Jack Reacher | featured news

...Remaining at the top of the charts is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, earning $36.7 million this weekend for an impressive total of over $149.8 million so far (numbers from Box Office Mojo). Though its earnings have dipped significantly since last weekend, it’s fair to say that it’ll remain in theaters—and perhaps at the top of the box office charts—for quite a while yet. Jack Reacher received the best numbers out of the new releases, pulling in $15.6 million this weekend. Though this falls short of the $18.5-$19 million prediction from HSX, compared to the earnings for some of the other releases, it’s certainly a respectable haul.

Traffic was sluggish at the multiplex on Friday as a crush of new movies -- including Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher and Judd Apatow's This Is 40 -- competed with one another for the attention of moviegoers already distracted by holiday preparations. Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey beat both new films to stay at No. 1, grossing $10.2 million for an eight-day domestic cume of $123.3 million.

Here's a look at the new and noteworthy books on sale the week of Nov. 4: Child's most recent Reacher novel – A Wanted Man – entered USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list at No. 2 on Sept. 20, and next up is Tom Cruise's controversial turn (he's too short!) in Jack Reacher, hitting theaters on Dec. 21.