After a strong debut on Friday, Act of Valor went on to win the weekend with an estimated $24.7 million from 3,039 locations.  Considering that this is an R-rated feature without any major stars, that’s a pretty remarkable start. Then again, with the fistfuls of cash Relativity devoted to marketing this Navy SEALs drama, anything less than first place would have felt un-American.

With Oscar weekend upon us, the aura of patting you and your peers on the back is as present as ever. In that spirit, I’m using this week’s opening paragraph to recognize the solid work that Matt, Adam, Dave and co. have done in covering the 84th Annual Academy Awards. To prep for Sunday’s show, I recommend you getting up to date on all of our Oscar coverage, culminating in Matt and Adam’s predictions.

In this week’s installment you’ll find a slew of materials from The Avengers including new movie and toy images, Wanderlust interviews with Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd and more, very cool fan-made trailers for The Dark Knight Rises and John Carter, the first clip from The Amazing Spider-Man, and the scoop on Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Jai Courney‘s new gig as John McClane’s son in A Good Day to Die Hard. A quick recap and link to each ensues after the jump.

Looks like that big Super Bowl buy paid off for Relativity, whose Act of Valor easily captured Friday’s top spot. From its launch in 3,039 locations, the R-rated Navy Seals’ drama earned an estimated $9 million – indicating a weekend in excess of $25 million. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds took second on Friday with $5.4 million from 2,132 venues.  At this point the romantic-drama is tracking under the $20 million that has become standard for the filmmaker. I was personally expecting more from Good Deeds (especially after Perry’s much-lauded eulogy for Whitney Houston last Saturday), but it looks like the film will end its first three days with around $18 million, or the low end of recent Perry projects. Speaking of lows, the comedy Wanderlust is poised to set the nadir for a Judd Apatow-produced feature. From its launch in 2,002 locations, the Universal comedy earned just $2.2 million on Friday in eighth place, and is expected to gross around $7.5 million by Sunday – less than Drillbit Taylor, in other words. Things look even bleaker for the Summit thriller Gone, however, which debuted in ninth place with $1.7 million for a projected weekend of $5.5 million.  Full details and analysis tomorrow.

In the hilarious new comedy Wanderlust, over-extended and over-stressed Manhattanites George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) leave their over-priced micro-loft in the West Village and stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by very colorful, sexually adventurous characters. While the couple embraces a refreshingly different way of looking at things, they begin to question how they should live the rest of their lives.

At the film’s press day, Collider spoke to director/producer/co-writer David Wain, in both a roundtable and a 1-on-1 interview, about how the idea for this film started, the collaborative process he has with Ken Marino, what made Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston the right pair for these roles, why he wanted Judd Apatow to produce the film, strategically placing the genitalia to make it most effective, how much the story changed from first draft to final draft, and “The Bizarro Cut” that you can expect on the DVD. He also talked about juggling multiple projects in various stages of development, working on a sequel for Wet Hot American Summer, and having just directed an episode of the Fox comedy series New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

If you gather most of the alumni of MTV’s The State and put them together in a movie, hilarity will follow.  Throw in Paul Rudd and you get something even better.  David Wain‘s Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models proved this, and his latest film, Wanderlust, proves it again.  It’s ad-libbed comedy at its finest where you get a strong set-up for good jokes, and then you can hear all the alternate takes that are going to be on the DVD.  Wain isn’t afraid to let scenes run a little long if one of his actors is getting into a strong rhythm, and the only time the director/co-writer falters is letting Jennifer Aniston get overshadowed by the rest of the cast, and when he lets the comedy veer from madcap to unsettling.  But these are minor stumbles in a movie filled with moments that you’ll be quoting for years to come.

We have three new posters to share with you:

• Wanderlust – One last poster before the Paul Rudd/Jennifer Aniston comedy hits theaters this Friday, February 24.
• Starlet – A smoky shot of Dree Hemingway to promote the SXSW premiere.
• 2 Days in New York - The French one-sheet for Julie Delpy‘s follow-up to 2 Days in Paris; in addition to directing, Delpy stars opposite Chris Rock.

Hit the jump for the posters and more information on each project.

In the hilarious new comedy Wanderlust, over-extended and over-stressed Manhattanites George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) leave their over-priced micro-loft in the West Village and stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by very colorful, sexually adventurous characters, including alpha male Seth (Justin Theroux) and free-spirit Eva (Malin Akerman). Surrounded by nudists, a former porn star, and a woman with no boundaries, even in the bathroom, this seemingly refreshing way of looking at things quickly makes George and Linda question whether staying there is the right thing for them to do.

During a press conference at the film’s press day, co-stars Justin Theroux and Malin Akerman talked about working with director David Wain, how much input they had into their characters, how awkward it is to be wearing clothes when you’re surrounded by nudists, how hard it was to keep a straight face (Akerman was the one to break character the most), and how excited they both are for their next feature film, Rock of Ages (Akerman has a role in it while Theroux co-wrote it), due out in theaters in June. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

In the hilarious new comedy Wanderlust, over-extended and over-stressed Manhattanites George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) leave their over-priced micro-loft in the West Village and stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by very colorful, sexually adventurous characters. While the couple embraces a refreshingly different way of looking at things, they begin to question how they should live the rest of their lives.

During a press conference at the film’s press day, co-stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston talked about how much fun they had teaming up again (having first worked together on The Object of My Affection), what they enjoyed about working with director David Wain, how nice it was to shoot somewhere that they could disappear without the ever-present paparazzi, how much they enjoyed getting to improvise on set, and how long they think they would last, if they ended up in a place like Elysium. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

We’ve just received six movie clips from director David Wain’s (Role Models) Wanderlust. Starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, Wanderlust follows a stressed-out Manhattan couple looking for a slower pace of living.  Their search leads them to a free love commune populated by wacky characters played by Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Akerman, Joe Lo Truglio and more.  You can check out the red-band trailer here and another clip from the film here.  The comedy, written by Wain and Role Models co-writer Ken Marino, lands in theaters on February 24^th.  Hit the jump to check out the new clips.

Opening next Friday is David Wain’s (Role Models) new comedy Wanderlust, and Universal has released a last-minute red band trailer for the pic. My ticket was already sold simply because I’m a big fan of Wain, Paul Rudd, and everyone involved, but this red band trailer reaffirms that Wanderlust is poised to be an incredibly funny flick. If you’re worried about this trailer spoiling all the good jokes, rest assured that there are only a couple new bits sprinkled in with the material we’ve seen previously.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Malin Akerman, Kathryn Hahn, and Alan Alda. Wanderlust opens in 2D on February 24th.

I’m incredibly excited for Wanderlust. The creative team behind Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models has reunited once more (with Judd Apatow onboard as producer) for this tale of a Manhattan couple that is forced to move out of the city and end up living in a commune. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston topline, with a fantastic supporting roster that includes Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Kathryn Hahn, and Alan Alda. A new clip from the comedy has been released and it’s exactly the tone I was hoping for. Rudd and Theroux square off in a guitar battle set to Spin Doctors, naturally, and awkward hilarity ensues. If you listen closely, you’ll catch a nice Role Models nod.

Hit the jump to watch the clip. The film also stars Ray Liotta and Lauren Ambrose. Wanderlust opens February 24th.

The first three months of the year are often known as the dumping ground that follows the loaded awards season, but we here at Collider found plenty to look forward to in the releases from January to March.  As part of our Most Anticipated series, Matt, Adam, Brendan, and Dave each picked their top 5 and included a brief explanation of why these movies are noteworthy, and what has us excited.  All in all, we selected ten films that represent a variety of genres including drama, comedy, action, horror, sci-fi, and animation.  Hit the jump for our picks, along with information on the cast and plot for each film.

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you this morning. First up is the one-sheet for Wanderlust. Directed by David Wain (Role Models), the film stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as a couple who stumble upon a nudist colony and decide to give communal living a try. We’ve also got new poster for the abduction thriller Gone starring Amanda Seyfried and Wes Bently, and a teaser poster for the southern comedy The Baytown Disco starring Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria.

Hit the jump to check out the posters. Wanderlust opens February 24th, Gone is slated for February 24th, and The Baytown Disco is currently awaiting a release date.

The trailer for David Wain‘s Wanderlust has gone online.  The movie focuses on Manhattan couple George and Linda (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) who are forced to move to Atlanta when George loses his job.  Moving to Atlanta is apparently a fate so terrible that it causes Aniston to scream at the heavens.  The two then move around to various locations until they land on a commune and start to feel renewed.  It looks like For Better or Worse or Did You Hear About the Morgans? if either of those movies were funny.  Wain delivered a great little gem with Role Models and it’s tough to go wrong when you throw in The State alum like Ken Marino and Joe Lo Truglio.  There’s a bunch of great jokes in the trailer, and it isn’t even a red-band version.  Color me excited for this flick.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The great cast also includes Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Ray Liotta, Lauren Ambrose, Kathryn Hahn, and Alan Alda.  Wanderlust opens February 24, 2012. [We've updated the article with new images which you can check out after the jump.]

Three years have passed since Will Smith’s last movie, Seven Pounds, but he’s still the biggest star in Hollywood.  High demand has led to Smith being linked to an uncountable set of projects for his follow-up to Men in Black III.  One of the standouts is 1000 A.E. (may be a working title), the proposed sci-fi project that unites Smith, his son Jaden Smith, and M. Night Shyamalan.  That combination: Smith, Smith, Night—it feels so made up.  I was not prepared for 1000 A.E. to rise to the top of Smith’s to-do list.  Yet  Columbia has committed to a June 7, 2013 release date, meaning there’s about a 95% chance this will make it to theaters.  It’s hard to trust Shyamalan, but I can’t help but be drawn in by the big sci-fi tentpole with the world’s biggest movie star.  The premise: “Set 1,000 years into the future, a young boy navigates an abandoned and sometimes scary Earth to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes.”  I’m encouraged that Gary Whitta, who penned the sharp The Book of Eli, co-wrote the screenplay.  Problem is he co-wrote it with (sigh) Shyamalan.  Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

Details on the new release date for Wanderlust after the jump.