Lukewarm box office returns …
… didn’t keep filmgoers from flocking to the power of Green Lantern’s light this weekend. The DC Comics superhero finished atop the box office heap.

As always, here’s the weekend, by the numbers:

Name: Weekend: Total Haul:
1. Green Lantern $52.7M $52.7M
2. Super 8 $21.2M $72.8M
3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins $18.2M $18.2M
4. X-Men: First Class $11.5M $119.92M
5. The Hangover Part II $9.6M $232M
6. Kung Fu Panda 2 $8.7M $143M
7. Bridesmaids $7.5M $136M
8. Pirates … $6.2M $220M
9. Midnight in Paris $5.2M $21.8M
10. Judy Moody … $2.2M $11.1M

And now a bit of casting news:

Last seen on a deserted island, actress Evangeline Lilly is headed for The Shire.
She’s been cast as an elf in Peter Jackson’s remake of the fantasy classic “The Hobbit.”

Here’s the info, courtesy of Empire:
“While Peter Jackson and the rest of the Hobbit team have now completed their first block of shooting on the two movies that comprise the adventure, it appears there’s still some room for news, as Jackson hit Facebook today to announce that Lost’s Evangeline Lilly and, even more intriguingly, Barry Humphries, are joining the cast.

Lilly, still best known for her work as Kate on the island-set mystery/sci-fi series (though she’ll be seen in the upcoming Real Steel), has signed on to play a new character that Jackson describes in his latest posting thusly: “the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.)”