First Look at Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood.

USA Today has unveiled the first photo of Russell Crowe in costume on the set of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. The story of the bandit who steals from the rich and gives to the poor gets a makeover in Robin Hood, which reunites Gladiator star Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott.

"He doesn't have the old Robin Hood tights," says producer Brian Grazer. "He's got armor. He's very medieval. He looks, if anything, more like he did in Gladiator than anything we're used to seeing with Robin Hood."

"Oddly, it's a metaphor for today," Grazer says. "He's trying to create equality in a world where there are a lot of injustices. He's a crusader for the people, trying to reclaim some of the ill-gotten gains of the wealthy. That's a universal theme.

We just shot a scene where Maid Marion fires a flaming bow and arrow into the night sky. It's just a cool story."
Robin Hood is in theaters May 14th, 2010.
Source: Movieweb.com

Zac Efron vs. Russell Crowe? No Box-Office Contest.

Poor Oscar-winning Russell Crowe. He never had a chance against Zac Efron.

Efron's 17 Again grossed an estimated $24.1 million at the weekend box office, per Exhibitor Relations. The body-switching comedy hit the upper range of projections, and dominated the competition, including the new Crowe thriller, State of Play ($14.1 million).

Elsewhere, Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana: The Movie ($12.7 million) fell fast and furious, while Crank: High Voltage ($6.5 millon) suffered a cold start.

Drilling down into the numbers:

• As box-office weekends this red-hot year go, this one was kind of tepid—no film reported a per-screen average of at least $10,000. 17 Again led the top films with a $7,393 average.

• 17 Again's take was enough to let Efron call himself a movie-opener. He did, after all, out-open Crowe, Julia Roberts, Steve Martin, Seth Rogen and all three Jonas brothers, to name some 2009 box-office leads.

• For those keeping score at home, Efron did not out-open Cyrus/Hannah Montana or High School Musical 3: Senior Year, both of which had the big advantage of being existing, TV-based franchises.

• By placing second, State of Play seemed to disprove the Los Angeles Times' notion that the film was going to be the end of the non-tween film. Still, its debut was virtually identical to that of Roberts' Duplicity, which departed the Top 10 after four weekends with a disappointing $39.1 million overall gross. Also, State of Play's debut leaves it a long way, on the domestic side, at least, from its reported $60 million budget.

• Last weekend's No. 1 film, Hannah Montana, saw ticket sales plunge 61 percent. Still, the reputed $35 million comedy upped its overall take to $56.1 million.

• Among the new releases, Crank: High Voltage not only didn't challenge 17 Again or State of Play, it didn't challenge the original Crank, which opened with $10.5 million in 2006.

• In its second weekend, Rogen's Observe and Report ($4.1 million; $18.7 million overall) is all but done, but not before topping its reported $18 million budget.

• The low-budget Adventureland ($1.3 million) exits the Top 10 after two weekends, and a $14 million overall take.

• Reports vary wildly on the budget of Dragonball Evolution ($1.6 million). For the sake of the economy, it would be best if it were on the extremely low side as the film was bounced from the Top 10 after just one weekend, and a cumulative "gross" of $7.8 million.

• By the way, if you didn't have a movie in release this weekend, then Dragonball Evolution only made $722 more per theater than you did.

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1- 17 Again, $24.1 million
2- State of Play, $14.1 million
3- Monsters vs. Aliens, $12.9 million
4- Hannah Montana: The Movie, $12.7 million
5- Fast & Furious, $12.3 million
6- Crank: High Voltage, $6.5 million
7- Observe and Report, $4.1 million
8- Knowing, $3.5 million
9- I Love You, Man, $3.4 million
10- The Haunting in Connecticut, $3.2 million

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Source: E!Online