The question wasn’t whether they were naughty or nice, but whether the harsh weather or poor reviews kept people out of the theaters this weekend. According to numbers from Box Office Mojo, the repetitive Jim Carrey vehicle, Yes Man, bested Will Smith’s guilt-ridden drama Seven Pounds.  Yes Man topped the box office charts with $18,160,000, nearly $5 million less than expected while Smith’s holiday offering grabbed $16 million, about $3 million under the predictions.

The other new film, the family friendly The Tale of Despereaux did $10,507,000 worth of business and met the low end of expectations.

Coming in fourth is Fox’s remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still but poor word of mouth saw it dip 66.7% from its so-so opening weekend.  As a result, after two weeks it has grossed only $48,627,000 and may prove a costly disappointment in a year where Fox has had more misfires than hits.

Fifth place went to Four Christmases, the Warner comedy that took in an additional $7,745,000, letting it crack the $100 million mark. The other seasonal film, Nothing Like the Holidays, tumbled to 13th place and has an anemic $5,940,000 after two weeks.

Family fare did better with Bolt with $4,256,000 and possibly the last film to break $100 million so during the calendar year. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is slowing down, but with $172,332,000 after seven weeks, Paramount has to be delighted.

Twilight continues to attract besotted fans, taking in another $5.2 million, with the movie now immensely profitable with $158,461,000 to date.

More serious offerings are being met with indifference during these tough economic times.  While good for Academy Awards nods, they seem to attract on true cinephiles.
 

Arcana Studios has optioned five of their titles to Legacy Filmworks in a co-production deal that also involves production-finance group Bron Management according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Paradox, starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) will be the first of the quintet to reach the cameras. Brenton Spencer (Stargate: Atlantis) will direct the story of a “homicide cop on a parallel Earth ruled by magic who investigates a series of murders committed by a previously unseen means: the power of science” The script adaptation has been handled by the 2005 miniseries writer Christos Gage and his wife, Ruth Fletcher Gage (The Breed).

Deboragh Gabler will producing the five films on behalf of the Canadian based production company, working alongside Bron’s Aaron Gilbert, with Arcana founder-publisher Sean O’Reilly receiving executive producer credentials.

Chopper, produced for Arcana through Martin Shapiro’s Night Owl Studios, was originally developed for Platinum Studios before moving to Arcana.  Written by Shapiro, it will be illustrated by Martin Montiel and Rodney Ramos with a cover from Tony Mauro. The first issue was previewed at Comic-Con International in July but has not been scheduled or solicited by Arcana nor does it appear on their website.  Night Owl’s site describes the premise as:

“Combining the chills of supernatural horror with the excitement of action movie gun battles and car chases, the first issue of Chopper reveals the origin of the chopper-riding Angel of Death and how he became a headless ghost. Jeremiah Payne, an ex-outlaw biker turned fanatical soldier of God hunts down and exterminates evil sinners. He meets his match when he runs into a headstrong cop determined to bring him down.”

The third property is  Sundown, which was a three-issue miniseries from writer Jay Busbee and artist Jason Ossman.

Arcana’s website offer this synopsis:

“Arizona territory, 1880. Someone’s killing preachers, and New York City reporter Will Dalton heads west to cover the story. Will and his brother Clay, a small-town sheriff, begin digging for the truth behind the murders. But they soon find themselves on the front lines of a horrific war for the very soul of America! Sundown is a terrifying three-issue tale of the Old West where sometimes, dying just means you’re switching sides.”

Arcana was founded in 2004 and has comics, webcomics and custom comics produced ever since.  They made a splash this fall as  the home for the comic book in carnation of The Greatest American Hero, which was released last week. They also produced Red Lotus, animated webisodes for Spike TV.
 

TheCW4Kids’ Saturday morning lineup has been solidified by 4Kids Entertainment, Inc.  The revised lineup, incorporating shows moving from Fox, will kick off on January 3, 2009,

4Kids is also launching a new video streaming website at 4KidsTV.com, where kids can watch many shows from 4KidsTV, TheCW4Kids, as well as exclusive content for free. 

Here is the new TheCW4Kids 2009 lineup:

7:00 a.m. – Will & Dewitt
7:30 a.m. – The Spectacular Spider-Man
8:00 a.m. – Sonic X
8:30 a.m. – Gogoriki
9:00 a.m. – Dinosaur King
9:30 a.m. – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Back to the Sewer
10:00 a.m. – Chaotic: M’arrillian Invasion
10:30 a.m.- Huntik
11:00 a.m. – Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s
11:30 a.m. – Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight
 

Archie Comics has provided us with a first look at this week’s Archie #592

“The Demo”: A salesmen tries to sell Archie and Jughead an interactive sports video game, but the teens consider acting out the action with the wireless device as just “going through the motions” compared to their real life memories. 

SCRIPT: George Gladir.
ART: Stan Goldberg. 

“Snow Woe”: Will Archie and Chuck’s entries in the winter photo contest wow the judges or be met with a “chilly” reception? 

SCRIPT: George Gladir. 
ART: Stan Goldberg. 

“Trouble by the Foot”: Klutzy Archie’s clodhoppers have trampled everything in Lodge Mansion… including Mr. Lodge’s feet! 

SCRIPT: Craig Boldman. 
ART: Stan Goldberg. 

“A Touchy Subject”: The gang contemplates what life would be like if everything could be accessed via touch screen. 

SCRIPT: George Gladir. 
ART: Stan Goldberg.

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: December 24th, 2008
On Sale on Newsstands: January 6th, 2009
32-page, full color comic
$2.25 US.

Sci Fi Channel has given a green light to Ghost Hunters: New Generation, a six-episode spin-off set at a college. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the channel also commissioned a sixth season of the main series plus a third season of Ghost Hunters International spinoff.

Creator Craig Piligian’s deal also calls for a new, original series to debut on the channel in 2010.

"Craig is a star performer who’s been a great partner," Sci Fi executive vp original programming Mark Stern said. "You want to be in business with people like him on a consistent basis."

The new series will take GH regulars Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango and have them work with students on investigating paranormal activity.

"It’s going to be more of a teaching format," Piligian said. "We’re going to try to have a little more fun with the franchise."

"What’s cool about Ghost Hunters is it has tried to rely on empirical science," Stern said. "This is an opportunity to delve into that a little deeper and take the show into a more academic setting."
 

Navarre Corporation announced Thursday that BCI Eclipse Company, its wholly-owned subsidiary, will shut down its licensing operations in connection with the implementation of a restructuring plan. This restructuring will include a workforce reduction, a write down of assets and the incorporation of BCI’s exclusively distributed DVD business into the company’s distribution segment.

Fans know BCI through their releases of material from Filmation’s vaults including He-Man, She-Ra, BraveStarr, Isis, The Original Ghost Busters, Space Academy, Jason of Star Command and Ark II. Much of the supplemental material was put together by writer/historian Andy Mangels, which earned kudos from around the industry.

The fate of BCI’s recently announced titles, including Andy Barker P.I., Tattletales and What’s My Line? remains unclear.

Cary Deacon, Navarre’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, "To deal with the effect of the recession, we are moving quickly to decrease expenses in all areas of our business. BCI’s operations have been unprofitable for the past two years. Although strides have been made this year to improve operating results, it has been mainly due to the strength of BCI’s exclusive distribution business. Rapidly changing conditions in the licensed and budget DVD markets during this holiday sales season have prompted us to make more fundamental changes. In response, we are closing BCI’s licensing unit in order to position our overall business for enhanced financial results upon the improvement of macro economic conditions."

Deacon continued, "We continue to be very excited about the DVD content that will now be exclusively sold and marketed through Navarre Distribution Services. These changes will allow us to focus our efforts on growing the sales of the DVD content that is most appealing to our retail customers and consumers. Mr. Bob Freese will be the executive in charge of this restructuring and will be responsible for the smooth transition of our BCI distribution partners."

The company indicated that its financial results for the fiscal 2009 third quarter, ending December 31, 2008, will include a significant charge related to the impairment of the carrying value of certain balance sheet assets and in connection with severance costs. This restructuring is expected to be substantially complete by the end of January 2009 and is a part of the company’s strategy to reduce its overall cost structure.

Keith DeCandido is known throughout the fan community as one of the best writers of media-related fiction in both the novel and graphic world.  While primarily recognized for Star Trek, he has also written fiction based on Supernatural, CSI: NY, and Farscape, among others.  His novel of John Crichton’s adventures, House of Cards, was published in 2001.  Recently, BOOM! Studios picked up the rights to publish new Farscape stories and the show’s creator, Rockne S. O’Bannon, will plot the first one with a script by Keith and art by Tommy Patterson.  After some delay, the first issue will be in stores on Wednesday/ ComicMix briefly spoke with Keith about the show and how he got involved in the new stories.

ComicMix: When did you first discover the show, Farscape?  Why were you hooked?

Keith DeCandido: I kept hearing good things about it from people who were watching it—this was in the first season in 1999—and I caught an episode or two and liked it. What hooked me in general was a four-episode marathon Sci-Fi did, and what hooked me in particular was the moment in "A Human Reaction" when Crichton confirmed that he wasn’t home, but in a simulation created from his memory when he threw the women’s room open and it was orange swirly stuff. I was hooked at that point….

CMix: How did you end up writing House of Cards and what sparked the idea for the story?

KRAD: Mine was actually the last of the three Farscape novels commissioned, but the first one released. There were delays with Andrew Dymond and David Bischoff’s books, so they needed a book quickly, and Greg Cox, the American editor of the books (they were published first in the UK by Boxtree) recommended me. Greg and I have worked together many times in the past, and he knew how much of a Farscape fan I was and that I could hit deadlines. As for the story, my brain went to the idea of "Rygel loses Moya in a card game," and I ran with it from there.

CMix: With Farscape over, how did you learn about the comic line and how did you get involved?

KRAD: Honestly, I read the press release about BOOM! getting the rights, and I went to their web site, found a contact e-mail, and said, "Hey! I wrote House of Cards! Henson and Rockne and the fans all like me! Pick me, pick me!" Amazingly, that actually worked (which I think was a first for me….).
  (more…)

Marvel provided us with the cover and pages from Mighty Avengers #21, written by Dan Slott and drawn by Young Gun artist Khoi. The issue is described as beginning a bold new era for the Mighty Avengers. Spinning out of Dark Reign, the Mighty Avengers have an all-new line up and an all-new missionm, guest starring the New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Young Avengers and Classic Avengers.

 A new team assembles in Mighty Avengers #21!

MIGHTY AVENGERS #21
Written by DAN SLOTT
Pencils & Cover by KHOI PHAM
Rated A …$3.99, On-Sale—01/14/09 (more…)