Newbie distributor Open Road Films has claimed its first number one opening with the wolf vs. man thriller The Grey.  From 3,185 locations, The Grey took in an estimated $20 million, or well above the mid-teens that was projected.  Second place was claimed by Underworld Awakening, pushing the adaptation of Janet Evanovich’s bestselling novel, One For the Money, into third.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The exorcism sub-genre got off to a grand start all the way back in 1973 with William Friedkin’s masterful horror film The Exorcist, and since then, we’ve had a neverending parade of progressively tedious, hackneyed exorcism flicks.  But last year’s The Rite has just arrived on Blu-ray (and DVD, if that’s your preferred format), and maybe you’ve found yourself gazing at that oddly-similar-to-Tommy-Wiseau’s-The-Room cover box at your local movie retailer.  Maybe you’ve gotten it into your head that The Rite is worth renting, maybe even buying.  Hey, you think, maybe the inclusion of Anthony Hopkins indicates that The Rite will be a step above, say, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  Maybe you’re possessed, and the Devil’s the one whispering this madness in your ear.  Read on for our Blu-ray review of The Rite, after the jump….

Super Bowl weekend is not known for its huge debuts – 2010 being the notable exception.  And with much of the country still dealing with their endless winter nightmares and the rest transfixed by the game, this weekend has a good excuse for its low numbers.

After finishing in first on Friday, The Rite stayed on top with a three day estimate of $15 million from its 2,985 locations.  No Strings Attached followed in second place, holding on to 58% of its first weekend total.  The Mechanic opened in third for the weekend with $11.5 million, a figure that was well above most projections for the R-rated action film.

Bringing a depressingly down-trending month to a close, two new features debuted on Friday – neither of which seems capable of breaking the box office out of its January doldrums.  Warner Brothers’ The Rite came in first on Friday with $5.1 million from its 2,985 locations.  That is less than Mel Gibson’s Edge of Darkness debuted to at this time last year, though I’m sure snow-fatigue on the beleaguered East Coast is at least partially to blame.  The PG-13 thriller starring Anthony Hopkins has a chance to stay on top through the three day weekend with a projected take of $15 million.  The excellent 39% hold of No Strings Attached, however, may mean that last weekend’s top title is in for a second week at number one.  CBS Film’s The Mechanic opened in third place on Friday with $3.5 million and is not expected to top ten million by Sunday.  We’ll have full details and analysis tomorrow.

The Rite is a prime case of a film without endurance. While the first half is often strong, intriguing, and full of humor, the movie stumbles and lurches through the finish. The exorcism genre has seen resurgence of late, but not many films in that line can boast about Anthony Hopkins playing a wily, unconventional exorcist. Unfortunately, the perfect casting of Hopkins is spoiled with the uneven tone. When director Mikael Håfström finally tries to tie up the loose ends in the film, it gives in to an unenthusiastic finale that feels rushed and diluted. The idea of possession versus dementia has been done before–with satisfying results–but here it feels mishandled. If coughing up a handful of iron spikes doesn’t convince someone, you know there isn’t much hope. Hit the jump to read my full review of The Rite.

Opening next weekend is director Mikael Hafstroem’s (1408) supernatural thriller The Rite and it stars Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones. “Inspired by true events, The Rite follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak (O’Donoghue), who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the Vatican. While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.”  For more on the film, watch some clips here.

I recently got to participate in a roundtable interview with Hopkins.  During the extended interview, Hopkins talked about what drew him to this project, how does he work with directors as most could be intimidated, how is he so good at scaring people, upcoming projects like Thor and 360, and he also talked about painting, composing music, and so much more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to what he had to say:

Opening next weekend is director Mikael Hafstroem’s (1408) supernatural thriller The Rite and it stars Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones.  “Inspired by true events, The Rite follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak (O’Donoghue), who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the Vatican. While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.”  For more on the film, watch some clips here.

Anyway, I recently got to sit down with Alice Braga and we talked about how she got involved in the film, what it was like to work with Anthony Hopkins, filming in Rome and Budapest, what she recommends if you visit Brazil, and she also told me about how she got involved in Walter Salles’ adaptation of On the Road, who she plays, and what it was like to make the film.  Hit the jump to read or listen to what she said:

Today, we have six clips from the upcoming thriller The Rite.  The film stars Anthony Hopkins as an unorthodox priest who teaches a young student (Colin O’Donoghue) about exorcisms.  And since exorcisms are a tricky business, creepy stuff inevitably happens.  While every film involving exorcisms has to sit in the shadow of The Exorcist, perhaps The Rite can find its own way.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The Rite also stars Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones.  The film opens January 28th.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for The Rite, a supernatural thriller purported to be inspired by true events.  As scripted by Michael Petroni (Possession), The Rite tells the story of a seminary student attending “exorcism school” at the Vatican: “While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.”

Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones star in The Rite, directed by Mikael Håfström (1408).  Hit the jump for the trailer and synopsis.

Warner Bros. has released their preview kit for 2011 and along with it they’re providing the first look at Sherlock Holmes II, The Hangover Part II, and Horrible Bosses. There’s also images for The Rite, Unknown, Hall Pass, Red Riding Hood, Sucker Punch, Born to Be Wild, Something Borrowed, Apparition, Final Destination 5, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  Hit the jump to check out the high-resolution synopses and images from these films plus synopses  for Crazy Stupid Love, Green Lantern, Dolphin Tale, Contagion, Happy Feet 2, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Two new movie posters with extreme use of photoshop have been released.  The first one is the Anthony Hopkins supernatural thriller The Rite, and the other is the Vince Vaughn/Kevin James comedy The Dilemma.  As you’ll see after the jump, both have liberally used photoshop to age down their leads.  When you look at Vaughn, it’s like Universal took a photo from Swingers and used that as the starting point.  Saying that, I’m still a huge fan of Vaughn and would love for The Dilemma to be worth our time.  Hit the jump for the posters and the synopses.

The trailer for Mikael Håfström’s new film The Rite, which previously made its debut at the 5th annual “Scream Awards”, has gone online. Starring Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, the film is another one of those Catholic Priests vs. the Devil flicks that people seem to enjoy so much these days and is reminiscent of the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism which premiered earlier this year, though without the shaky, low-budget camera look.

The film also stars Alice Braga (Predators),  Ciarán Hinds (Munich), and Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). Håfström recently directed the period piece Shanghai starring John Cusack and Gong Li, which was released in China earlier this year but has yet to make its way to the states. He also directed the 2007 Stephen King-thriller 1408, also starring Cusack. Hit the jump to check out the trailer which, typical or not, still looks freaky as Hell.  The Rite is set to open on January 28, 2011.

With its 5th annual “Scream Awards” only weeks away, Spike TV is building momentum for its latest incarnation “Scream 2010.”  At the beginning of the month, the show announced its nominees.  Today, Spike has revealed that “Scream 2010″ will feature world premiere footage from Scream 4, Paranormal Activity 2, and The Rite.  In case that isn’t compelling enough television for Spike to earn your rating points, the awards ceremony is also set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future with guest appearances from cast members including Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, and Elisabeth Shue.  Other confirmed attendees include Wes Craven, Aaron Eckhart, and Sigourney Weaver.

Per the giant picture at the top of the article, “Scream 2010″ premieres on Spike TV October 19th at 9pm ET.  As for the footage premiering, Scream 4 is scheduled to open April 15th of next year, Paranormal Activity 2 will release in a few weeks on October 22nd, and The Rite starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Rutger Hauer hits theaters January 28th, 2011.  Also, keep in mind that the “Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy” releases on Blu-ray/DVD October 26th.  Hit the jump to check out the full press release.