Movie audiences are really wild about Harry — as in Harry Potter and the finale of the popular novel-based movie series. Tons of Potter fans stayed up late last night  — to catch the first showings of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.”  In fact, the eighth installment of the series reportedly earned $43.5 million at the domestic box office during those midnight screenings. That blows away the previous record  of $30 million set by “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” back in June 2010.

Internationally, this Harry Potter flick is cleaning up at theaters as well.  Deadline.com has an extensive report on those numbers.

Final Harry Potter movie breaking records

The end is near for the zillions of Harry Potter movie fans. The eighth and final installment in the Potter film series opens tomorrow at midnight. All ready, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ is breaking records for movie screens and ticket sales.  Nikki Finke has the scoop over on deadline.com

Jaycee Dugard’s book sells 175,000 copies 1st day

The 18-year kidnap ordeal of Jaycee Dugard has really grabbed public interest. Dugard’s interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer last Sunday brought in huge ratings  last Sunday. Nearly 15 million viewers reportedly watched the two- hour special. Yesterday, her memior detailing her years held captive in a tent by convicted sex offender, Phillip Craig Garrido and his wife, Nancy, debuted.  “A Stolen Life” sold 175,000 copies on Tuesday, according to Galleycat.  More here.

Hollywood & Carmageddon

Some folks in Hollywood are making plans to  avoid what may be a real life disaster. The shutdown of  the 405 freeway, between the 10 and 101, this weekend. It has been dubbed Carmageddon. The Wrap has details on what some local entertainment companies are doing.

The sci-fi mega-hit, “Transformers 3,” held on to the title of number one film in the country for a second straight week. Over the weekend, the third installment of the “Transformers” movie series pulled in $47.1 million, according to the final figures released today. That brings the two week total for “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” to around $260 million at the domestic box office.

In second place, a new R-rated comedy, “Horrible Bosses,” with a debut of $28.3 million. The movie revolves around three friends who decide there would be less grief in their lives if they murder their abusive bosses. The cast includes Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey. 

Another new flick, “Zookeeper,” captured third place. The family-friendly comedy stars Kevin James and did much better than expected by opening with $20 million. The film is about some very bright animals who help a struggling zookeeper with his love life.

The animated flick, “Cars 2″ drove into fourth place with $15.2 million and rounding out the top five, the comedy “Bad Teacher” with $8.9 million.

“Transformers 3″  makes $21 million on Thursday

“Transformers 3″ is packing them at movie theaters. Yesterday, the sci-fi  flick scored $21 million  — bringing its two-day haul to around $60 million. The question now is how close to $200 million will the film get before the fireworks celebrations wrap up on July 4th?

“Thor 2″ on the way

“Thor ” is still playing in theaters, but a sequel is already in the works.  So far, “Thor” has earned close to $178 million at the domestic box office. “Thor 2″ has a release date of July 26, 2013, even though it has yet to land a director.  However, the project does have a screenwriter. More on  Deadline.com

Justin Timberlake and MySpace

Specific Media snatched up MySpace at a bargain basement price of $35 million, earlier this week.  The Orange County company is hoping  singer/actor, Justin Timberlake, will help revive the struggling social network.  Details on The Wrap.

It’s going to be a hot, sizzling July 4th holiday weekend — and I’m not talking about just the weather.  The box office is fired up. The sci-fi action sequel, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” opened yesterday with  around $37 million –  which means it’s on track to make some serious bucks over the next few days.

The other major  movies opening this weekend are romantic comedies: “Larry Crowne” starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and  “Monte Carlo”  featuring Selena Gomez.

The final box office numbers for the weekend are out today. The animated sequel, “Cars 2″ leads the pack with a debut of $66 million winning bragging rights as the number one film in the country. In second place, the Cameron Diaz-Justin Timberlake new R-rated comedy, “Bad Teacher,” with $31.6 million, followed by the superhero actioner “Green Lantern” $18 million,  the sci-fi flick “Super 8 ” $12 million, and rounding out the top five, the family comedy ”Mr. Popper’s Penguins” with $10 million.

Peter Falk, who became a television icon playing the disheveled, quirky, but brilliant  detective, Lieutenant Columbo, died today at the age of 83. Falk’s acting career span 50 years and included two Oscar nominations. The Los Angeles Times has photos and a couple of nice  pieces about Falk on its site.

Movie star’s poetry book published

The star of the “Matrix”  sci-fi action movie trilogy, Keanu Reeves, is now a published author  or  should I say poet.  The  actor ‘s new book of poetry is called, “Ode to Happiness.”   The  price , 55 bucks.  More on Galleycat.

Rewind! Lindsay Lohan in court again

Living on the edge actress, Lindsay Lohan, gets another break in court today. Lohan tested positive for alcohol, but a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled it was not a violation of her probation. Details on Lohan’s latest court drama over on  the  Los Angeles Times website.

“Jackass” star killed in car accident

"Jackass 3D" movie poster

 Actor Ryan Dunn was reportedly killed in a horrible car accident early this morning. The 34-year-old star of the  R-rated “Jackass”  movie comedy series apparently died when his Porsche crashed and exploded into flames in Pennsylvania. The Wrap has more on the  tragedy.

“Dilbert” creator in hot water over blog post

The  Internet is buzzing over the recent blunder by Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip.  In an attempt to explain the rash of  sex scandals by some prominent men, Adams recently published a  post on his Dilbert website  called, “Society Has Evolved To Keep Males in a State of continuous Unfulfilled Urgers.” 

Galleycat reports the post has generated hundreds of negative comments. Also,  a thousand readers have signed an online petition calling for Adams to apologize for the controversial post.  More here

“Green Lantern” shines bright at the box office

The actual box office numbers are out today and  “Green Lantern”  is in the number one spot.  “Green Lantern” beat the competition with a $53 million debut over the weekend.  There  are complaints the picture should have made millions more . Maybe so, but you gotta take into account that the “Green Lantern” isn’t the best known superhero and that could be a factor in its modest opening.  More on Box Office Mojo about the “Green Lantern” numbers and the other top movies.

McCourts’ divorce settlement and TV deal

The battling McCourts announced a divorce settlement today –  but it depends on a TV contract  between the Dodges and the Fox network .So it’s not quite a done deal for Frank and Jamie. Details here on the Los Angeles Times website.

“Green Lantern” burns red hot in theaters

The “Green Lantern”  made a ton of green at theaters today. Nikki Finke over on Deadline.com says the superhero flick’s opening day haul is around  $24 million — with an estimated weekend take of  $60 million.  More about the weekend movies here.

“The Hangover Part II” is off to a fast start at the Memorial Day weekend Box Office. The R-rated comedy opened with a huge $31.6 million yesterday. That’s the highest grossing day ever for a live-action comedy, according to Box Office Mojo.  And the long holiday weekend is just beginning.

The sequel to the 2009 hit, “The Hangover,” is written by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong, and Todd Phillips — who also directs.  This time out the guy pals are in Thailand for a wedding when something goes wrong and they lose the bride-to-be’s teenaged brother.

The other big movie opening is “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which was far behind  in second place with around $5.8 million on Thursday.  “Panda 2″ is expected to pick up steam today and the weekend — when more kids are out of school.

Columbia Pictures Vice-President, DeVon Franklin, leads a double life and he’s proud of it. Franklin is a devote Christian and a minister as well as studio executive.  Franklin has incorporated his faith into a business model, which he talks about in his new book “Produced by Faith: Enjoy Real Success without Compromising Your True Self.”

Franklin is the executive who brought the low-budget, but very successful script project, “Jumping the Broom,” to Columbia. Produced for less than $7 million, the romantic comedy has made over $30 million at the box office in about three weeks. Franklin is convinced you don’t have to have great connections or live in Tinseltown to sell your screenplay: “… we need good scripts in Hollywood. So, if you write a good script, even if you’re in Nebraska, Ohio –  you could be in the most remote part of the world — if you write a good script, I promise you, somehow we’ll find it.”

Franklin sees his faith and movie career as a perfect match: “My whole big idea for my life is to inspire and encourage, and God has called me to use film as part of a way to do that.” Franklin’s comments are from a post over on the publishing site, Galleycat.

By the way, his book “Produced by Faith, “ written with Tim Vandehey, was released from Simon & Schuster earlier this month on May 3.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides” sailed right to the top of the box office on its opening weekend. The fourth installment in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series earned an estimated $90.1 million to easily become the number one flick in the country. This bountiful debut clearly shows movie audiences are willing to throw down some money at theaters to see sequels.

“Pirates 4″ stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz,  Ian McShane, and Geoffrey Rush in a plot based on the book, “On Strange Tides” (1987)  by Tim Powers.  In this action adventure, Depp and his crew tangle with the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, during their search for the fountain of youth.

Far behind in second, but still doing boffo box office, the chick flick, “Bridesmaids,” with around $21 million. In two weeks this comedy has earned nearly $60 million. The superhero, “Thor,” landed in third with an estimated $15.5 million, followed by the action film, “Fast Five,” with about $10.6 million, and rounding out the top five the animation, “Rio,” with an estimated $4.6 million.

The big summer movies are rolling into theaters. Tomorrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides,” opens in the U.S.  The fantasy adventure is the fourth installment in the “Pirates of the Caribbean”  film series. The movie is based on the book from 1987, “On Strange Tides,” by Tim Powers.

Today over on the publishing site Galleycat, Powers talks about his fantasy  book, how it got optioned by Disney, and more here.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m. — Reaction from Maria Shriver here.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revival of his movie career is on a roll, but his personal life is in shambles. Last Friday, Annapurna Films won the bidding for the rights to the “Terminator” franchise with Schwarzenegger attached, according to Deadline.com . This is just one of many projects Schwarzenegger has solidified, including a children’s book deal, since leaving office in January 2011.

On the home front, Schwarzenegger has not been as successful. The Los Angeles Times was the first to report that the actor and his wife of 25 years, former journalist and Kennedy clan member, Maria Shriver, had separated.  Also, the newspaper disclosed  Shriver had moved out of the family Brentwood mansion earlier this year. Well, the other shoe dropped today. The Times is reporting now that Shriver packed up and left after Schwarzenegger revealed he has a child with a housekeeper or household staffer, who retired this past January. A shocker, indeed.

Sandra Bullock is probably no longer the most betrayed woman in Hollywood. That position may now belong to Maria Shriver.

Chick flicks are packing them in at movie theaters. Two in the last couple of weeks have beaten projections and grabbed a lot of attention away from the front runner, “Thor”.

While the superhero actioner held onto first place over the weekend, the debut of the raunchy female comedy, “Bridesmaid” is the talk of Tinseltown. The comedy about a down-on-her luck woman whose experiences as a maid of honor are hilarious, painful, and finally life changing.

“Saturday Night Live” cast member Kristen Wiig, co-wrote the screenplay with Annie Mumolo, and stars in the film along with Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne. In the actual box office numbers released today, “Bridesmaids’ scored an impressive $26.2 million — good enough for second place.

On the previous weekend, the low-budget but audience pleasing wedding comedy, “Jumping the Broom,” out paced expectations as well. This film cost around $7 million and in two weeks it has made around $26 million. Clearly, there is plenty of life left in the wedding comedy genre.

Box Office final numbers for May 13-15, 2011

1.”Thor” —–  $34.7 million

2. “Bridesmaids” —– $26.2 million

3. “Fast Five” —– $20.4 million

4. ”Priest” —– $14.9 million

5. “Rio” —– $8.2 million

6. “Jumping the Broom” —– $7 million

Another spec script sale to report, the 34th this year, according to Scott Myers over on the Go Into The Story blog. Twentieth Century Fox picked up, “From Mia With Love,” a comedy about three dudes who are eager to part with their virginity. So they send-off for a Russian mail order bride, but as you can probably imagine, things do not work out the way the guys plan.

The screenwriters are Seth Grahame-Smith, Bryan Shukoff, Kevin Chesley, and David Katzenberg who will direct. Katzenberg’s father is DreamWorks big shot, Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Myers is tracking the script sales over on his screenwriting site. He says the spec script market is doing a whole lot better than in 2010. It wasn’t until August 17 that the 34th spec script sold last year. More on this script sale here.

Another bestselling book is headed to the big screen. Sony Pictures has bought screen rights to “Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of his His Trip to Heaven and Back,” according to deadline.com

This book claims to be the true adventures of a four-year -old boy who leaves his body during emergency surgery and takes a trip to heaven. Colton Burpo comments on the doctors in the operating room, his parents in the waiting area, and heaven; where he meets biblical characters and some relatives for the first time.

The book is written by the boy’s father, a small town minister, Todd Burpo with scribe Lynn Vincent. “Heaven is for Real” was published last November and  has been on the New York Times Bestsellers List for months.  Also today, “Heaven is for Real” is ranked in the top 10 on both Amazon.com and the Barnes & Noble website.

One of the producers of the movie version, Bishop T. D. Jakes. The bishop is very busy in the movie industry these days. Jakes is one of the producers on “Jumping the Broom,” which debuted very strongly this past weekend. For more on the deal go here.

The final numbers for the weekend box office are out today and again the small budget romantic comedy, “Jumping the Broom,” stole a little of the thunder from the blockbuster, “Thor.”

Yesterday, “Jumping the Broom” surprised a lot of folks by beating expectation with an estimated debut of $13.7 million.  Today that debut got even better.  Actual numbers show “Jumping the Broom,” earned $15.2 million over the weekend.  

Weekend Final Box Office Numbers

• 1. “Thor”  $65.7 million
• 2. “Fast Five”  $32.4 million
• 3. “Jumping the Broom”  $15.2 million
• 4.   “Something borrowed”  $13.9 million
• 5.    “Rio”  $8.5 million

“Thor” hammered the competition into submission at the box office this weekend. The superhero action flick debuted with an estimated $66 million to become the number one film in the country.

“Thor” is based on the Marvel comic book hero who is punished for his arrogance by being banished from his mythical homeland of Asgard and sent to Earth. The cast includes Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.

Last week’s top movie, “Fast Five,” put the pedal to the metal, but managed only second place this time. “Fast Five” generated around $32.5 million for a two week total of $139.5 million.

Two new romantic comedies battled it out for third place, and it appears “Jumping the Broom” has won that skirmish. The film, about two families from different socioeconomic backgrounds who clash during a wedding weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, beat expectations and earned about$13.7 million.

“Jumping the Broom,” the title comes from the African American tradition of a couple jumping over a broom as part of the marriage ceremony, is a small film. The budget reportedly around $7 million. Nevertheless, it looks like this little movie is going to beat the odds and make a nice profit. Laz Alonso, Paula Patton, Angela Bassett, and Loretta Devine star.

The other new rom com, “Something Borrowed,”  had to settle for fourth with around $13.1 million. The movie is about  a woman who falls for her best friend’s fiancé. It’s based on the best selling novel of the same name by Emily Giffin. The film stars Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Colin Egglesfield.

Rounding out the top five, the animation “Rio” with an estimated $8.2 million.