastly Facebook page:

“We’ve been hearing from fans, so we know that having both Zac and Vanessa’s movies opening on the same day could be a real dilemma for people, so we are moving Beastly.”

I do like the idea of this theoretical fan who would have been completely beside themselves on July 30th, completely unable to decide between which pretty actor to support first.  Hit the jump for details on the two-day bump bestowed upon the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz action comedy Knight and Day.

We’ve had quite a few posts with the words “knight”, “day”, and “trailer” in the headline (“one, two, three, four, tell me that you love me more”), but I think such gluttony is justified given the upward trend for each new clip.  Knight stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz as “a fugitive couple (on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem.”  James Mangold (Walk the Line) directs; the cast also includes Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Maggie Grace (Taken), and Marc Blucas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

It’s hard to parse out what footage is brand new to our eyes, but altogether the new trailer is doing its job.  Over the past several months, Knight and Day has slowly transformed from “potentially silly” to “solid choice” when it comes out on July 2, 2010.

We’ve got a nice batch of trailers for you this fine Friday morning.  First up, there’s the great trailer for the action-comedy Knight and Day starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  I’ve come to accept that Tom Cruise: The Celebrity will always be a figure of ridicule, but I still believe that Tom Cruise: The Actor is a lot of fun.

Then there’s the awful trailer for Grown Ups starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade.  Let me sum it up right now: Fatty fall down, woman breast-feeds 4-year-old, men pee in swimming pool.  Oh the hilarity.

Finally, there’s the trailer for Ondine starring Colin Farrell.  It’s worth checking out because it looks like an old myth but told with originality.  Hit the jump to see all three trailers along with a synopsis for each movie.

A new trailer for James Mangold’s Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, has come online.  It plays better than the first trailer and is a reminder that while Cruise’s personal life can be controversial, the guy is a movie star because he has charisma and is likable (the latter depending on how much you can forget his personal life when you see one of his movies).  I think the movie looks like a lot of fun due mainly to Cruise’s performance combined with Diaz’ ability to play panicked without becoming shrill.  The action looks fairly solid too, although there’s one shot where the two are looking at the oncoming running of the bulls and if they’d kept the background as a green screen it would be just as convincing.

Hit the jump for the new trailer and the official synopsis.  The film co-stars Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Grace, Paul Dano, Viola Davis, and, as you can see by the trailer, Marc mustachioed Blucas.  Knight and Day hits theaters on June 25th.

So you can mark your calendars far in advance, here’s some release date news you may be interested to know.  First off, Box Office Mojo reports that Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (starring Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Andy Serkis, and Daniel Craig) is set to hit theaters on December 23, 2011.  Secondly, the indie flick Holy Rollers (starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha) which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will open on May 21st.  Also, EW reports that Simon Wells’ (The Prince of Egypt) motion-capped 3D family film, Mars Needs Moms! (starring Seth Green, John Cusack, and Dan Fogler) will bow on March 11, 2011.  The movie, “tells the story of a young boy, named Milo, who gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians come to Earth to take her away.”

Finally, the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz action-comedy Knight and Day has been pushed back a week from July 2nd to June 25th.