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Two A-listers duke it out in North American multiplexes in the new action thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta which will challenge last weekend's top films Up and The Hangover for a three-way race to the number one spot. Eddie Murphy also joins the fun with his latest family comedy Imagine That which will try to enter the top five. Overall ticket sales should once again fall behind last year's numbers, only by a much wider margin this time.

Fox sequel nets $15.3 million at box office -- In a box office face-off between a family and a male-demo sequel, Fox's PG rated "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" took the first Friday of the Memorial Day frame with an estimated $15.3 million while Warner Bros.' franchise actioner "Terminator Salvation" followed with $14.9 million.

Only one new film ventures into wide release as Tom Hanks steps back into the role of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon for the conspiracy thriller Angels & Demons. A sequel to the 2006 smash The Da Vinci Code, Angels reunites Hanks with director Ron Howard for the fourth time. Both films were based on the best-selling novels of Dan Brown. In the new installment, Langdon is called to the Vatican to help stop a secret society from killing the top Cardinals of the Catholic Church following the death of the Pope. Code was a global smash opening three years ago...

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.

After five consecutive frames of beating the 2008 box office, ticket sales this time may have a tough job keeping the streak alive. Looking to knock the superheroes of Watchmen out of the top spot is the artist formerly known as The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, who headlines the new Disney live-action film Race to Witch Mountain opening on Friday. A pair of debuting R-rated pics will target older audiences. Universal unleashes the horror entry The Last House on the Left while Fox Searchlight releases the weekend's only film not inspired by a 1970s classic with the comedy Miss March.

Four new releases hit North American multiplexes on Friday setting up a pair of cinematic fights. The main event sees rival franchise comedies go at it for the number one spot with He's Just Not That Into You targeting the date crowd and The Pink Panther 2 reaching out to...

Only two new releases hit the North American box office, but in the wake of Academy Award nominations, a handful of contenders take the opportunity to expand nationwide hoping Oscar nods can translate into extra cash. Sony unleashes its franchise thriller Underworld: Rise of the Lycans while Warner Bros. counters...

Four new films roll into theaters hoping to take advantage of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday which will give many a day off on Monday. R-rated fare leads the way with the horror remake My Bloody Valentine 3D and the hip-hop biopic Notorious being the big guns trying...