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Act of Valor has topped the US box office with $24.7 million.

The action film, starring Roselyn Sanchez and real US Navy forces, made a strong debut at number one, easily beating out Tyler Perry’s newest movie Good Deeds, which came in second with $16 million.

The Dwayne Johnson family adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island hangs on to the top five, beating last weekend’s big winner Safe House and the romantic drama The Vow for the third spot.

Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd’s comedy Wanderlust makes a weak debut at number eight with $6.6 million, while the psychological thriller Gone, starring Amanda Seyfried, comes in its first week at number nine, earning $5 million.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Act of Valor – $24,700,000
2. (-) Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds – $16,00,000
3. (4) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $13,475,000
4. (1) Safe House – $11,400,000
5. (2) The Vow – $10,000,000
6. (3) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – $8,800,000
7. (5) This Means War – $8,500,000
8. (-) Wanderlust – $6,600,000
9. (-) Gone – $5,000,000
10. (9) The Secret World of Arrietty – $4,503,000

The Vow has topped the US box office with $41 million.

The romantic drama, which stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, holds off competition from fellow new releases Safe House, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to secure the number one spot.

Last week’s chart topper Chronicle falls four places to number five with $12.3 million. The found footage superhero film, which cost just $12 million to make, has so far grossed $40 million in the US and a further $23 million from foreign territories.

Daniel Radcliffe’s The Woman in Black drops four spots to number six with $10,300,000.

Elsewhere, George Clooney’s The Descendants continues it stay in the top 10 as it slips down one place to number nine.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) The Vow – $41,700,000
2. (-) Safe House – $39,300,000
3. (-) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $27,550,000
4. (-) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace – $23,000,000
5. (1) Chronicle – $12,300,000
6. (2) The Woman in Black – $10,300,000
7. (3) The Grey – $5,080,000
8. (4) Big Miracle – $3,900,000
9. (8) The Descendants – $3,500,000
10. (5) Underworld: Awakening – $2,500,000

Syfy is set to turn the movie Legion into a cable television series.

Legion tells the story of Archangel Michael, who helps the humans fight the impending Apocalypse brought by God’s army of angels.

The film’s director Scott Stewart will direct and executive produce the series, while the story will be written by Sons of Anarchy‘s Vaun Wilmott, reports Deadline.

Released in 2010, the movie starred Paul Bettany as Archangel Michael, as well as Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki and Kate Walsh.

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House will not continue past its eighth season, show execs have confirmed.

Executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and Hugh Laurie, who has previously hinted at the series end, revealed that the Fox medical drama will draw to a close later this year in a statement released Wednesday.

“The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years – but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved,” they said.

“The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party. How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.”

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Sci-fi drama Chronicle has topped the US box office with $22 million.

The Josh Trank-directed film narrowly beat off competition from The Woman in White, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which took $21 million over the weekend.

Last week’s box-office topper The Grey slipped to third place with a relatively paltry $9.5m, while Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski’s whale movie Big Miracle entered at four in its first week of release with $8.5m.

Underworld: Awakening took $5.6m, while One for the Money and the George Lucas-produced Red Tails grossed $5.2m and $5m respectively.

George Clooney comedy The Descendants held firm at number eight with $4.6m, while the top ten is rounded out with fallers Man on a Ledge and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Chronicle – $22 million
2. (-) The Woman in Black – $21 million
3. (1) The Grey – $9.5 million
4. (-) Big Miracle – $8.5 million
5. (2) Underworld: Awakening – $5.6 million
6. (3) One for the Money – $5.2 million
7. (4) Red Tails – $5 million
8. (8) The Descendants – $4.6 million
9. (5) Man on a Ledge – $4.5 million
10. (6) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – $3.9 million

The Grey has dominated this weekend’s US box office.

The Liam Neeson film took in $20m, surpassing studio estimates. The movie’s opening was on par with Neeson’s previous action films, including Taken and Unknown.

Katherine Heigl’s latest movie One For the Money opened to a mere $11.8m, while the weekend’s other new release Man on a Ledge pulled in an underwhelming $8.3m. However, both films were bolstered by Groupon and LivingSocial deals, as the websites were selling discounted tickets.

Underworld: Awakening fell to second place, earning $12.5m in its second weekend. Meanwhile, Red Tails took fourth place, adding $10.4m to its overall total.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) The Grey – $20,000,000
2. (1) Underworld: Awakening – $12,500,000
3. (-) One For the Money – $11,750,000
4. (2) Red Tails – $10,400,000
5. (-) Man on a Ledge – $8,250,000
6. (4) Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – $7,145,000
7. (16) The Descendants – $6,550,000
8. (3) Contraband – $6,532,200
9. (6) Beauty & the Beast 3D – $5,345,000
10. (5) Haywire – $4,000,000

McG’s upcoming spy comedy This Means War will undergo some last minute changes in order to gain a PG-13 rating in the US.

20th Century Fox recently came to an agreement with the Rating Appeals Board to cut out some of the film’s raunchier jokes to lose an R rating.

The more lewd parts in question are said to come mostly from Chelsea Handler’s character, who makes several sexually explicit jokes throughout the film.

The film stars Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as best friends and government operatives who end up vying for the affections of the same woman, played by Reese Witherspoon.

This Means War is due for release on February 14, 2012.

Disney has picked up a science fiction project based on a screenplay from Chronicle writer Max Landis.

The untitled film apparently sees a brother and sister setting out on an adventure, though specific details are yet to be revealed, Variety reports.

Landis, the son of Blues Brothers director John Landis, has several projects in the pipeline. He has allegedly pitched new takes on Frankenstein and the Pied Piper to major studios, with Fox expressing interest in the latter.

Real Steel helmer Shawn Levy was previously linked with the director’s chair on the Frankenstein project, though there has been no movement since last summer.

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Terminator 5 will be given an R-rating, according to series rights holder Megan Ellison.

Ellison, whose studio Annapurna Pictures beat Lionsgate to the licence, confirmed the certificate when addressing fan questions on Twitter.

“We can’t really tell you guys anything about Terminator BUT it will be an R-rated film as God and James Cameron intended,” she wrote in response to a query from TheTerminatorFans.com.

Terminator 5 is rumoured to be a series reboot in the vein of JJ Abrams’s Star Trek. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to be involved in the project in some capacity.

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Elfquest has been dropped by Warner Bros.

The studio pulled the plug on the comic book adaptation because it did not wish to compete with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Rawson Marshall Thurber was to direct Elfquest, which was greenlit back in 2008. The project was based on the 1978 comic by Wendy and Richard Pini.

“After close to four years of suspense – and longer than four years of your much-appreciated interest and support – the word has come down from Warner Bros. And the word is ‘no’,” Wendy Pini wrote on the Elfquest Facebook page.

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