Guess we've got to hand it to Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. I oftentimes criticize the enormous compensation packages of celebrity thespians, but I'll give credit where credit is due. These two stars have powered News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Marley and Me to great success (I suppose that dog helped out, too).

In its second weekend out in the marketplace, the film was again in the top slot at domestic theaters, with current estimates pegging its three-day gross at around $24 million. Marley is now well past the $100 million mark.

Another movie is doing well at the box office, one that I thought wasn't going to be so hot. Again, it has a big star to thank, to some degree at least. Adam Sandler and his Bedtime Stories flick, distributed by Disney (NYSE: DIS), came in second over the weekend, grossing about $20 million. It's total tally is at $85 million after two weekends.

Then there's Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from Viacom (NYSE: VIA). Button was third with $18 million, and now has almost $80 million in its box-office bank account.

According to Boxofficemojo, News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! is still selling a lot of tickets at the domestic box office, earning about $25 million over the Easter weekend. Its cumulative total now stands at approximately $86 million. That performance was good enough for the film to retain its number-one standing for the second weekend in a row. This isn't terribly surprising, since quality family pictures have a good chance of doing well during holiday periods.

During the weekend, I composed a post about the Tyler Perry franchise and its importance to shareholders of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF). Well, I was wrong about its potential in regard to Drillbit Taylor, which was distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA). While Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns is estimated to have grossed about $20 million in theaters, Taylor is credited with about half that amount. Apparently, the comedic star-power of Owen Wilson wasn't enough to trump the popularity of Tyler Perry's cinematic storytelling; Browns came in at second place, and it should be noted that its per-theater average was much higher than Horton's.

The weekend is here, and that means a lot of people are heading to the multiplexes in search of entertainment. And it isn't just any weekend -- it's Easter weekend, so studios are hoping that they can capture some revenue magic during the three-day frame. The new movies up for competition include Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Drillbit Taylor, a comedy featuring Owen Wilson, and News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Shutter, a spooky horror flick centered around photography.

The film I'm most curious about is Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, which is being released by Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF). That's because Tyler Perry has become a successful brand for Lions Gate. His films seem to have a good chance of opening relatively strongly, and Perry's last flick, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, did well last fall, taking in over $55 million at the domestic box office, according to Boxofficemojo.com. The Tyler Perry franchise offers a nice contrast to Lions Gate's other big-name series -- this would be, of course, the bloody and vicious Saw series.

I think Meet the Browns will do very well this weekend, but I'm not certain it will be able to jump ahead of Drillbit Taylor. I'm hoping I get a chance to see the latter, as it looks like a nice vehicle for Wilson; plus, John Hughes and Seth Rogen had a hand in the writing of the movie, along with Kristofor Brown. Lions Gate shareholders should welcome Tyler Perry's latest release, and cheer it on during this holiday box-office period.

Disclosure: I don't currently own any of these companies in my portfolio; positions can change at any time.

GE ended the day at $33.33, up 37 cents on a day that ended trading early just after lunch. There was no immediate news one could point to for the bump upwards.

NBC/Universal has released the first season of Fear Factor on DVD, though I'm not exactly sure who will be queueing up to purchase the DVD set when NBC endlessly reruns the show at any slow spot in their lineup. And NBC/Universal is gearing up to promote it's latest comedy, You, Me, and Dupree, no doubt hoping that Owen Wilson will provide a nice hit.