The Underworld series has always been more style than substance. Or, more accurately, all style and no substance. That’s not necessarily a fault; plenty of films have succeeded primarily on flair. Alex Proyas’ The Crow, for example. The original Underworld, helmed by Len Wiseman and starring wife Kate Beckinsale, never approached (or aimed for) the haunting visual poetry of that film. But in the beginning, it got by on an inherently cool premise (werewolves and vampires at war) and competently staged action. Four films in, the novelty’s worn off.

Underworld: Awakening sees Beckinsale slipping back into her famed leather catsuit after sitting out the last prequel entry; and while she fits the role of undead “Death Dealer” Selene well as ever, the franchise to which she returns is a bloated corpse. Hit the jump for our review of Underworld: Awakening on Blu-ray.

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.

Open Road’s The Grey debuted in first place on Friday with an estimated $6.5 million from 3,185 locations.  That is only a bit less than the debut of Unknown, Liam Neeson’s last turn as a tough-guy, but substantially more than Open Road saw from Killer Elite, its first release last September. The thriller is projected to earn $18.5 million for the weekend, giving 2012 its fourth winning frame in a row.  Friday’s number two was Lionsgate’s One For the Money, which made an estimated $4.1 million from 2,737 venues. It is unclear, however, how much of an impact the film’s Groupon ticket deal had on its debut, but, so far, Money is not looking like the confirmed disaster that many expected/hoped for.  Discounted tickets were also offered for Summit’s new Man On A Ledge.  From 2,998 locations the PG-13 thriller took in a reported $2.5 million – enough for fifth place behind holdovers Underworld Awakening and Red Tails.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

Underworld Awakening had no trouble topping a crowded field of new or expanding releases this weekend. Nine years after the action-horror series launched, Underworld 4 took in an estimated $25.4 million from 3,078 locations for the second-highest opening weekend in the franchise’s history. Red Tails also had reason to be happy with its second-place showing while returns for the week’s three other highly-touted features were more modest.

Taking the franchise’s action and mayhem to a new level, Underworld: Awakening is the fourth and most spectacular installment yet. With the film opening this weekend, creator/producer Len Wiseman graciously took some time away from finishing up his director’s cut of Total Recall (due out in theaters on August 3^rd) to chat with Collider about both films and possible upcoming projects.

During the nearly 30-minute exclusive conversation, Wiseman talked about the risk of stepping outside the box with the story for this Underworld film, the he was so involved with the production that he watched dailies online every day and gave notes throughout the entire process, his feelings about test screenings, and that there’s no immediate plan for a fifth installment but he’s always open to it. He also said he believes there will be a Total Recall trailer available in March, that his approximately two-hour director’s cut is just about ready for the studio to see, and that he needs very few insert shots. As far as what’s next on his plate, he said that he’s writing a script that is a good mix of thriller and action with a supernatural quality to it. Check out what he had to say about that, and so much more, after the jump:

In last week’s “Top 5″ I spent the opening paragraph musing about my anticipation for Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire. I also promised the readers a quick “Before & After” discussion this week which would address whether or not the pic lived up to my expectations. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but said discussion will have to be postponed. I know, I know, I’m disappointed too. Fear not, though, I’m slated to check out the film tonight which means that I’ll be able to deliver on my promise, albeit a week late. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ installment brings you interviews with the cast of Underworld: Awakening and the aforementioned Haywire, a gallery of recent films in retro poster form, an ultra-disturbing Rugrats live-action trailer, and all of our Sundance 2012 coverage to date. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

In terms of box office numbers, January keeps offering up pleasant surprises.  This week, the big winner is Underworld Awakening with an estimated $9.4 million from 3,078 locations.  While not an unexpected first-place victory, part four in Screen Gems’ franchise is on track to earn about 15% more than the last installment, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, saw on its first weekend back in January of 2009.  And unlike 2010, when No Strings Attached was the only major new release, there are plenty of other titles crowding into theatres this weekend.  George Lucas’s Red Tails is at number two with $6 million from 2,512 venues – a better start for the WWII drama than would be suggested by the twenty-plus years it took to open the film.  After a month in limited release, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close expanded to 2,630 locations and took in $3.2 million.  The only film that is not meeting or exceeding expectations is Relativity’s Haywire.  After earning an estimated $2.9 million from 2,439 on Friday, the Steven Soderbergh drama will have trouble topping the $8 million weekend mark set by the studio.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

With directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein’s Underworld: Awakening opening tomorrow, I recently got to sit down with most of the cast to talk about making the movie.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star.

During my interview with Eisley and James we talked about how they got involved in the Underworld franchise, were the action scenes more challenging than they expected, how did things chance from getting the script to being on set, deleted scenes, karaoke, video games, and a lot more. Hit the jump to watch.

With directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein’s Underworld: Awakening opening this weekend, I recently got to sit down with most of the cast to talk about making the movie.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star.

During my interview with Ealy we talked about how he got involved in the Underworld franchise, did he watch the previous films, was he disappointed to play a human character, deleted scenes, and how much changed between when he first got the script to being on set.  In addition, we also talked about video games, karaoke, the difference between acting on a TV show and in the movies, and what else he has coming up in 2012.  Hit the jump to watch.

With directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein’s Underworld: Awakening opening this weekend, I recently got to sit down with most of the cast to talk about making the movie.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star.

During my interview with Beckinsale we talked about the action scenes and how they compare to the previous films, how long did she debate about returning to the franchise, pranks on set, what’s her karaoke song, and her thoughts on more Underworld movies.  In addition, with Beckinsale also starring in the remake of Total Recall as Lori (originally played by Sharon Stone), she talked about how her Lori compares to Stone’s version and what can fans look forward to in the remake.  Hit the jump to watch.

On the supernatural drama series Lost Girl, premiering on Syfy January 16^th, actor Kris Holden-Ried plays Dyson, a sexy homicide detective who also happens to be a 1,000-year-old wolf-shifter. While he works to help keep the existence of the Fae a secret, he instantly develops an attraction for Bo (Anna Silk), a Succubus who was raised human and only recently learned what she is, and attempts to ensure her safety, especially since she has a tendency to place herself in danger.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Kris Holden-Ried talked about what drew him to Lost Girl, his approach in bringing Dyson to life, that he physically carries himself differently to play a wolf, how lucky he feels to be working with an ensemble of such fantastic individuals, and how amazing it is to have such loyal fans. He also talked about playing a much more vicious werewolf in Underworld: Awakening (the latest installment to the franchise, opening on January 20^th), being the antagonist to Kate Beckinsale’s character Selene, working with two directors on the film, and being naked in 3D. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Screen Gems has sent over 5 movie clips and 12 images for Underworld: Awakening, the fourth entry in the Vampires vs. Lycans franchise.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star; Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein directed the January 20, 2012 release.  While I’m under embargo from writing what I thought, I suggest watching my interview with Beckinsale from earlier today, as I may have said something on camera.

Click here for all our coverage on Underworld 4, including my set visit last year.  Hit the jump for the images and clips.

While certainly one of the most gorgeous actresses in Hollywood, Kate Beckinsale is also one of the more versatile. Sure, she’s had her fair share of romantic roles (Serendipity is one of my utmost guilty pleasures), but Beckinsale is also a bit of a bad ass. She’s probably best known for her work as uber-dangerous vampire Selene in the Underworld series.

Steve got the chance to speak with the actress in anticipation of the fourth installment in the franchise—Underworld: Awakening—and while we’ll have the full interview up closer to the film’s release, we wanted to share a few interesting tidbits with you today. Beckinsale not only mused on the possibility of returning for a fifth Underworld entry (and beyond), but she also talked about her role as Lori in Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake and a particularly brutal fight with co-star Jessica Biel.  Hit the jump to see what she had to say.

December was the month of epic soundtrack news, with Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross reuniting for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the more recent announcement of The Hunger Games soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett and featuring Taylor Swift. While the musical lineup for the fourth installment in the Underworld series is unlikely to garner an Academy Award, the goth-centric soundtrack is sure to be a commercial success, if the trend from the previous movies continues. The Lakeshore Records album will feature 17 tracks of rock/metal songs that fit in lock-step with the dark energy of Underworld: Awakening. Previous contributors that are making a repeat appearance include Lacuna Coil, Black Light Burns and Linkin Park, with Chester Bennington having contributed a solo track on the first album. The soundtrack will be available in stores on January 17^th, three days before Underworld: Awakening hits screens. Hit the jump to check out the full soundtrack.

Screen Gems has released a new set of images for Underworld: Awakening, the fourth entry in the Vampires vs. Lycans franchise.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star; Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein directed the January 20, 2012 release.

Click here for all our coverage on Underworld 4, including Steve’s set visit.  Hit the jump for the images.