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Jeff Tremaine’s Jackass 3D has topped the US box office in its opening weekend, taking $50 million.

The film reunites the original Jackass cast, including Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, and Steve-O, in a third big screen outing for the stuntmen.

The comic book adaptation Red, starring Bruce Willis, enters the chart in second place with $22.5 million.

Previous top film The Social Network falls to third place, taking $11 million.

Rounding out the top five films is Diane Lane’s Secretariat in fourth, and the Katherine Heigl comedy Life As We Know It in fifth place.

The US box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Jackass 3D – $50,000,000
2. (-) Red – $22,500,000
3. (1) The Social Network – $11,000,000
4. (3) Secretariat – $9,700,000
5. (2) Life As We Know It – $9,500,000
6. (4) Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole – $4,200,000
7. (6) The Town – $4,000,000
8. (5) My Soul To Take – $3,200,000
9. (8) Easy A – $2,700,000
10. (7) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – $2,400,000

It has been rumoured that Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise may follow the superhero’s early years.

During an interview with French website Filmsactu Snyder reportedly claimed that his film will not be linked with previous entries in the Superman series.

“As I have already explained, the film will focus on early days of Superman so there will be no links with other films,” Bleeding Cool translates Snyder as saying.

The interview also confirms that the reboot will not be based on a specific DC Comics story arc or series.

Snyder will direct Superman: The Man of Steel with a release expected towards the end of 2012.

Reports have claimed that The Hobbit has been given the greenlight and a production start date of February 2011.

According to The Wrap, studios MGM and Warner Bros have confirmed the movie’s go-ahead with Peter Jackson on board to direct the Lord of the Rings prequel.

The film has suffered a series of setbacks, including Warner Bros joining with MGM to help with finances, the Screen Actors Guild warning members away from the movie and original director Guillermo del Toro leaving the production before it began.

Martin Freeman is thought to be the favourite to play the lead role of Bilbo Baggins.

Warner Bros has confirmed plans to bring out at least two Harry Potter films on 3D Blu-ray.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, the fifth and sixth franchise instalments, will undergo a conversion from 3D company Prime Focus London.

The firm, which came in for criticism earlier this year for its rushed theatrical conversion for Clash Of The Titans, also has facilities in Hollywood and India that will help with the 3D work.

Plans to release Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in 3D cinemas were scrapped recently when it transpired that the work would not be completed in time. Warner Bros is still moving forward with a conversion for Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and has not ruled out returning to finish Part 1 at a later date.

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Edward Norton has reportedly dismissed speculation that he is to appear in the next Batman film.

Rumours have been circulating regarding Norton’s prospective involvement in the third movie in Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the classic DC Comics story.

Norton himself recently admitted that he would consider working with Nolan in future due to the high standard of his productions.

However, Norton has seemingly denied that he is attached to play The Riddler, who was last portrayed by Jim Carrey in 1995’s Batman Forever, in a forthcoming project.

He said: “Don’t read IMDb (internet movie database).

“I hear about things I’m going to be doing all the time from people and I wish my life was half as interesting as the things I hear.”

Norton previously appeared as Marvel character Hulk in Louis Leterrier’s 2008 reworking of the comic series.

Director David Fincher’s The Social Network has retained the top spot at the US box office for the second straight week.

The film, which stars Jesse Eisenberg and tells the story of Facebook’s founding, took in $15.5 million to hold on to the box office crown.

Katherine Heigl’s latest movie Life As We Know It came in second with $14.6 million during its debut weekend.

Disney’s big-budget Secretariat faltered at third place during its first weekend of release, while Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps fell out of the top five for the first time since its September 24 opening.

New entry My Soul To Take 3D also landed in the top ten.

The US box office top ten in full:
1. (1) The Social Network – $15,500,000
2. (-) Life As We Know It – $14,600,000
3. (-) Secretariat – $12,600,00
4. (2) Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole – $7,015,000
5. (-) My Soul To Take 3D – $6,900,000
6. (4) The Town – $6,350,000
7. (3) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – $4,625,000
8. (5) Easy A – $4,200,000
9. (-) Case 39 – $2,630,000
10. (6) You Again – $2,470,000

Bruce Willis has announced that he intends to retire his Die Hard character John McClane in the near future.

The 55-year-old, who recently claimed that a fifth instalment of the action franchise will begin filming in 2011, detailed his planned exit from the series after sharing his fear of being replaced by a younger star.

He told FHM: “In the next few years they could easily find a replacement for me or call the character someone else. But for me, I want to do Die Hard 5, then one final Die Hard movie – Die Hard 6 – before finally hanging that white vest up for good.

“At the moment, I can run and I can fight on screen. But there will come a time when I no longer want to do that. That’s when I’ll step away from the Die Hard films.”

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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part One will not be released in cinemas in 3D, it has been announced.

The movie, which was filmed in 2D, was due to be converted and released in both formats in conventional and IMAX cinemas nationwide on November 19.

However, Warner Bros has now announced that the filmmakers were unable to complete the transition into 3D for the entire film, and have now abandoned plans for the technology.

A statement said: “We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey.

“We, in alignment with our filmmakers, believe this is the best course to take in order to ensure that our audiences enjoy the consummate Harry Potter experience.” (more…)

MGM has announced plans to file for bankruptcy protection.

The film studio hopes to eliminate $4bn (£2.5bn) worth of debt by asking over 100 companies to relinquish the sum during its restructuring, reports BBC News.

Firms involved would then receive a 95% stake in the studio, which will continue to operate as normal throughout the plan.

The proposal also calls for privately-owned production company Spyglass Entertainment to combine two of its businesses which will then merge into what will become the new MGM.

The studio was put up for sale earlier this year but no buyer was found.

MGM has the James Bond franchise as well as Peter Jackson’s forthcoming Hobbit series in its possession, both of which have stalled as a result of the studio’s financial situation.