Time Warner beats 'Twilight' while Lions Gate is on a wild ride

Coming in third with a little under $10 million was Brothers from Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF). I thought the price action on Lions Gate last week was interesting. Very recently, you could have had shares of the independent studio for under $5 apiece. Then, last Friday, the stock shoots up more than 7% to over $6 per share. What the heck is going on? Don't tell me it was in anticipation of this Brothers project. Actually, some of the volatility can be traced to recent reports of the company's interest in acquiring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as this article at Schaeffer's Investment Research details. The rest of the volatility can be accounted for by the natural ups-and-downs intrinsic to this trading vehicle (in my opinion, anyway).

Disney (DIS) took spots four and five with A Christmas Carol and Old Dogs, respectively. Both have been relative under-performers. Execs at the Mouse are hoping that some recent changes in the company's celluloid factory will reap dividends in the near term. I'm not holding my breath, though; I think it will take a while for Disney's movie operation to fully turn itself around. There's a lot of work to be done, and any true attempt at a new model will have to center on reduction of costs and budgets. Since Hollywood loves to spend other people's money, high returns on capital will probably continue to elude movie businesses.

Of the stocks mentioned this time around, Lions Gate is obviously the one experiencing the most excitement. I'm not sure where it will close on Monday, but I won't be making any bids this week on it. I get the feeling you could lose money just as easily as you could make it with the studio. I always have my eye on Lions Gate, though, so if any new trend manifests itself, I'll take note.

Disclosure: I own Disney; positions can change without notice.