As expected, Universal's George Clooney starrer Leatherheads was thrown for a bigger loss than studio executives had predicted. The period football comedy, which many analysts had suggested would be a sure winner at the box office over the weekend, came in a disappointing third with only $12.7 million. Analysts had forecast a $15-20-million take for the film. Second place went to the Jodie Foster family film Nim's Island from 20th Century Fox, which opened with $13.2 million. Holding on to the top spot was Sony's gambling flick 21, which raked in $15.3 million. Although comparisons with last year's box office was difficult because it fell on the Easter holiday then, analysts said that the overall gross was down significantly from the comparable weekend in recent years.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. 21, Sony/Columbia, $15,337,418, 2 Wks. ($46,77,0,173); 2. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $13,210,579, (New); 3. Leatherheads, Universal, $12,682,595, (New); 4. Horton Hears A Who!, 20th Century Fox, $9,115,987, 3 Wks. ($131,076,768); 5. The Ruins, Paramount, $8,003,421, (New); 6. Superhero Movie, MGM, $5,417,920, 2 Wks. ($16,899,661); 7. Meet The Browns, Lionsgate, $3,418,255, 3 Wks. ($37,662,502); 8. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $3,405,937, 3 Wks. ($25,490,483); 9. Shutter, 20th Century Fox, $2,830,336, 3 Wks. ($23,138,277); 10. 10,000 B.C., Warner Bros., $2,797,409, 5 Wks. ($89,649,915).

The decision by MGM and United Artists to delay the release of the Tom Cruise starrer Valkyrie until next February has raised a lot of eyebrows in Hollywood. The film, directed by Bryan Singer, was originally set for release on June 27, then moved to October to place it in contention for Oscar nominations -- in particular, one for Cruise, who has been nominated three times (once for best supporting actor, twice for best actor). But the film has been plagued with nasty rumors -- in particular, one claiming that Cruise's German accent in the film is laughably bad. (He plays the leader of a plot by German generals to assassinate Hitler during World War II.) A release in February lessens the film's chances for Oscar recognition, but Clark Woods, MGM's distribution chief, told Daily Variety, "Having seen a lot of the film and how great it is going to play once it's finished, moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move." However, several movie columnists have noted that President's Day is not "a big holiday weekend" and that the studio likely slotted it into that period because the competition will be weak. In the meantime, they added, the delay would give the studio added time to reshoot scenes and allow Cruise to work with a dialect coach to perfect his accent and rerecord some of his lines.

The independently produced Tree of Life , written and directed by Terrence Malick (The New World, The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven), is being shot in Texas on such a tight budget that the two stars, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, are being required to pay for their own travel accommodations, MSNBC.com's "Scoop" column reported Monday. The column indicated that the film's production company had arranged to have both Pitt and Penn stay at the same hotel, the Hyatt Lost Pines near Austin, TX, but that "Pitt's people" balked at the $2,000-a-night tab and initially offered to pay $3,000 for the entire one-month's stay -- a figure that the hotel declined. Pitt and Angelina Jolie opted instead to rent a house near the shooting location, the column said.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that negotiates labor contracts with the movie studios and television networks, said Monday that it expects to sign a contract with the Screen Actors Guild that will essentially be modeled after those already negotiated with the writers' and directors' unions. "If our industry relies on this new framework, we can all avoid more harmful and unnecessary strikes," the AMPTP statement said. However, SAG leaders have criticized the previously signed contracts for its provisions on DVD residuals and payments for work shown on the Internet. In fact the guild has been so adamant in its stand on those matters that studios are refusing to start production on any film unless it can be assured that it will be completed by the end of June when the SAG contract expires.

The website GamblingResort.com, where travelers can book hotel reservations and access casino information at numerous gambling resorts throughout the country, is crediting the movie 21 with increasing traffic on its site. In a statement, the website said, "The movie has no doubt remotivated the gambler to try his luck at the tables sooner rather than later." The website notes that 21 was filmed at casinos in Las Vegas including the Red Rock, Planet Hollywood and the Riviera. Links to Google maps on its site give directions to those casinos.

DreamWorks co-founder and music mogul David Geffen tops a list of the 50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America released Monday by the gay publication Out magazine. A brief profile of Geffen quotes producer Howard Rosenman as having once remarked, "If you're his enemy, you might as well kill yourself." Placing second on the list is CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, whose rise "heralded the simultaneous demise of the Dan Rather-Tom Brokaw era of dry efficiency." The magazine made no mention of the fact that Cooper has steadfastly refused to discuss his sexual orientation. Third on the list is someone who certainly has done so -- Ellen DeGeneres. "The fact that seemingly everyone loves an out-and-proud lesbian makes her powerful -- that and the $65 million she's reportedly worth," the magazine said.

NBC Universal has filed suit against The Weinstein Co. to keep Project Runway, the highest-rated show on its Bravo network, from, well, running away to Lifetime. In its lawsuit, NBC Universal claimed that it had a right of first refusal to the series after its current contract concluded and maintained that The Weinstein Co. had attempted to change the deal by bundling Runway with other programs that it wasn't interested in. The Weinstein Co. shot back that there was no right of refusal in the previous contract. Lifetime President Andrea Won told the Associated Press that she "moved quickly and jumped at the opportunity to get this show." Lifetime said that it had paid $150 million for the right to televise the show for five seasons.

NBC would be unable to survive another industry strike, NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker told an advertising industry meeting in Washington Monday. Zucker said that an actors' strike would not affect his company's Universal Studios business. "Our film business has prepared," he said. "But it would have a real impact on the TV business, and I don't think the economy or the TV business would be able to survive something like that." A strike by the actors could be "incredibly devastating" for the network, he conceded.

NBC chief Jeff Zucker said Monday that Olympics advertisers have shown "no discomfort" over growing political protests connected with China's human-rights record regarding Tibet and Darfur. In an interview with Reuters, Zucker that ad prices for the Olympics have been "incredibly strong." His remarks came on the same day that Sen. Hillary Clinton called for a boycott of the Olympics opening ceremonies. Presumably no U.S. ad buyer has agreed to join the boycott. "The fact is the Olympics are a sporting event on the world stage," Zucker said. "It's not surprising that some would try to use that stage to further their own causes and we understand that, but at the end of the day this is about the event and both the advertisers and our viewers understand that."

NBC's decision to broadcast NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams live from the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where Martin Luther King was assassinated 40 years ago became a disaster Friday when the live audio was drowned out by what Williams later described as "hyper-amplified speeches" taking place behind him. Writing on his blog, Williams apologized to viewers, then explained: "From the very first plans we made to do the broadcast live from a grassy hillside across from the Lorraine Motel, we were promised (by event organizers) in no uncertain terms that it would be quiet -- if anything, there were concerns expressed early on, that if we made too much noise, we risked appearing disrespectful." Making matters worse was the fact that the noise made it doubly difficult for Williams to carry on a live interview with Sen. John McCain, who has acknowledged that he was "wrong" to have opposed honoring King with a federal holiday. "The McCain folks are angry, justifiably so," Williams wrote, "and so are we."

AOL, a unit of Time Warner, has secured rights to carry video from ESPN, a unit of the Walt Disney Co. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Aside from whatever financial provisions, if any, may have been included, the deal obviously gives ESPN an expanded online presence. Likewise it gives faltering AOL the ability to enhance its portal. Programs will consist primarily of highlights from games and original ESPN programming, including SportsCenter Right Now, a digest of sports stories that is updated twice daily; Mike and Mike in the Morning; and Pardon the Interruption.

NBC's plan to fill gaps in its programming created by the writers' strike with reruns of hit cable shows has apparently failed to attract audiences. The quirky cable dramas Monk and Psych on Sunday night drew audiences whose size cable networks would cheer but which looked anemic on network television. Monk, which aired at 8:00 p.m. drew just 5.7 million viewers, while Psych, which aired at 9:00 p.m. attracted just 4 million. (On the other hand, CBS drew decent numbers -- 7.1 million -- for the quirky drama Dexter on the same night.)

A typical horse race lasts about two minutes, but NBC on Monday added an additional 30 minutes to its coverage of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, bringing the length of the total telecast to 2 1/2 hours. In many respects it will resemble coverage of a Hollywood awards ceremony, complete with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush on hand to cover the red-carpet arrival of celebrities and the numerous parties and celebrations around Louisville, site of the Churchill Downs race course where the Derby is held.

Shares in Australia's Consolidated Media dived 11 percent Monday on the Sydney stock exchange after Lachlan Murdoch scrapped plans to take the company private with the company's chairman James Packer, citing a change in "overall transaction terms." Analysts suggested that the biggest change involved rising interest charges on debt. Chris Hall with Adelaide-based Argo Investment, told Bloomberg News, "It's saying a lot about the state of the market when Lachlan and James can't get it over the line. ... The cost of doing deals has risen."