As expected, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, wound up on top this weekend. The action sequel earned an estimated $41.2 million from 3,719 locations, or $51.7 million including its Thursday debut. In terms of Easter openings, that is the second-highest ever, behind the $61.2 million of 2010’s Clash of the Titans. Tyler Perry’s Temptation was also a draw, leaving The Host the only new release to struggle over the 2013 Easter frame.

After opening to an estimated $10.5 million on Thursday (including $2.2 million from Wednesday night previews), G.I Joe: Retaliation was the easy winner at Friday’s box office. The long-delayed sequel to 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra earned a reported $15.5 million from 3,719 locations; putting it on track for a first-place weekend finish of $38 million. That would make Retaliation the third-highest Easter debut of all time, behind Clash of the Titans and 2006’s Scary Movie 4.

Opening one day after Retaliation, the weekend’s two additional new titles fell short of holdover hit The Croods. Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor earned an estimated $9.4 million from 2,047 locations towards a projected first-weekend of $22 million: a debut comparable to Perry’s past Easter releases. Playing in fewer theatres, Temptation still crushed The Host. Based on Stephanie Meyer’s 2008 sci-fi novel, The Host earned $5.5 million from 3,202 locations on Friday and is expected to claim less than $15 million through Sunday.  We’ll have full details tomorrow.

Writer/director Andrew Niccol’s The Host opens this holiday weekend with star Saoirse Ronan (Hanna).  Adapted from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi novel of the same name, The Host centers on Melanie Stryder (Ronan), one of the last human survivors of an alien invasion.  Unfortunately for Melanie, she’s quickly captured and implanted with an alien parasite known as a Soul, which attempts to replace her consciousness and take over her body; Melanie isn’t having it. The two entities must learn to cooperate or face the loss of the loved ones they each hold dear.

While Niccol makes his best attempt at adapting this story, the fault lies with the source material.  The tension that manifests in the first two acts rapidly diminishes in a lackluster conclusion that, while certainly an original take on conflict resolution, ultimately falls flat on screen.  Hit the jump for my review of The Host.

Writer/director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host opens this weekend.  The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, one of the last remaining humans on Earth after a race of parasitic aliens have taken over most of the world.  Melanie is unique in that she forms a bond with her parasite and sets out to free other humans, if they’ll accept her as one of them.  The film also stars Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher and Boyd Holbrook.  For more on the film, here’s 5 clips, the trailer, and a featurette.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an extended interview with Ronan.  We talked about making The Host, how she got involved in the project, what it was like to work for Niccol, what’s special about all the great directors she’s worked with, Kevin MacDonald‘s How I Live Now, Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut How to Catch a Monster, and her love of Breaking Bad.  Hit the jump to either read or watch the interview.

In the upcoming Andrew Niccol film The Host, Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) plays an alien named Seeker who becomes obsessed with tracking down a band of rebellious humans who continue to mount a resistance against the invasion of Earth.  At the heart of Seeker’s hunt is Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), a human who continues to rebel against the Soul implanted in her body and who may inadvertantly lead the Seeker to eradicating the humans once and for all.

During a recent press event, we were able to interview Kruger about The Host, her playing a somewhat antagonistic character for the first time, the film’s aesthetics and Niccol’s vision, as well as Meyer’s input on Kruger’s character.  She also updated us on the progress of National Treasure 3, as well as her upcoming arthouse film The Green Blade Rises and the status of her new FX drama, The Bridge.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Next up from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is an adaptation of her sci-fi novel, The Host.  Centering on Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), a teenage girl who tries – and fails – to outrun a group of alien invaders who want to implant a parasite, known as a Soul, into her body.  While Melanie herself is divided between her own consciousness and that of the parasitic Soul named Wanderer, her attention is also split between two potential suitors: her boyfriend, Jared (Max Irons) and another human survivor, Ian (Jake Abel).

During a recent round of interviews, we sat down with Irons and Abel to talk about The Host, working from director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation, getting character input from Meyer and changes between the book and the film.  Irons also talked about his upcoming television series The White Queen, which he’s currently filming and Abel commented on the upcoming Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters film, which will be released in 3D.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Opening this weekend is writer/director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of The Host, a sci-fi novel from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer.  The Host centers on Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), a human girl who attempts to escape alien invaders but is captured and implanted with a parasite known as a Soul.  As Melanie’s consciousness fights against the Soul for possession of her own body, the two must work together in order to protect their loved ones in either species.

During a recent interview session, we sat down with Ronan to talk about The Host, how she compared to her character in real life, how she made her role as Melanie distinct from that of the Soul named Wanderer, co-starring with Max Irons and Jake Abel, receiving input from Meyer and signing on for possible future films.  Ronan also commented on her work in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, which she recently wrapped on, and looking forward to Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut of How to Catch a Monster, which should begin filming within the month.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Open Road Pictures has released a new trailer for writer/director Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca) sci-fi film The Host.  Based on the novel of the same name by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, the film stars Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, one of the last remaining humans on Earth after a race of parasitic aliens has taken over most of the world.  Melanie attempts to fight back against her parasite and sets out to free other humans, if they’ll accept her as one of them.  This trailer teases a bit more of the film’s love triangle and Niccol’s characteristically clean-looking sci-fi world.  Knowing very little about how the story plays out, I’m interested to see if the film marks a step up in maturity from Meyer’s Twilight franchise or if it skews closer towards the YA demographic.  Having Niccol onboard as the director is definitely a good sign.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer, and click here to check out five clips from the pic.  The film also stars Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher and Boyd Holbrook.  The Host opens on March 29th.

With writer/director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host opening March 29th, we’ve been provided with 5 clips.  The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, one of the last remaining humans on Earth after a race of parasitic aliens have taken over most of the world.  Melanie is unique in that she forms a bond with her parasite and sets out to free other humans, if they’ll accept her as one of them.  The film also stars Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher and Boyd Holbrook.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

The first clip from writer/director Andrew Niccol’s The Host featuring stars Saoirse Ronan and Max Irons has been released online.  The Host was author Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 follow-up to her hit Twilight franchise, and details the story of an alien race called Souls that take over the inhabitants of Earth.  At the center of the story is Ronan’s character Melanie, who fights back against the Soul, called Wanderer, that takes over her body.  While not as hotly anticipated as the Twilight adaptations were, The Host bolsters an impressive cast including Ronan, Irons, Diane Kruger, Jake Abel, William Hurt, Frances Fisher, and Boyd Holbrook. Hit the jump to see the clip.

After releasing a new trailer just yesterday, a new featurette is now available for The Host.  Some new footage is revealed along with commentary from author Stephenie Meyer and star Max Irons.  The Host stars Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, one of the last remaining humans on Earth after a race of parasitic aliens have taken over most of the world.  Melanie is unique in that she forms a bond with her parasite and sets out to free other humans, if they’ll accept her as one of them.  Also starring Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt and Boyd Holbrook, The Host opens on March 29th.  Hit the jump to watch the featurette.

Open Road Pictures has released a new trailer for writer/director Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca, In Time) adaptation of the Stephenie Meyer sci-fi novel The Host. The story takes place in a future where a parasitic alien species is nearly finished wiping out the human population by taking over the consciousness of each person.  A soul named Wanderer is attempting to take control of Melanie Stryder’s (Saoirse Ronan) consciousness, but faces strong opposition by what remains of the girl.  This trailer finally does a swell job of explaining the film’s plot, and Niccol looks to have crafted a really cool-looking sci-fi world.  I’m still not entirely sure whether the story plays out as a romance or as more of a thriller, but I’m intrigued nonetheless.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer. The film also stars Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, and Boyd Holbrook.  The Host opens on March 29th.

We’ve got some new posters from the following films:

• Jurassic Park 3D – The 3D re-release of the 1993 Steven Spielberg classic now has a new poster to mark the IMAX 3D debut on April 9th.
• The Host – From Twilight author Stephenie Meyer comes this sci-fi movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Jake Abel and Max Irons, featured in these new character posters.  The Host opens March 29th.
• The Numbers Station – The new thriller starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman opens April 26th.
• Dark Skies – A Russian poster for the sci-fi thriller starring Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo and J.K. Simmons.  Dark Skies opens stateside on February 22nd.
• Kiss of the Damned – Written and directed by Xan Cassavetes, starring Josephine de la Baume, Milo Ventimiglia, Roxane Mesquida, Anna Mouglalis, Michael Rapaport and Riley Keough, Kiss of the Damned will be available on iTunes/On Demand March 28, 2013, and in theaters May 3, 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and synopses. 

With a generation of Tweens (and beyond) saying goodbye to The Twilight Saga, a new Stephenie Meyer adaptation will fill the vampire/werewolf void with soul-stealing alien parasites; how dreamy!  The sci-fi flick from writer/director Andrew Niccol (In Time) stars Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) as a young woman who is among the last humans to be taken over by the alien parasites, though her spirit won’t give up without a fight.  We’ve got 13 new images from The Host, which opens March 29th, that also show off co-stars Diane Kruger, Boyd Holbrook, Max Irons and Jake Abel.  Hit the jump to take a look. 

Three new posters and a nifty banner have been released for writer/director Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca, In Time) upcoming sci-fi film The Host.  The film is based on the novel of the same name by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer and takes place in a future where a parasitic alien species is nearly finished wiping out the human population by taking over the consciousness of each person.  A soul named Wanderer is attempting to take control of Melanie Stryder’s (Saoirse Ronan) consciousness, but faces strong opposition by what remains of the girl.  Two trailers in, I’m still not entirely sure what the film is about, but I’m interested to see Niccol’s take on a teen sci-fi romance film even if these new posters look like perfume advertisements.

Hit the jump to check out the new posters.  The film also stars Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, and Boyd Holbrook.  The Host opens on March 29th.