There’s so much going on in movie news right now that instead of covering it in a dozen separate articles, I wanted to give some summaries all in one spot. While the second half of this article contains several stories and (at least partially substantiated) rumors, we’ll first start with the money…

Box Office Top 10:

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($97.5)

2. Cars 2 ($26.17)

3. Bad Teacher ($14.5)

4. Larry Crowne ($13.1)

5. Super 8 ($7.8)

6. Monte Carlo ($7.4)

7. Green Lantern ($6.5)

8. Mr Popper’s Penguins ($5.45)

9. Bridesmaids ($3.65)

10. Midnight in Paris ($3.56)

In its first weekend in the theater, the third Transformers installment has recouped 80% of its budget, a huge success considering its budget was nearly $200 M. In comparison, Cars 2 had a similar budget, and it has yet to recoup 60% of its budget.

Bad Teacher has already tripled its budget in earnings, reaching $60 M in two weeks while having only spent $20 to create. Super 8 has more than doubled its $50 M budget in earnings, having surpassed $108 M in four weeks.

Green Lantern is likely to be considered a huge failure, having only earned back half of its $200 M budget, pulling in $102 M in three weeks.

The biggest earners of the summer thus far are The Hangover Part II (three-times its $80 M budget in six weeks) and Bridesmaids (approaching 5 times its $32.5 M budget after 8 weeks in the theater).

Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com

Non-Financial News

The second live-action G.I. Joe film keeps adding members to its cast. Dwayne Johnson has confirmed (through IGN) the growing rumor that he will portray Roadblock in the film, and now Hollywood Reporter is saying Wu-Tang Clan member RZA will also have a role. Likely the most exciting news is from Deadline, which is reporting that Adrianne Palicki will portray Lady Jaye in the sequel, directed by Jon Chu. According to SpinOff, Bruce Willis is also being considered for a part in the film.

Jo Blo has information about Ridley Scott’s upcoming project, which may or may not be a prequel to Alien. In addition to Michael Fassbender (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS), Charlieze Theron, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba, we now know that Ben Foster (3:10 TO YUMA, X-Men: The Last Stand, ALPHA DOG) will be part of the cast.

Adam McKay, the co-creator of FunnyOrDie.com, is reuniting Mark Wahlberg with Will Ferrell in the upcoming comedy THREE MISSISSIPPI. The story surrounds a yearly Thanksgiving Day backyard football game and will co-star Alec Baldwin and potentially Jeremy Renner. (Source: Collider)

With all the companies reportedly deciding against Comic-Con attendance, one of Hollywood’s bigger names is reportedly going to attend for the first time in nearly 20 years. Francis Ford Coppola, who attended in 1992 to promote Bram Stoker’s Dracula, will return to Comic-Con o promote his upcoming project TWIXT. The legendary film maker describes the film as “one part Gothic romance, one part personal film, and one part the kind of horror film that began my career“. (Source: Deadline)

Just when you it seemed like Hollywood was running out of ideas, SpinOff is reporting that another Disney theme park ride is getting the translation to the big screen. First it was Pirates of the Caribbean, and now it’s Matterhorn. THE HILL, the tentative name for the film, has its tie in reportedly through the Yeti creature involved in the Disney ride.

Dodgeball fans are likely to be happy to hear that Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn will once again work together. Collider reports that they will co-star in NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, a comedy directed by Akiva Schaffer (HOT ROD, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE).