Those furry little buggers took us by surprise and Beverly Hills Chihuahua hung on to the number one spot for two consecutive weeks. Body of Lies surprised too, taking third place despite formidable star power before and behind the camera. Here's the top five:

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua: $17.5 million
2. Quarantine: $14.2 million
3. Body of Lies: $12.8 million
4. Eagle Eye: $10.9 million
5. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: $6.4 million

Four more new ones this week starting with:

Max Payne
What's It All About: In this video game adaptation, Mark Wahlberg plays a widowed cop with an attitude investigating a series of killings.
Why It Might Do Well: Director John Moore has obviously seen Sin City, so maybe some of Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's dark and gritty neo noir cool will rub off. Based just on the number of theaters I'm betting this takes the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Despite having enjoyed Resident Evil, I still cringe at the idea of a movie based on a video game.
Number of Theaters: 3,200
Prediction: $24 million

All Hallow's Eve is approaching once again, and my favorite part of the holiday is all the corresponding movies that turn up on television and in theaters. October is already over a week old, so it's time to get into a Halloween frame of mind.

The Unborn
When I last saw Odette Yustman she was one of several New Yorkers fleeing for her life from a large beastie with nasty pointy teeth in Cloverfield. The Unborn has her facing a different kind of evil, specifically the spirit of her twin brother who died in the womb, or perhaps it's an evil entity that hoped to enter the world through him (it's a little hard to tell). There are some nightmarish visuals on display here, and the crawling thing with its head twisted around both sticks with me and makes me wonder if it's an homage to the spider walk scene in The Exorcist. The often cool Gary Oldman also stars and the film is written and directed by David S. Goyer, so I think there's something good and creepy here.

Just Buried
Not a horror flim this one, but rather an extremely dark comedy. Jay Baruchel (who I will always remember as the Led Zeppelin loving nerd from Almost Famous) plays a young man named Oliver who has inherited a funeral home troubled by a fierce competitor and a lack of business. The plucky young female mortician in his employ insists he can't shut down the funeral parlor and the two embark upon a path to drum up business and squash the competition by causing a few untimely deaths. Could be a nice slice of morbid fun here. Check out Scott's review of the film.

The Uninvited
A young woman returns home from a stint at a mental hospital following her mother's untimely death, to find that her father has a new girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks). There's also a ghost who is apparently trying to tell our former mental patient heroine that the girlfriend killed the last family she lived with. This is a much darker role than I'm used to seeing Banks play, and she seems to handle it well. This is a remake of a South Korean film called A Tale of Two Sisters (Janghwa, Hongryeon) which was once recommended to me but has languished in my Netflix queue for several years. The trailer has some creepy moments and I'll probably check this one out. Here's Eric Snider's take on the trailer.

Let the Right One In
If you're going to attempt a vampire movie these days then you damn well better do something different with the idea, and it looks like the people behind this Swedish bloodsucker opus are clear on that concept. A bullied 12 year old boy finds both friendship and a tool for revenge in his new girlfriend who happens to be a vampire. Scott caught this one at Tribeca and penned a pretty strong recommendation, and the flick will be playing on October 24 in New York City. Sadly, the rest of us are going to have to wait for the eventual DVD release.

House
No, it's neither that 80s horror flick starring William Katt or that doctor show on the Fox Network. This House is a horror flick in which two couples find themselves trapped in a remote house and stalked by a lunatic calling himself the Tin Man. This one seems to meld classic slasher stuff with elements of slaughterfests like Hostel and Saw, none of which really appeals to me, and the cast isn't particularly interesting. I think I'll let this one slide.

New this week on AOL Moviefone:

• Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Kevin James plays a man who finally gets his dream job as a working in mall security. Check out the trailer right here:
  
  
  
• The International - Clive Owen plays an interpol agent targeting corruption in the world's largest banking institutions.
• Passengers -Anne Hathaway stars as a grief counselor who suspects foul play when the plane crash survivors she is working with begin to disappear.
• Valkyrie - Tom Hanks Cruise stars in this historical drama about a plot to assassinate Hitler.
• Fears of the Dark - Animated horror anthology. Here's the preview:
  
  
  
• Bedtime Stories - Adam Sandler is a Dad who finds the bedtime stories he's been telling his kids are becoming reality.
• Notorious - Biopic of rap star Notorious B.I.G.
• The Pleasure of Being Robbed - Indie film about a young woman and her elaborate acts of theft.
• I've Loved You So Long - A woman returns to her family after fifteen years in prison.
• Hank and Mike - Two recently fired Easter Bunnies find that changing careers is tougher than they thought.
• Talento De Barrio - A Puerto Rican youth must choose between a life of crime and musical supestardom.

Despite having six new wide releases last week, only Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist cracked the top five. In its third week of release, Appaloosa expanded into an additional 1,031 theaters, allowing it to take the number five spot. Here's the top five.

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua: $29.3 million
2. Eagle Eye: $17.7 million
3. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: $11.3 million
4. Nights in Rodanthe: $7.3 million
5. Appaloosa: $5 million

Body of Lies
What's It All About: In this Ridley Scott film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a CIA agent tracking terrorist activity in Jordan, with Russell Crowe playing the veteran agent who helps him infiltrate the terrorist underground.
Why It Might Do Well: This film reteams DiCaprio with William Monahan, the screenwriter behind The Departed, and the flick is sporting a 70% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: This being an election year, there are already enough lies kicking around.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $26 million

Bonjour! Buenos dias! Whassup! It's diversity week here at the Trailer Park and we're looking at previews for films from our about different cultures.

Dragonball
I've seen only a a few episodes of the Japanese cartoon on which this live action film is based, but I'm not seeing a whole lot here that reminds me of the anime. Frankly it reminds me more of Mortal Combat Kombat. Like the original, this is a martial arts fantasy with prophecies, super powers, lots of action and a hero with preposterously spiked hair. Chow Yun Fat is in there to add some action movie cred, but will that be enough? From what I've read the anime fans are not thrilled with this one, and it's not doing a lot for me either. I don't think this one if for me.

Amexicano
Here's a charming looking indie about a friendship between and Italian American and an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Bruno (Carmine Famiglietti) is behind on his rent and reluctantly goes into the construction business, hiring Mexican day laborers to help him. When he hires Ignacio (Raúl Castillo) the two forge a bond despite the fact that Ignacio does not speak English. I'm looking forward to this one.

By Monday, we were more than halfway through Fantastic Fest. On the one hand, festgoers who were just there for the weekend had departed, thinning the crowds slightly. On the other hand, some of us realized that there were still tons of movies to see and only a limited time, so we had better try to get into as many films as we could. I know some people who managed to see 5 or 6 films a day. I'm not one of them -- too wimpy.

One movie I saw and liked on Monday was Santos, a superhero film from Chile. When director Nicolas Lopez took the stage before the movie, I recognized him as one of the judges from Thursday night's Air Sex Championships. He was a wonderfully unpredictable judge and turned out to be a charming speaker during the intro and later during the Q&A for his film (as shown in the photo after the jump). Santos is about a comic-book artist who doesn't realize he has the same superpowers as one of the characters he writes about -- and at various points in his life, he's called upon to use those powers. It's very funny, but if you get the chance to see it, bear in mind that many of the gags are not at all family-friendly. Santos was produced by Elizabeth Avellan of Austin's Troublemaker Studios (which produces Robert Rodriguez's films) -- no U.S. distribution deals as of yet, but I hope that changes.

If there's a number in a film title you've got a sequel, right? Not necessarily, unless Oceans 1 through Oceans 10 came out on some obscure underground label I've never heard of. The trailers are getting all mathematical on our collective ass this week, and each of them (sort of) sports a number in the title.

Four Christmases
It happens every year. The first time I see a sign of the coming holiday season I cringe. I like Christmas fine once it gets here, but being forced to think about it in September is asking too much. Anyway, this is actually a TV spot, which is appropriate since it sounds like the plot was lifted from a sitcom. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are playing a couple who, thanks to a canceled flight to Fiji, are forced to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. Pretty wacky, huh? This flimsy plot is being held up by an impressive cast which includes Mary Steenburgen, Robert Duval and Sissy Spacek ... but I doubt that will be enough. Note: Link above now pointing to new full-length trailer.

Terminator: Salvation
OK, there's actually no number in this title, but we're all mentally planting a "4" after the word Terminator. After Terminator 3 I really didn't care if the series lived or died. Without James Cameron at the helm and Linda Hamilton in the lead we were left with mindless action and none of the compelling elements from the first two films. This is only a teaser, but with Christian Bale taking over the role of John Connor, I'm thinking there may be hope. We get a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic future, and Connor tells us via narration that this is not the future his mother warned him about. Considering how bleak that future was portrayed in the previous films, it's chilling to imagine how it could get worse.

This week, the eyes have it. We're looking at films for which vision is key.

Knowing
Nicolas Cage has the only new film going into wide release this week with Bangkok Dangerous, but frankly this tale of prophetic doom better grabs my attention. Cage plays a school teacher who digs up a time capsule and finds several pages of hand written numbers. He finds dates within those numbers, each of which corresponds to a major disaster that has occurred since the capsule was buried. More importantly the numbers apparently list disasters which have yet to occur. I'd be a little more enthusiastic if Cage's record hadn't been so hit and miss lately. (Ghost Rider? Puh-leeze.) Still the premise sounds kind of cool, despite reminding me of the lackluster The Number 23, and there's a disaster in the trailer that's pretty chilling, especially if you've ever been to Logan Airport in Boston. The preview is pushing the fact that director Alex Proyas helmed I, Robot, but I'm more impressed that he was the man behind the excellent Dark City.

Milk
This one isn't so much about visions of the future as visions for the future. Gus Van Sant directs and Sean Penn stars in this true story about Harvey Milk, who in 1977 became the first openly gay man to hold public office in the United States. Penn is engaging in the role, and we see him struggle against bigotry and death threats to give a voice to the gay community. I wasn't familiar with Milk's story, but now I'm curious. Here's William's take on the trailer.

It's no secret that Hollywood is sequel crazy, but it's gotten to the point where it's hard to tell at a glance if a movie is a sequel or something new all together. Here are five trailers I had to closely scrutinize before I could determine whether or not sequalization was occurring.

Fast & Furious
Yup, this one's definitely a sequel, the fourth installment in the series launched by 2001's The Fast and the Furious. First off I give the whole franchise kudos for having the originality to give each of the films its own title and not just slapping on an escalating series of numbers. Furthermore, despite never having seen any of the others in the series, this trailer piqued my interest. Vin Diesel and co-star Michelle Rodriguez are seen here hijacking a tractor trailer hauling multiple tankers of gasoline, and the action is downright spectacular. Granted, the almost subliminal lesbian make out scene doesn't hurt either, but I could get behind seeing this. Here's what William had to say on the trailer.

Sukyaki Western Django
At first glance one might think this was a belated sequel to the 1966 spaghetti western Django. In reality this is an ultra violent homage to the genre with Takashi Miike at the helm and with Quentin Tarantino appearing in a supporting role. I've seen a few of Miike's film's, but the one I remember best is the bizarre and brutal Ichi the Killer, so I'm curious to see how he does with a Western. The preview is a frenetic barrage of action scenes with plot details being of secondary concern, but there's some wild stuff here, including bullets being deflected by samurai swords much in the way a Jedi would deflect a laser blast with his light sabre. The film is shot in English, though according to Jeffrey's review of the film, the mostly Japanese cast's unfamiliarity with the language is a drawback. Still, this looks pretty cool. Sukyaki Western Django goes into limited U.S. release this weekend, so I don't imagine it will be long before it's available on DVD.

After four weeks as the top movie in America, The Dark Knight finally yielded the spot to the action comedy Tropic Thunder despite the threat of boycotts. Here's the top five:

1. Tropic Thunder: $25.8 million
2. The Dark Knight: $16.4 million
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: $14.6 million
4. Mirrors: $11.2 million
5. Pineapple Express: $9.8 million

Four more new releases this week. Will any of them be able to knock Tropic Thunder's, um, thunder? Let's see:

Death Race
What's It All About: Jason Statham stars in this reimagining of Roger Corman's Death Race 2000. In the not too distant future prison inmates are given a chance for freedom by taking part in a brutal cross-country race that can have only one survivor.
Why It Might Do Well: The summer blockbuster season is on the wane, and since this is the only action flick coming out this week, Death Race may benefit from the public's need to see things blow up. Also, Statham does have his admirers.
Why It Might Not Do Well: You can only watch so many spectacular car wrecks.
Number of Theaters: 2,400
Prediction: $15 million

Music plays a vital role in nearly every film, but for these five it's of particular importance.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Michael Cera has become the go-to guy for filmmakers looking to cast a romantically befuddled teen, and I have to say he's pretty darn good at it. Whether he's mooning over the best friend that he's recently impregnated (Juno) or harboring a forbidden affection for his cousin (Arrested Development), you can't help rooting for the little perv. This time out he's playing an angst ridden kid nursing a broken heart who finds himself falling for his new acquaintance Norah as the two spend a hectic night in New York City trying to find the location of a secret gig their favorite band is playing. The story is only of moderate interest, but Cera's presence has me wanting to check out the movie. Here's William's take on the trailer.

Beer For My Horses
The eye-catching title comes from a Toby Keith song. Keith is starring in and co-writing this action comedy about a Texas deputy who has to rescue his girlfriend from a dangerous drug lord. Willie Nelson puts in an appearance, apparently as a Yoda-style adviser to our hero. At first I suspected something along the lines of a Larry the Cable Guy movie, and while this is still no Oscar contender, I can see where it might make for entertaining viewing once it hits DVD. I even found myself chuckling at the "peeing in the coffee" joke despite myself.

It's starting to look like the only way we're going to get the bats out of the top five is to call an exterminator. Chalk up another $26 million for billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and his war on crime as The Dark Knight hangs on to first place for a fourth week in a row. Seth Rogen's stoner comedy came in respectably at second, taking in only $3 million less than the Batman Begins sequel. Here's the break down:

1. The Dark Knight: $26.1 million
2. Pineapple Express: $23.2 million
3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $16.4 million
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: $10.6 million
5 Step Brothers: $9.1 million

We've got four new releases this week:

Mirrors
What's It All About: Directed by Alexandre Aja of High Tension fame, Mirrors stars Kiefer Sutherland as an ex-cop turned security guard who discovers something evil in the mirrors of an old museum. This scare flick is a remake of a Korean movie.
Why It Might Do Well: Who doesn't like a good scare, and Sutherland is a strong lead who is familiar to millions thanks to his work on 24.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The momentum for Asian horror remakes must be slowing by now, although every time I say that a new one pops up.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $12.5 million

Once again we're bouncing around the trailer-verse, finding a preview of interest and letting word association zig us into one trailer before zagging into another. Here we go ...

The Spirit
The Spirit teaser made the movie look a bit too much like a Sin City sequel, but this full length trailer seems to give a better look at what it's all about. Tons of bizarre imagery to digest here, with a strong emphasis on The Spirit's love interests, which appears to be pretty much every woman in the cast. I've only read a few Spirit comics over the years so I wasn't sure what to expect. Still, Frank Miller is giving this a major dose of visual style which has me looking forward to the December 25 release date. Here's Elisabeth's take on it.
And speaking of all things spiritual...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Up through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire I felt the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels improved with each installment. I also liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but for the first time I thought too many details from the book were glossed over or left out entirely, making the movie feel more like highlights from the book than a complete adaptation. I'm hoping I don't get that feeling when the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters because I'm liking this trailer. We really get the feel of the series' increasing darkness as we see a flashback of Professor Dumbledore's first meeting with Tom Riddle, the boy who will grow up to become Lord Voldemort. I'm expecting great stuff for Harry's sixth year at Hogwart's. Here's what Erik had to say on the trailer.
And speaking of school...

Brendan Fraser's third outing as a mummy wrangler did OK, but not well enough to unseat The Dark Knight which has held the number one sport for three weeks now. Here's the top five:

1. The Dark Knight: $42.6 million
2. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $40.5 million
3. Step Brothers: $16.5 million
4. Mamma Mia!: $12.6 million
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $6.6 million

We've got two new releases this week, both of which are arriving in theaters today in hopes of building buzz for the coming weekend (and to avoid the start of the Olympics). Also, neither of them is directly targeting the same audience as The Dark Knight, which, even in its fourth week of release, is still the one to beat.

Pineapple Express
What's It All About: A stoner (Seth Rogen) and his dealer (James Franco) find themselves on the run after seeing a cop commit murder. Rogen wrote the script with Evan Goldberg, and this is the writing team behind Superbad.
Why It Might Do Well: Judd Apatow isn't directing, but he's on board as producer and he's got a story credit, so hopefully his magic touch will be in evidence. Also, most theaters provide comfortable seating with easy access to snacks, so the stoner crowd should feel right at home.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The aforementioned stoners might be saving their money for the recently announced Cheech and Chong reunion.
Number of Theaters: 3,072
Prediction: $24 million

When I saw that there was a new Island of Lost Souls coming I mistakenly assumed this was yet another remake of the 1932 film of the same name which starred Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. That film was remade in 1977 and 1996 as The Island of Dr. Moreau, and I chalked this up to the usual remake madness. Once I actually read the Variety article in question, though, I realized this film is something else entirely. This Island of Lost Souls is a remake of a 2007 Danish film called De fortabte sjaeles, which deals with a teenage girl whose younger brother has been possessed by the benevolent spirit of an 18th century magician and finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle between good and evil. This sounds tailor made to cash in on the Harry Potter audience.

The new film is being directed by Nicolaj Arcel who co-wrote and directed the award-winning original which was heavy on special effects and was one of the highest grossing films in Denmark last year. The new screenplay will be written by Jennifer Okieffe. Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce via their Strike Entertainment banner.

Every generation has its rebellious teen years, so a remake of 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School, a movie about school kids fighting back against an oppressive school administration, doesn't seem entirely off the wall. Still, the movie pretty much existed as an excuse to put punk rock pioneers The Ramones on the big screen, so I'm wondering how this will work without them. According to an article in Variety, radio personality Howard Stern (who I always thought shared a common hairdo with The Ramones) will be producing the remake along with Larry Levinson. This makes two projects the pair are jointly working on, the other being a remake of 1982's Porky's.

The new Rock 'n" Roll High School will be scripted by Alex Winter, the same Alex Winter who joined Keanu Reeves for a couple of "excellent adventures" as Bill S. Preston Esq., and got staked by Cory Feldman in The Lost Boys. Winter still works as an actor (he had a recurring role on Adult Swim's Saul of the Mole Men), but he's primarily a writer/director these days, having directed music videos, commercials and the made-for-TV movie Ben 10: Race Against Time as well as a feature about Napster and its creator Shawn Fanning.

The original film was produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush, with additional uncredited direction from Joe Dante and Jerry Zucker. The movie starred P.J. Soles as Riff Randell, the girl who is bound and determined to get The Ramones to play at the school dance. The cast also featured several Corman regulars including Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller and Clint Howard. It's been years since I've seen this one, but I remember it as a fun bit of fluff from the drive-in era. What do you say, readers, will this translate well into the twenty-first century?