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.

News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! came in at number one over the weekend, according to early estimates at Boxofficemojo. The movie grossed about $45 million at domestic theaters. Even if that number changes a little, there's no chance that it will be knocked from the top spot, considering that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) caveman epic 10,000 B.C. is estimated to have grossed about $16 million, which was good for second position.

Seth Rogen, who is the new toast of Hollywood and who will probably try to weasel his way into a Tom-Hanks kind of career (i.e., steadily move away from goofy roles and get into some serious dramas), provided his voice to one of the characters, as did his "frat pack" buddies Steve Carell and Jonah Hill. Jim Carrey, of course, is the big name on the movie's credits, but believe it or not, I thought of Rogen first when thinking about this flick -- guess his brand equity is indeed on the rise. It's not a movie I'd necessarily see, but it had a pretty good marketing campaign behind it, so I can understand its success.

The publicity machine is working overtime for General Electric Co.'s (NYSE:GE) Universal Studio's production Knocked Up.

The film, starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen, opens today. As part of the fanfare, Universal has created a web site where you can create a mashup showing how the offspring of you and anyone you choose might appear.

Unfortunately, this feature doesn't work as well as one might wish. For example, check out this result, supposedly the visage of a child from a coupling of yours truly and Miss Universe Rita Mori (I can dream, can't I?) Even given that my gifts are not physical, the alien creature that resulted doesn't serve as a good advertisement for the film.

Nonetheless, early reviews for the film are good, and gives Universal hope that this summer will offer strong returns. In a couple of weeks they will premiere another potential hit, Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty starring Steve Carrell (of the 40-Year-Old-Virgin, another film by Knocked Up Director Judd Apatow).