Evil Dead was the clear box office champ this weekend. The horror remake earned an estimated $26 million from 3,025 locations, or about $5 million more than originally projected. The weekend’s only other ‘new’ release was Jurassic Park 3D. With $18.2 million from 2,771 runs, the converted-classic fell to fourth behind the more-current 3D hit, The Croods.

There were no blockbusters on this September frame but, after last weekend’s dismal returns, it’s hard to feel disappointed. Aided by 3D technology, Resident Evil: Retribution reigned with $21.1 million – more than twice what The Possession earned in first place last weekend. Finding Nemo 3D also had a ticket-price advantage although, in this case, the 2003 Pixar classic could not match the gross of last year’s 3D The Lion King re-release.

Even with Saturday’s family trade and higher ticket prices, Disney’s 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast could not catch Contraband this weekend. From its 2,863 locations Universal’s R-rated drama took in an estimated $24.1 million – a figure well above early expectations for the Mark Wahlberg vehicle.  The other BIG news is the changing fortunes of last weekend’s number one film, The Devil Inside.  Estimates have taken the film from number six – down to number eleven – and back up to number seven all within an hour.  We’re hoping to get it right this with this one but, keep in mind, it’s all estimates until Monday morning…

It may not be the overwhelming win that its pricey PR push promised, but America’s new number one movie Real Steel did score the highest debut of any truly ‘new’ release since Rise of the Planet of the Apes two months ago.  With $27.3 million from its 3,440 locations, the family-friendly robot boxing movie also earned almost three times what its nearest competitor, George Clooney’s The Ides of March, saw on its first weekend.

For the first time in a month, a brand new movie is set to top the weekend box office (the re-release of The Lion King doesn’t really count).  Real Steel, the heartwarming tale of an ex-fighter, a robot and a dream, entered the ring on Friday with an estimated $8.6 million from 3,440 locations.  That means that the Disney/Dreamworks release is on track to take in at least $25 million by Sunday – more than any new release has scored since August.  Still, with a budget rumored to top $100 million, Real Steel would need to claim a bigger purse before it could call itself a bonafide box office champ.  The weekend’s second new release was never destined to be a big money contender; but with a Friday opening of $3.5 million from 2,199 locations, George Clooney’s The Ides of March should at least finish in the modest $10 million range that many expected.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

With three new releases plus three strong holdovers, this weekend turned out to be one of the most difficult to predict in terms of box office numbers.  In the end, it was the week-old Dolphin Tale that emerged victorious: leaping over Friday’s champ Moneyball, the still-ferocious Lion King 3D and the critically-acclaimed newcomer 50/50.

Moneyball won the pot on its second Friday with an estimated $3.9 million, though there is a good chance that either of September’s family hits, Dolphin Tale or The Lion King 3D will end up the weekend winner.  With Friday numbers, I usually like to give some indication of what Sunday’s top ten will look like but, today, I’m not sure that will be possible.  On top of the very close estimates between the holdover titles, there are four new releases in the mix: three of which are running well below their pre-release projections.  So far, What’s Your Number? is lagging 85% behind Anna Farris’ last comedy hit The House Bunny.  50/50 is doing half the business of 2009’s cancer comedy Funny People and the Universal thriller Dream House looks like a winner by sticking to its projected three-day opening of $8 million!  That leaves Courageous.  Haven’t heard of it?  The Christian drama has come out strong, with a debut of $3.1 million and a projected weekend that should nearly double its studio’s expectations of $5 million.  Details tomorrow.

Once again, it looks like I was foolish to bet on Moneyball.  Blinded by the strong opening day of this long-time underdog, I completely forgot that last weekend’s champ would have a home field advantage on Saturday.  The final score put The Lion King 3D back on top and added another $22.1 million to the re-release’s lifetime stats.  Moneyball had to settle for second, though the estimates between it and the week’s newest family film, Dolphin Tale, are close enough that the baseball flick could conceivably fall to third by Monday.

Now that is a title I never thought I would write.  Two years ago it looked like Sony’s tale of baseball underdogs was dead in the water, but look at Moneyball now!  Number one on Friday with an estimated $6.8 million and almost guaranteed to win the weekend with a projected $20 million.  That is a bit higher than original studio estimates and, if achieved, would give Moneyball the biggest opening ever for a baseball-themed feature.  At number two after its big re-release last weekend is Disney’s The Lion King 3D, which means that the new family heart-warmer, Dolphin Tale, had to settle for third and an estimated $5.1 million.  The weekend’s third and fourth new releases round out the top five: Lionsgate’s Abduction, with Taylor Lautner, scored an estimated $3.8 million while Killer Elite, with Jason Statham and Clive Owen, was not far behind with $3.4 million.  Both films are currently looking at an opening of $11 million or so.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

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.

Mark Henn (“Young Simba”) and Tony Bancroft (“Pumbaa”) were two of the supervising animators on The Lion King, when the film was originally produced in the ‘90s. With an unforgettable story and breathtaking animation, the now beloved characters are returning to the big screen, for the first time ever in 3D. This new format immerses viewers in these epic settings, in such a way that they’ve never been able to before, and invites new generations to experience the “Circle of Life.”

At a press day held at the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL), animators Mark Henn and Tony Bancroft spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how they each ended up on their career paths, how they came to be responsible for their respective characters, the most complicated thing to animate at the time, what it’s like to see these characters brought to life in 3D, and how things have changed since they originally made the film. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

With films that have grossed more than one and a half billion dollars worldwide, Rob Minkoff is one of only a few filmmakers to have directed both live-action and animated features, and innovated the use of the combined mediums. Along with supervising the creation of The Lion King, he’s worked with an incredible array of award-winning talent throughout his career. Now, the animated masterpiece that has won Oscars, inspired a hugely successful Broadway show, and is the best-selling home entertainment release of all-time is returning to theaters in 3D, for the first time ever.

At a press day for the film that was held at the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL), which houses over 60 million pieces of art from over 80 years, the film’s co-director spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the decision to convert the much-loved animated feature to 3D, how much more immersive the entire experience is now, how animation has changed since the film’s original release, the difference between directing an animated feature versus a live-action one, and how exciting and gratifying it is to see animation brought to life. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Starting on September 16^th, audiences can catch a special two-week theatrical run of the Oscar and Golden Globe winning The Lion King, for the first time ever in Disney Digital 3D, before then becoming available on Blu-ray 3D on October 4^th. Having been nearly a decade since The Lion King last appeared on the big screen, it’s easy to understand why fans of the film, and Disney fans in general, are anxious to see it, and it’s exciting that new generations will have the opportunity to discover it, for the first time.

During a press day held at the Animation Research Library (ARL), which houses over 60 million pieces of Disney art, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Stereoscopic Supervisor Robert Neuman spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the 3D conversion of the hand-drawn animated classic. He talked about how he went from Layout Artist and Supervisor to the position he’s in now, made The Lion King an obvious choice for this process, how they approached converting the film, the challenges of giving depth to hand-drawn animation, and the care they have to take with such a classic film. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Disney’s The Lion King will release into theaters this year in a new 3D format for the very first time on September 16th. The film was a childhood favorite of mine, and every time I hear “The Circle of Life,” I get goosebumps. Needless to say, I look forward to viewing the film on the big screen, something I may have done when I was little but can’t recall. However, I do wonder how a film from the ’90s will hold up, animation wise, and how a 3D conversion of it will fare on the big screen.

Today, Disney sent over some images showing just what the conversion process entails, including adding notes of depth and then using filters to key in on what will be in the foreground, background, and everywhere in between. The process is a lot more difficult than this, but it gives us a great idea of what the process entails on a basic, easy to understand level. Hit the jump to view those images, including a description of what we are looking at, a discussion with the stereographer Robert Neuman about the procedure itself, and my impressions of the scenes they showed before Cars 2.

Lionsgate has scheduled Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds for release on February 24, 2012 where it will face Gone, The Devil Inside, and Lockout.  This is the fourth of Perry’s movies to debut in February.  Per Variety, Good Deeds revolves around “a businessman (Perry) who falls in love with a single mother just before he is skedded to marry another woman.”  Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union also star.

Disney released the first trailer for the Blu-ray release of The Lion King 3D last night.  We noted that the Hollywood theater El Capitan is selling tickets for a theatrical showing in September.  Today the studio announced a two-week wide release for The Lion King 3D starting September 16.  The 3D Blu-ray drops on October 4.  Hit the jump for the official press release with all the details.