First look: 'Valentine's Day' dominates as 'Percy Jackson,' 'Wolfman' lag far behind

On what's looking to be a huge Presidents Day weekend at the box office, more moviegoers are looking to fall in love than enjoy a good fantasy or scare.
The romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" from Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema unit sold a studio-estimated $52.4 million worth of tickets from Friday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada. The biggest chunk of that total is expected to come on Sunday, as couples go out to see the movie on the movie's titular holiday and generate $19.3 million in box office receipts.
If that prediction bears out and ticket sales are healthy on Presidents Day Monday as well, "Valentine's Day" could be the first movie ever to gross more than $60 million domestically for the four-day weekend. More important, that would be a fantastic start for a film that cost $52 million to produce.
Kids' book adaptation "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" had a fairly good launch, collecting $31.1 million in ticket sales for the three-day weekend. Although it was expected to play mostly to pre-teen boys, meaning matinees would be its strongest shows, ticket sales on Saturday rose a relatively modest 18%, less than the 26% jump for "Valentine's Day."
"Percy Jackson" cost 20th Century Fox, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners $95 million to produce, meaning word-of-mouth in the coming weeks will be critical for it to end up a success. With kids off of school on Monday, however, the movie should have a strong day and could break $40 million.
Despite being the most expensive picture to open this weekend, "The Wolfman" brought up the box-office rear with a so-so start of $30.6 million from Friday through Sunday. Universal Pictures and Relativity Media spent a hefty $150 million to produce the film, according to one person close to the remake of the 1950s monster movie. The studio said the final cost was $110 million including foreign tax credits.
Like "Percy," it will need a strong performance in the coming weeks, as well as healthy overseas ticket sales, to turn a profit given its hefty budget.
"The Wolfman" brought in $21 million from 37 foreign territories in its debut. Foreign receipts weren't yet available Sunday morning for the other two movies.
Given the competition, it's impressive that none of the three new movies debuting nationwide flopped. Total weekend receipts for all films were $193 million, according to Hollywood.com. That's roughly in line, accounting for ticket price inflation, with a total of $188 million on the same weekend last year.
Fox Searchlight also debuted Bollywood movie "My Name is Khan," featuring Indian star Shah Rukh Khan, at 120 theaters. Aimed at Indian-American crowds, the movie generated a healthy $1.86 million, or $15,500 per theater.
Last weekend's surprise hit "Dear John" had a typical second weekend decline of 50%, bringing total domestic ticket sales for the low-cost tearjerker after 10 days to a strong $53.2 million.

Valentine’s Day – History, Legend and Spirit of Valentine’s Day

14 February is celebrated as Valentine’s Day every year all over the world and it is celebrated as the day of love and affection irrespective of country, race and age. The common practice in Valentine’s Day is to send cards to sweethearts, friends, family members or any near and dear ones. The history of Valentine’s Day is associated with two saints named Valentine who were martyred on 14th February. People believe that those two saints were martyrs of early Christian church in Rome, but scholars of Roman history could not find any satisfactory proof to authenticate this fact.
The history of Valentine’s Day is associated with two saints named Valentine who were martyred on 14th February. People believe that those two saints were martyrs of early Christian church in Rome, but scholars of Roman history could not find any satisfactory proof to authenticate this fact.
Due to the absence of any real proven fact, there are many myths and legends associated with this special day. Roman emperor Claudius decided to form a strong army and he felt that young unmarried men would become better soldiers compared to those who have wife and children.
So emperor prohibited marriage in the society and St Valentine realized the injustice of this order and continued to perform marriage of the young lovers secretly denying the royal decree. He was killed by emperor’s order on the 14th of February. Few people believe that St Valentine fall in love with the young daughter of jailor during his imprisonment. This story and myth of Valentine became very popular in France and England in medieval ages.

Toy makers look to tech, green materials

NEW YORK - From Mattel's "Puppy Tweets" linking pets to a Twitter feed to biodegradable nursery toys, toy makers are focusing on fun technology and green materials to win sales in 2010.

The top U.S. toy fair kicks off in New York on Sunday, with an eye to selling retailers on the best playthings for the year. With the country slowly emerging from recession, toy makers will still focus on value, experts say.

"There isn't a sweet spot per se. The emphasis is on value more than price," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

"You will see the manufacturers emphasize how much play time or value the kid gets out of the toy and then talk about the amazing price associated with that play value," she said.

U.S. toy retail sales fell less than 1 percent in 2009 after a disastrous 2008, while the recent holiday quarter saw unit sales rise nearly 4 percent over the prior-year period, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Toy makers will pull out all the stops to keep that momentum going. Industry leaders like Mattel are focusing on new links to technology, such as a sound and motion sensor called "Puppy Tweets" that attaches to a dog's collar and posts to a Twitter account in the pet's name.

Smaller rival Hasbro is putting a twist on the classics, like a new Scrabble word game that lets players shuffle electronic cubes rather than using wooden tiles on a game board.

Scrabble Flash Cubes contain "Smart Tile Technology" which recognizes words formed when the letters are placed side by side and keeps score of correctly spelled words.

Hasbro is also celebrating the 75th anniversary of Monopoly by relaunching the game with a round playing board and an electronic console that features sound effects and song clips including "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang and "Drive My Car" by the Beatles.

U.S.-based Wowwee will tout "Paper Jamz," an electric guitar made of cardboard that produces music from touch-sensitive electronic sensors hidden under its surface.

The tech-savvy emphasis is here to stay as toy makers benefit from linking an established brand name to newer technologies like social networking, already popular among children, said Elizabeth Komes, Associate Publisher of Playthings Magazine.

Customers are also often willing to pay higher prices for these toys, she noted.

Green is inToy Fair will also feature a "green" pavilion for environmentally friendly toys for the first time.

Reyne Rice, trend specialist for the Toy Industry Association, said about 25 percent of retail buyers at last
year's event wanted to see more "eco-friendly" products.

The new Scrabble Flash game is shown at Hasbro's showroom at the American International Toy Fair, which kicks off Sunday in New York.

Toys made from organic cotton, bamboo or other organic materials are safer for children and could eliminate or reduce huge testing costs associated with playthings, Komes said.

While bigger players like Mattel and Hasbro are not prominent in this space, they are becoming increasingly "green" in choosing their packaging material.

Toy maker WHAM-O Inc is working with Colorado-based Sprig Toys to make a line of preschool products out of biodegradable materials.

Plush toy maker Hosung, known for its miYim organic toy line, has partnered with famed anthropologist Jane Goodall to design an alternative to chemically treated toys.

Lesser-known game maker TDC Games even offers puzzles that have flower seeds embedded in each piece.

But being eco-friendly comes with a price as many of these raw materials are often more expensive.

More traditional toys will also be in the spotlight next week, with Hasbro marking the 50th anniversary of its "Play-Doh Fun Factory."

Mattel is betting big on its World Wrestling Entertainment line with figures like "Triple H" and "The Undertaker" already attracting buzz. The toys are priced between $10 and $25.

The world's biggest toy maker is also expected to unveil a new doll under its "I can be" Barbie range. It gave fans a chance to choose the 125th career of the iconic doll which made its debut 51 years ago.