Zac Efron | featured news

This week at the movies, we've got a dinner party disaster (Dinner for Schmucks, starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd), some after-death bonding (Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron and Kim Basinger), and a joint canine-feline mission (Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, starring Chris O'Donnell and Jack McBrayer). What do the critics have to say? It's not unusual for a remake to lose something in transition, and that's the case with Dinner for Schmucks, an American take on the acid French farce The Dinner Game.

Zac Efron's body-switch comedy takes in $24.1 mil, easily outpacing''State of Play'' at box office.

Talk about a tired premise. It's difficult to imagine a more overworked plot device than the body swap. But stick a tween dream like Zac Efron in this drivel -- and suddenly the domestic box office dollars flow. So the New Line/Warner Bros' 17 Again opened to $10 million Friday from 3,255 theaters for No. 1 and a possible $28M weekend.

Teen prince Zac Efron aims to score his second number one opener in six months, but this time without the help of an established franchise, with the new comedy 17 Again. Boldly entering racy PG-13 territory, the Disney-bred superstar plays a thirtysomething man who is transformed into the body of a teenager. Matthew Perry plays the bigger version of the character. The New Line film is being released by Warner Bros. which will target teens and young adults but is also hoping to court the younger tween fans of the young actor despite the rating. 17 Again is essentially for.

This week at the movies, we've got a high school do-over (17 Again, starring Zac Efron and Leslie Mann), some journalistic thrills (State of Play, starring Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams), and cardiovascular action (Crank High Voltage, starring Jason Statham and Bai Ling).