This weekend’s box office turned out to be pretty predictable. Brave, the thirteenth feature from fan-favorite Pixar studios, came out on top with an estimated $66.7 million from 4,127 locations. Easy to see that one coming. More of a question mark was Fox’s R-rated counter-programmer Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Many expected the film to crash in epic fashion; and while $16.5 million from 3,106 locations is not great, it is better than Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy managed last weekend so… yay?

A box office blessing while being critically commonplace, Columbia Pictures’ Bad Teacher was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray. The Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) picture, starring Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, follows foul-mouthed, gold-digging middle school teacher Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) in her quest to raise funds for a boob job in hopes of landing a wealthy suitor. That’s about as deep as the film’s plot gets as half-hearted attempts at character development suffer from poor editing and disjointed pacing. Collider’s Matt Goldberg has praised the film’s humor while our Bill Graham pointed out its flaws in his review. Hit the jump to see where I stand and for a look at what you can expect on the DVD.

I still can’t get over how much I liked Bad Teacher and how hard and consistently I laughed throughout.  It’s not one of my favorite movies of the year, but it was certainly the best surprise thus far.  That’s why I’m delighted to hear that screenwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and director Jake Kasdan are re-teaming for an untitled comedy at Sony.  Here’s the logline according to Deadline: “After a Supercuts manager advises his best friend to break off his engagement, he unexpectedly falls in love with the jilted fiancee, testing both his new romance and his friendship.”  I imagine the worst part isn’t the risk of losing your girlfriend or your best friend.  It’s the realization of working at Supercuts.

There’s no word on a sequel to Bad Teacher even though the film grossed $215 million worldwide off a $30 million budget.  If a sequel doesn’t happen, I would be completely okay with that. In a related story, Eisneberg and Stupnitsky worked on the screenplay for Ghostbusters III and Deadline has a discouraging update on the long-in-development sequel.

Jake Kasdan’s Bad Teacher was one of the best surprises in theaters this year.  I assumed that because the TV spots all relied on Jason Segel’s joke about LeBron James, there weren’t many laughs elsewhere.  But I assumed wrong and Bad Teacher turned out to be one of my favorite comedies of the summer.  The film was a hit at the box office and to promote the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD, Sony is offering free screenings of the film tonight and Saturday at midnight.  If you don’t have plans for those two nights, now you do.

Click here to get your ticket.  Bad Teacher hits stores in an unrated edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on October 18th.  The film also stars Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, and John Michael Higgins.  Hit the jump for the film’s synopsis and trailer.

Looks like summer 2011 had one more blockbuster left after all.  Cowboys and Aliens may have been a late-July disappointment but, so far, Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is performing more like a June release than your typical August afterthought.  Surpassing all early projections, the sci-fi vehicle took in an estimated $54 million from 3,648 locations for an easy number one at the US box office.

Even with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in its path, Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger had no trouble posting the best superhero debut of this comic-happy summer with $65.8 million.

As expected, neither of this week’s new comedies came close to catching Transformers 3 on its second weekend.  While Horrible Bosses became the latest R-rated comedy to top expectations this summer, Zookeeper became the latest potential tentpole to fall flat.  Meanwhile, both films combined barely topped this weekend’s estimate for Dark of the Moon, which became the US’s highest-grossing release of 2011 as of Sunday.

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.

It’s always a mistake to bet against Pixar.  Despite predictions that the studio was heading for a crash with its twelfth offering, Cars 2 is shaping up to finish near the top of Pixar’s roster after earning an estimated $25.7 million from 4,115 locations on opening day.  That puts the sequel on track for a weekend in the $65 million range – well above the $40-$50 million Disney was forecasting just days ago.  A three day total north of $68 million would also give Cars 2 the second-best debut in Pixar’s history behind that giant $110 million Toy Story 3 grossed in 2010, but they’re not there quite yet.  One reason for concern is the fact that grownups are not onboard with Cars 2.  With a current Rotten Tomato score of 33% the sequel stands as the studio’s least critically-regarded release by far.  But who cares?  I know two seven year olds who have had June 24^th circled on their calendars for months… and I’m pretty sure they don’t read reviews.  Running in second place is this week’s counter-programming contender, Bad Teacher. The R-rated comedy earned an estimated $12.1 million from its 3,049 locations on Friday which should equal a $25 million weekend.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

We live in an interesting world where nearly every studio tries to make sure their staple film is PG-13, yet for comedies, they trend towards being vulgar with an R rating. Columbia Pictures’ Bad Teacher doesn’t buck that trend for R-rated comedies with overly adult-themed ingredients yet it never aspires to anything greater than garnering some easy laughs. Cameron Diaz stars as a superficial middle school teacher that just doesn’t care until she has to take on responsibility when her sugar daddy leaves her. While the headliners might be Diaz and co-star Justin Timberlake, it’s the cast of characters around them that shine and give the film a little charm. Although director Jake Kasdan never gives us more than a few smart laughs outside of mostly coarse jokes, the target audience will likely get a kick from the film. Hit the jump to see what Bad Teacher has in store.

Jason Segel is such a charming, funny and genuinely nice guy that it’s easy to like him, as a person and as an actor. The fact that he has the talent to back all that up makes it impossible not to be a fan. In the new raunchy comedy Bad Teacher, starring Cameron Diaz as the inappropriately foul-mouthed and ruthless middle school teacher Elizabeth Halsey, Segel plays happy-go-lucky gym teacher Russell Gettis. Unfazed by rejection, he keeps flirting with and pursuing Elizabeth, even though she has told him that it’s never going to happen because he’s just not rich enough for her.

At the film’s press day, Jason Segel spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview, in which he talked about working non-stop while juggling films with his television series How I Met Your Mother, his relationship with Rush since shooting I Love You, Man, how much fun he had working opposite Cameron Diaz for Bad Teacher, and the tremendous respect he has for Justin Timberlake. He also talked about what attracted him to Jeff Who Lives at Home (he’s seen the film and says it’s fantastic), The Muppets being a dream project, how great the Freaks & Geeks / Undeclared reunion was at PaleyFest earlier this year, how much he’s been enjoying shooting The Five-Year Engagement with Nic Stoller, and that he’d really like to eat a Reuben, once he’s done playing a leading man for that film. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

When director Jake Kasdan was sent the script that Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky had written for Bad Teacher, he thought it was hilarious and asked if he could make the film. The story was so funny that Kasdan only made very minor changes to the script, and luckily the studio let them go make the R-rated comedy they wanted to make, with the final movie turning out to be very close to the original script that they all fell in love with.

At the film’s press day, Jake Kasdan spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview, in which he talked about how he loved the humor and tone of Bad Teacher, how he’s planning an extended version of the film and six to eight deleted scenes for the DVD/Blu-ray release, and how much fun it was to get Justin Timberlake to sing so badly in the film. He also talked about how he got involved with producing Jennifer Westfeldt’s film Friends with Kids, how he ended up directing the pilot for the Fox comedy The New Girl, set for the Fall and starring Zooey Deschanel, that he’s trying to figure out what he wants to do next, and what he thinks Dewey Cox is up to now. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

In the raunchy comedy Bad Teacher, Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) is a teacher who just doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She’s foul-mouthed, ruthless and wildly inappropriate, in her pursuit of the fake boobs that she’s convinced will make her more enticing in winning over a rich, handsome man. Waiting for her meal ticket to take her away from her day job teaching middle school, she sets a plan in motion to win over Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), who unfortunately starts to fall for Elizabeth’s colleague Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), setting her jealousy off into overdrive. Meanwhile, gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) expresses interest in Elizabeth, even though he won’t take any of her bullshit. Completely the wrong person to help guide students, Elizabeth’s schemes get more and more outrageous, shocking everyone around her.

During a press conference to promote the film’s release, co-stars Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, who has proven himself to be a very talented comic actor, talked about centering a film around a character who is horribly ruthless and yet still somehow likeable, their own experiences in public school, filming the hilarious dry-humping scene, and the importance of chemistry in a comedy ensemble. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

I don’t know what to expect from Bad Teacher, but I have high hopes.  From the promotional material, Cameron Diaz appears to pull no punches in her performance as a foul-mouthed, amoral teacher.  That’s commendable, but Diaz is no sure thing as a comedic performer.  I’m in it for the supporting cast.  I don’t know that you can find a more affable duo than Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake.  I can’t claim familiarity with Lucy Punch’s work, but I like her weird energy as an eager fellow teacher in the brief clips we’ve seen.  And in the new international gag reel, it’s John Michael Higgins and Paul Bates that get the biggest laugh.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard), Bad Teacher opens on June 24.  Watch the gag reel after the break.  (Beware of NSFW language.)

Sony has sent over four clips from director Jake Kasdan’s (Walk Hard) Bad Teacher.  Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, and Jason Segel, the film’s about a foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate teacher (Diaz) and what she’s willing to do to get out of her day job.

While Diaz movies have definitely been hit or miss for the last few years, I think Bad Teacher looks really funny.  In addition, I think Timberlake and Segel are great, so I’m really hoping this one is worth our time.  Watch the clips after the jump and look for interviews with the cast very soon.