BUZZ: "Marley & Me" Scores Big and "Privileged" Character Gets Cut

• I don't know what's more shocking: the fact that The Spirit was some weird amalgamation of Dick Tracy (old-school camp) and Sin City (aesthetically gorgeous), or the fact that a non-animated movie centered around a rambunctious dog came in at #1. It's true. Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson caught a lucky break, coming in at #1 with $52 mil this holiday weekend, but not all of the critics were impressed. No, all of the kind criticisms were spread out between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Valkyrie, which took the 3rd ($39 mil) and 4th spots ($30 mil). Both are a long way away from regaining their budgets ($75-150 mil), but it's more than what was expected. Meanwhile, kids predictably flocked to theaters to see Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories, scoring him $39 mil. The dud-of-the-week had to, of course, be the film that I paid for and treated family to: The Spirit. Not only can I vouch for its horrendously bizarre caricatures--inspite of Gabriel Macht and Eva Mendes' spot-on performances--but so can everyone else who contributed to its $10 mil gross and put it at #9. Rounding out the top 10 are Yes Man (#5 - $50 mil), Seven Pounds (#6 - $39 mil), The Tale of Despereaux (#7 - $28 mil), The Day the Earth Stood Still (#8 - $64 mil), and Doubt (#10 - $9 mil). Lastly, the indies of the week, Revolutionary Road and Last Chance Harvey were worshipped by a majority of the top critics. Road grossed $192,000 in three theaters, while Harvey took in $132,000 in six.

• Michael Cassidy is leaving "Privileged." Unfortunately, Charlie's going back to college and his final episode is the 20th. But for those of you in need of some Megan-Charlie action, take comfort in knowing that they will eventually get their kiss-on. Of course, their smooch might punch a hole in her relationship with Will. This is potentially the first character-cut of the recession, since he was pink-slipped partially for budgetary reasons. NBC's "Heroes" also claims that there'll be a lot of death on the rest of their season, cutting down on characters to streamline the plot and return it to its peak. But it's possible that they're just feeling the penny pinch as well. You can catch Cassidy on TheWB.com in March 2009 where he'll star in a web series.

• Ashley Tisdale will headline the Teen Witch remake, even though I think either Selena Gomez or Demi Lovato should do it.