Comedian Kevin James sat down with Paul Byrne of Movies.ie and talked about his movie "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (loved it – read my review here), as well as his upcoming movie, "The Zookeeper."
Turns out Kevin never thought about being a stand-up comedian! Watch the video and listen as he talks about having fun at the family dinner table and going into the movie business. He seems like the kind of guy you could sit down and have buffalo wings with.

I guess moviegoers were more into a fun family flick than the dark and bloody “Watchmen” this weekend. “Race to Witch Mountain” ruled the box office. Here’s the rundown from Box Office Mojo:

Race to Witch Mountain, $24.40M
Watchmen, $17.81M
The Last House on the Left, $14.11M
Taken, $6.56M
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, $5.10M
Slumdog Millionaire, $5.00M
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $3.11M
He’s Just Not That Into You, $2.93M
Coraline, $2.40M
Miss March, $2.40M

Image: © 2008 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Wow, the Jonas Brothers came in second to Tyler Perry this weekend. I’m not a big fan of the Jonas Brothers’ movie, but figured it would probably snag the top numbers.
And "Slumdog Millionaire" is still riding along on its Oscar train. Here’s the rundown from Box Office Mojo:

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, $16.17M
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, $12.51M
Slumdog Millionaire, $12.02M
Taken, $9.86M
He’s Just Not That Into You, $6.01M
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $5.60M
Coraline, $5.26M
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, $4.72M
Confessions of a Shopaholic, $4.63M
Fired Up, $3.70M

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

Jason Voorhees and his frightening "Friday the 13th" axed the box office this weekend, pulling in numbers far ahead of second place, "He’s Just Not That Into You." Here’s the rundown from IMDB.com:

Friday the 13th, $42.24M
He’s Just Not That Into You, $19.61M
Taken, $19.25M
Confessions of a Shopaholic, $15.40M
Coraline, $15.00M
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $11.70M
The International, $10.00M
The Pink Panther 2, $9.00M
Slumdog Millionaire, $7.15M
Push, $6.93M

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Kevin James is so great with the physical comedy, and it looks like he’ll be continuing that theme in “The Zookeeper,” a new film from MGM.
Loved James in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” and he’s reteaming with Happy Madison producers for this romantic comedy.
“The Zookeeper” follows the adventures of a lonely zookeeper who’s having trouble meeting a girl. So he decides to leave his job, but the animals intervene. Variety is carrying the story today, but it doesn’t say what the format will be. I’m guessing maybe live-action combined with CG special effects for the animals.
Producer Todd Garner said that …read more

Moviegoers flocked to see “He’s Just Not That Into You” this weekend, as well as the action-thriller ”Taken.” “The Pink Panther 2,” which my kids and I thought was pretty funny, came in fourth. Here are the numbers from IMDB.com:

He’s Just Not That Into You, $27.78M
Taken, $20.54M
Coraline, $16.84M
The Pink Panther 2, $11.58M
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $10.88M
Push, $10.07M
Slumdog Millionaire, $7.17M
Gran Torino, $7.15M
The Uninvited, $6.26M
Hotel for Dogs, $5.71M

Image: New Line Cinema, 2009

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is still holding strong at the box office, smack dab in between two horror flicks, “Taken” and “The Uninvited.” Here’s the rundown from Box Office Mojo. What did YOU see this weekend?

Taken, $24.71M
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $13.87M
The Uninvited, $10.32M
Hotel for Dogs, $8.63M
Gran Torino, $8.23M
Slumdog Millionaire, $7.62M
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, $7.58M
New in Town, $6.74M
My Bloody Valentine 3D, $4.47M
Inkheart, $3.72M

Image: Taken, TM and copyright, 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" is still tops at the box office! I guess other moviegoers liked the funny Kevin James as much as I did. Here’s the roundup from Box Office Mojo:

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $21.62M
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, $20.82M
Gran Torino, $16.24M
Hotel for Dogs, $12.86M
Slumdog Millionaire, $10.69M
My Bloody Valentine 3D, $10.01M
Inkheart, $7.60M
Bride Wars, $6.86M
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, $6.08M
Notorious, $5.77M

Image: Sony Pictures, 2009

My kids and I thought "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" was goofy fun, and so did a lot of other people, apparently. It grabbed first place at the box office last weekend. Here’s the roundup from Box Office Mojo:

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $39.23M
Gran Torino, $25.60M
My Bloody Valentine 3D, $24.10M
Notorious, $23.39M
Hotel for Dogs, $22.86M
Bride Wars, $13.87M
The Unborn, $10.54M
Defiance, $10.51M
Marley & Me, $7.51M
Slumdog Millionaire, $7.02M

Image: Sony Pictures, 2009

Movie: Paul Blart: Mall Cop * Official Site * Preview & Trailer
In Theaters: Jan. 16, 2009

Runtime: 87 minutes
Directed by: Steve Carr

MPAA Rating: PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language
Gecko Rating:

Sometimes you just need a goofy movie to make things right in your world, you know? "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" fills the void nicely. Kevin James ("The King of Queens") is great at the physical comedy, and there’s a lot of that in this movie. He also wrote the screenplay, along with Nick Bakay. Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions produced the movie, and it’s …read more