Universal’s Hop has just earned 2011’s highest debut weekend – if today’s estimate of $38.1 million from 3,579 locations proves accurate. For now the three-day estimate for the live-action/CGI-animated comedy stands less than one million ahead of Rango’s record from five weeks back.

More often than not movies are used as recreational escapism. And rightfully so. There’s nothing wrong with zoning out in a chilled movie theater for ninety minutes or so. These recreational movies generally hit generic action, comedic and emotional beats. Love stories usually focus on the struggle to attain love, the pain of losing it, or both.  In my opinion, it is a rare occasion when celluloid presents an honest and engaging love story to its audience. The Last Song starts out strong, but does it withstand its own emotional baggage? Hit the jump to find out.

After briefly giving way on Friday for newcomer Dinner For Schmucks, Inception is back on top for a third straight weekend. Once again, Christopher Nolan’s original thriller retained nearly 65% of its grosses from last weekend and is now looking to cross $200 million by midweek. Schmucks placed second with $23.3 million while the weekend’s two other wide releases, Charlie St. Cloud and Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore became the latest disappointments in a summer that has seen little else.

It was a record breaking Easter weekend debut for WB/Legendary’s much-hyped Clash of the Titans remake. The newly-christened 3D pic took in an estimated $61.4 million from 3,777 locations including 1,810 3D screens it managed to pilfer from Alice in Wonderland.

Gods, monsters and Miley Cyrus! Three new movies do battle at the box office this Easter though, thanks to a Thursday night release and a quick change into 3 dimensions, Clash of the Titans had a bit of an edge on its competition by the time Friday rolled around. Titans had already rung up $4.2 million from its early entry into 3,000 locations – a feat that would have been more impressive if last weekend’s 3D newcomer How to Train Your Dragon hadn’t rung up $5.2 million on the same day. Friday put Titans on top with an estimated $28.5 million and a three day total of over $65 million has been foretold. The coming of the Kraken was enough to scare Disney’s The Last Song into an even earlier Wednesday release which meant that, after Friday, the Miley Cyrus vehicle had already earned a decent $16.3 million. Finally, the always underestimated Tyler Perry had the only film that stuck with its traditional Friday release date. Why Did I Get Married Too opened with an estimated $12.2 million from 2,155 locations and is already on track to become the director’s highest grossing non-Madea debut to date. Full details on the Easter movie parade when you check back tomorrow.

At the age of 17, Miley Cyrus is a multi-platinum recording artist, the star of her own successful television series, a best-selling author, a clothing designer, philanthropist and now dramatic film actress.

In The Last Song, the latest book-turned-film from literary superstar Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook), for which the lead character was specifically written for Cyrus, the triple threat plays Veronica “Ronnie” Miller, a troubled teen sent to spend the summer with her estranged father (Greg Kinnear) in a small Southern beach town. As he tries to reconnect with her through the only thing they have in common, their musical inclination with the piano, she meets a boy (Liam Hemsworth) with whom she begins to let her emotional guard down. Much like Nicholas Sparks’ other work, The Last Song is a story of family, friendship and salvation, along with first love and second chances.

During a press conference held to promote the film, co-stars and real-life loves Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth spoke to the press about making this romantic drama together. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

International best-selling author Nicholas Sparks sat down with us recently to talk about Dear John, the latest film to be adapted from one of his novels. Directed by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström, Dear John tells the story of John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave, and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he falls in love with during her spring vacation. The film also stars Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins.

Sparks, who currently resides in North Carolina with his wife and five children, has published fifteen novels of which six have been turned into films. They include The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Last Song, Dear John, and Nights in Rodanthe. Sparks also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel, The Last Song. The film rights for his novel, The Lucky One, have been sold to Warner Bros. with Douglas McGrath attached to direct. Sparks has also sold screenplay adaptations of True Believer and At First Sight.

Nicholas Sparks talked to us about walking the fine line between drama and melodrama, how pleased he is with the way Lasse Hallström and the cast captured his vision on film, and what a love story like Dear John has in common with the Humphrey Bogart classic, Casablanca. Here’s what he had to say:

New posters for The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus and Warlords starring Jet Li have been released and you can check them out after the jump – along with the synopses.  Both posters are typical for the genre they’re in…the Miley Cyrus poster looks like any Nicholas Sparks movie, and the Jet Li movie sells the action.

Before hitting the jump, I should mention half the reason I wanted to do this poster article is to put Miley Cyrus with Jet Li.