The Honeymooners

Peter Bradshaw: Pointless adaptation of a prehistoric US sitcom.

Chocolate Factory is box office treat

Tim Burton's adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has now spent three weeks at the top of the UK box office, cashing in another £2.9m over the weekend.

How Orson got out of jail

Film: Audiences here in this rain-sodden mountain resort will have a rare chance to see Welles's masterful Shakespeare adaptation, Chimes at Midnight.

In brief: Sienna gets Factory job

Plus: Samuel L Jackson signs for Manga adaptation Afrosamurai; Richard Gere to star in sex offender thriller; 60s British comedy set for remake with Billy Bob Thornton.

Chocolate Factory finds cinemas’ sweet spot

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory proved to be a golden ticket for British film fans. The adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's classic shot to the top of the UK box office in its opening weekend, cashing in a sweet £8m.Success here has helped Tim Burton's fantasy become the most popular film outside the US this week. It is also number one in Mexico, Brazil and France, with total earnings of $20m (£11m) in 15 countries. Back in Blighty, Willy Wonka just edged out Madagascar, the story of four animals who escape from New York's Zoo. So far, the animated feature has earned £16.4m, since its release three weeks ago. Charlie's success meant a tumble for the superhero film Fantastic Four, which dropped from last week's top spot to third place. At four is the Owen Wilson comedy Wedding Crashers.Rounding off the top five was Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, which has so far raked in £27.6m.

Polanski in the dock

Roman Polanski won an Oscar for his adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman's Holocaust novel The Pianist and recently finished work on an overhaul of Oliver Twist. In the meantime his offscreen dramas have come to resemble a contemporary update of L'Etranger. Presumably he's too busy living Camus's landmark existential novel to get around to adapting it.

Fantastic Four fire up US box office

The superpowers of the Fantastic Four boosted the US box office out of its recent slump with a better-than-expected performance on its opening weekend. The Fox cartoon adaptation earned $56m (£32m) over the three-day weekend, more than enough to claim the number one spot. Executives at Fox have admitted that they had expected the film to earn around $30m (£17m).