I love the media sector, so Tuesday, February 9, will be an exciting day for me. After the market finishes its trading activities, we'll get reports from two entertainment companies: one's a big player in Hollywood, while the other would like to be just as big someday.

Let's start with the big gun. The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) has first-quarter numbers all set to go, and investors are hoping for an unambiguous beat on the bottom line. The call is for net income to fall somewhere around 39 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Kind of lousy, considering the Mouse made 41 cents per share in last year's Q1.

We all knew News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar would cede the top spot to some film someday. To be honest, I didn't think Sony's (SNE) Dear John would be the one to do it.

According to Box Office Mojo, John grossed roughly $32 million at domestic theaters. That was more than enough to put the sci-fi flick in second place. However, no one should feel sad for News Corp.; Avatar's worldwide haul now stands at over $2.2 billion.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) hasn't fully succeeded with its film model. The company's slate has yet to produce a bona fide hit yet. Because of this, management has decided to change the strategy governing the operations of the WWE Studios asset.

WWE has elected to take over the marketing/distribution chores for its movies, ditching previous partners Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) and News Corp. (NWS) in the process, as this article at Variety indicates. However, there's an even bigger change that all shareholders should focus on.

Time Warner's (TWX) The Book of Eli did a commendable job of attempting to dethrone News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar from the top spot. In the end, it failed. James Cameron has produced a hit that will simply not be stopped. At the time of this writing, early estimates from Box Office Mojo credited the picture with capturing another $41 million over the past weekend at domestic theaters. Avatar is closing in on $500 million, an accomplishment which makes you wonder if this is the wintertime or the summertime.

Eli came in second with $31 million. A reasonably good start for Time Warner considering the power of News Corp.'s new Titanic; word of mouth is now key to propelling the apocalyptic project into solid blockbuster status. The film reportedly has a budget of $80 million attached to it, so hopefully the worldwide gross will be stellar even if the domestic take falters.

You just can't stop News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar. James Cameron's epic 3D picture grossed $48 million at domestic theaters over the weekend, as of early estimates from Box Office Mojo. This puts the grand total at almost $430 million (worldwide, Avatar has made well over a billion bucks). Amazing for this time of year.

News Corp. is also counting its money from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which is ranked in third place at the time of this writing; its total gross now stands at roughly $178 million. Coming in second is Time Warner's (TWX) Sherlock Holmes action adventure. It's possible Holmes and Squeakquel could change places once final numbers are released, since both are credited with similar weekend amounts. Nevertheless, Holmes has now raked in about $165 million.

News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar is exploding like a blinding supernova at the box office. Although I have no interest in seeing it, I undoubtedly must be one of the only people on the planet who lacks the need to become immersed in the 3-D adventure. According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, James Cameron's "titanic" cinematic beast scored another $68 million at domestic theaters over the New Year's weekend. Total so far: better than $350 million.

Time Warner's (TWX) take on a famous literary detective had to settle for second place yet again. Sherlock Holmes pulled in $38 million. Coming in third was the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel, also released by News Corp. Indeed, there's no shortage of excitement at the multiplex.

We all have wishes and resolutions ready for New Year's Eve. I'm eager to get a lot done in 2010, and I'm hoping for certain investment events to transpire. One of them involves Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF). I want the company to get its house in order and give me an excuse to take on some shares.

Without question, Lions Gate has been a profitable trading vehicle for some; for the rest, it's been fun to watch. At some point, though, I'd like to move from being a passive observer of the studio to one with a vested interest. That's because I think it'll be an excellent takeover play sometime in the future.

Shareholders of Time Warner (TWX) should be pretty happy this week. The media company's new film, The Blind Side, beat the latest Twilight picture. No, it won't make the stock go up, but I'm sure studio execs were excited by the fact that Blind Side held up well during its second weekend out in the marketplace.

According to early estimates over at Box Office Mojo, Blind Side grossed $20 million at domestic theaters while The Twilight Saga: New Moon, distributed by Summit Entertainment, made roughly $15 million. Obviously Time Warner benefited from the satiation of demand on New Moon, which has so far taken in over $250 million.

There was never any question that Summit Entertainment's Twilight Saga: New Moon would be the number one movie this weekend, there was just a question about how much the movie would gross. We now have the answer: a real, real lot.

According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, New Moon made $140 million at domestic theaters. To put this in perspective, this means that the vampire flick now occupies the third spot on the chart of best opening weekends (behind Dark Knight and Spiderman 3). Truly impressive, especially when you consider that we're not in the summertime.

Last week, I discussed my disappointment with Disney's (DIS) A Christmas Carol. As a shareholder of the Mouse, I remain dissatisfied with the performance. However, this past weekend's theatrical take of the film makes me a little happier.

According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, Carol scored about $22 million at domestic theaters, making it the second most popular film of the three-day period. Sure, it wasn't number one, but given the fact that Carol made $30 million last weekend, I'd say you have to give it some credit for avoiding a significant percentage drop. So far, it has generated more than $60 million in revenue.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q3 results still topped expectations and sent shares higher.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) posted much better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the first profit in a year.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) received an analyst's downgrade due to concerns over its earnings prospects.
• Blackstone Group (BX) received an analyst's upgrade following the company's Q3 results.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) widened its net loss in Q3 and revenue and same-stores sales declined.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) shares declined after its Q3 numbers fell short of expectations.
• Consolidated Water Co. Inc. (CWCO) earnings prospects for 2010 earned it an analyst upgrade.

When I discussed Lions Gate Entertainment's (LGF) first-quarter results, I noted the disappointing statement of cash flows. Unfortunately, the company didn't do much better in the second quarter. For the six-month period, Lions Gate used over $160 million for operations compared to the roughly $40 million used in the similar frame one year ago.

Of course, cash flow doesn't always get the most coverage. Investors tend to get more excited by a swing to profitability. On that count, Lions Gate scored admirably, earning 26 cents per diluted share versus losing 44 cents per diluted share twelve months prior. Earnings.com indicates that analysts were really underestimating the Q2 income potential here: the call was for 6 cents per share.

It was a triumphant weekend for Michael Jackson. And how fitting it was that the man who gave us the Thriller masterpiece saw victory during a weekend devoted to all things Halloween.

According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, Michael Jackson's This Is It, distributed by Sony (NYSE: SNE), grossed about $21 million at domestic theaters, good for the top slot. The total tally for the film is over $32 million once the Wednesday opening is taken into account.

I don't believe it. I never thought it could happen. Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) released Saw VI this past weekend. Surely the latest cinematic celebration of cruelty would be the number-one picture at domestic theaters, right? Saw is a big brand when it comes to torture movies. Jigsaw is a Freddy Krueger (and beyond) for the new generation. The teens would be out in full force to support all the latest traps and sequences of dismemberment and bloodletting for sure.

Well, Saw VI didn't come out on top. Instead, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paranormal Activity made the most money in the race for domination at the multiplex, scoring approximately $22 million according to early estimates from Box Office Mojo. The new Saw did come in second, though, so that was at least some consolation, correct?

Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Where the Wild Things Are was number one over the past weekend at domestic theaters as of early estimates from Box Office Mojo. The film grossed well over $30 million. Coming in second was Law Abiding Citizen. If Wild Things wasn't in the market this weekend, that one definitely would have been tops at the multiplex. The revenge fest, from Liberty Capital Group's (NASDAQ: LCAPA) Overture Films, brought in $21 million.

Right on the heels of that project is the very cheaply made Paranormal Activity, courtesy of Viacom (NYSE: VIA). It made about $20 million. So far, Activity has generated over $30 million in total. And they say the little horror extravaganza cost less than $20,000 to produce!