“How to Train Your Dragon” breathed a bit of box-office fire with a $43.3 million opening weekend and a No. 1 debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Distributed by Paramount, the DreamWorks Animation adventure came in well behind the studio’s last cartoon comedy, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” which opened with $59.3 million over the same weekend last year.

With strong reviews and enthusiastic responses from viewers in exit polls, DreamWorks expects “How to Train Your Dragon” to have more staying power than “Monsters vs. Aliens” in subsequent weekends, though.

“People just love the film, so we’re really anticipating we’ll benefit from strong word of mouth going forward,” said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks.

“How to Train Your Dragon,” featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera in the tale of a Viking youth who tames a fire-breathing reptile, did outperform some other recent animated movies, among them “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” which opened with $30.3 million last September.

Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which had been No. 1 the previous three weekends, slipped to second place with $17.3 million. It raised its domestic total to $293.1 million and its worldwide haul to $656 million.

John Cusack’s raunchy comedy “Hot Tub Time Machine” had a lukewarm No. 3 debut of $13.7 million. Released by MGM, the movie features Cusack as part of a group of losers hurled back by a time-traveling hot tub to the 1980s, where they have a chance to set their lives right.

“How to Train Your Dragon” pulled in 68 percent of its revenue from 3-D presentation, another triumph for the digital technology that allows theaters to show movies in three dimensions.

Yet it also highlights the limits on how much 3-D traffic theaters are equipped to handle. “How to Train Your Dragon” took over the bulk of 3-D theaters at the expense of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland,” because the roughly 4,000 screens capable of showing digital 3-D movies is not enough to handle two full wide-release films at the same time.

“There’s no question there are not enough screens yet,” said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. “People who want to seek out ‘Alice’ in 3-D may have to travel a mile or two more than they used to. … It’s competition. I’m used to it.”

After a phenomenal 15-week run, James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar” lost most of its remaining 3-D theaters to “How to Train Your Dragon.” The 20th Century Fox release finally fell out of the top 10, taking in $2 million to finish at No. 11, raising its domestic total to $740.4 million. Worldwide, the movie has taken in $2.7 billion.

Another new 3-D release, Warner Bros. action tale “Clash of the Titans,” arrives Friday. While the success of 3-D movies has driven theater chains to speed up their conversion to systems that can project digital 3-D films, a screen shortage will remain for the near future.

“There is a limited amount of shelf space. It’s like a traffic jam at the multiplex for these 3-D movies,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. “It’s a high-class problem to have, but it’s still a problem.”

Films playing in 3-D have topped the box office for nine of 13 weekends this year, Dergarabedian said.

Overall revenues were down for the first time in a month. Domestic receipts totaled $127 million, off 13 percent from the same weekend last year, according to Hollywood.com.

For the year, revenues are at $2.6 billion, 8.8 percent ahead of last year.

Results for “Hot Tub Time Machine” came in on the low end of distributor MGM’s expectations.

“It’s not great, but it’s OK,” said Erik Lomis, head of distribution for MGM. “It had a lot of Internet buzz, so we thought it might come in a little bit higher.”

In narrower release, Sony Pictures Classics’ sex thriller “Chloe” opened with $1 million in 350 theaters, averaging a weak $2,863 a cinema. That compared to an average of $10,678 in 4,055 theaters for “How to Train Your Dragon” and $4,956 in 2,754 theaters for “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Directed by Atom Egoyan, “Chloe” stars Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried in a drama about a woman who hires a prostitute to tempt her husband and find out if he’s cheating on her.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “How to Train Your Dragon,” $43.3 million.

2. “Alice in Wonderland,” $17.3 million.

3. “Hot Tub Time Machine,” $13.7 million.

4. “The Bounty Hunter,” $12.4 million.

5. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” $10 million.

6. “She’s Out of My League,” $3.5 million.

7. “Green Zone,” $3.3 million.

8. “Shutter Island,” $3.2 million.

9. “Repo Men,” $3 million.

10. “Our Family Wedding,” $2.2 million.

When she’s not getting tangled up in crazy romances or fashion mistakes on Ugly Betty, actress America Ferrera is getting married. On-screen, of course. The star of the hit ABC comedy has snagged a lead role on the upcoming movie Our Family Wedding, which opens in March this year.

The film focuses on a young couple on the brink of marriage. Unfortunately, their parents don’t exactly approve of the decision. One factor that hinders their union is the fact that their families aren’t too fond of the other.

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera portrays the character Lucia Ramirez, a law student who is the first person in her Latino family to study in college. She falls for and gets engaged to Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross), a black med student.

These two are already set on tying the knot due to the groom’s Doctors Without Borders project, hurrying to make it before they’re whisked off to a foreign land. However, the problem lies with their families, who can’t seem to agree. It boils down to the question of race, which is definitely an issue this movie wants to bring up.

America Ferrera discussed Our Family Wedding with the publication USA Today, expressing the importance of their involvement in the film. Not only did the cast enjoy acting on the set, but they all agree that it really is a commendable contribution to movie history.

“My character is defining herself apart from her family,” Ferrera explained. “That starts with it being very controversial that she’s marrying a black man. It has two minority perspectives from people who have their own instincts of preservation and exclusivity and what they think of as ‘the other.’ It doesn’t have to be just white vs. every other minority. That’s what makes the film special.”

Joining Ferrera and Gross on Our Family Wedding are comedian Carlos Mencia and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as the fathers of the couple. The movie was directed by Rick Famuyiwa, previously known for his work on The Wood and Brown Sugar.

Below, you can find the trailer of Our Family Wedding, which hits theaters on March 12, 2010.

Good news! The crazy-good creative surge on ABC’s Ugly Betty hasn’t stopped. Last night’s episode—the final new hour of 2009, before the show moves to its new Wednesday night timeslot on Jan. 6—packed quite the emotional punch, between (SPOILER ALERT!) the double-threat of pregnancies for the Suarez sisters, Hilda and Archie’s break-up, and Claire’s trip to South Dakota to find her long-lost son. And, damn, damn, damn Adam Rodriguez! Your smokin’ self would keep me coming back no matter what else was going on with the show. Good riddance to Archie! (Even though I do love you Ralph Macchio!)

Seriously, Betty couldn’t be moving to a better timeslot at a more opportune time, with all it’s got going on. Let’s just hope that those Modern Family and Cougar Town viewers stick around to see what’s up with the Suarez clan and everyone else at Mode, come January.

I have just opened Godga.com, your latest & greatest source for pop sensation Lady Gaga. You may know Gaga from her hit singles “Just Dance”, “Poker Face”, and “Bad Romance” or from her debut album “The Fame”. Lady Gaga is currently touring with “The Monster Ball Tour”. We pride ourselves on worshiping the Godga and will keep you updated with the latest news, photos, and videos. We currently have over 13,000 photos in the gallery and it is growing everyday. Take a look around and enjoy!

Wednesdays are about to get “Ugly” on ABC.

The network is set to move the America Ferrera comedy, “Ugly Betty,” to Wednesday nights, creating an all-laugher line-up, according to Variety.

The network is apparently hoping the switch will give “Betty” a ratings boost. The Friday after Thanksgiving saw viewership at an all-time low of 3.3 million, lower than a rerun of Jay Leno.

“Betty” will follow Courteney Cox’s “Cougar Town,” replacing “Eastwick,” which was cancelled last month.

Also on Wednesdays is ABC’s break-out comedy hit, “Modern Family.”

“Ugly Betty” currently airs on Friday nights, between “Supernanny” and “20/20,” which if ratings mean anything is no longer a good slot for it.

The move is effective in January.

Because of its new Friday timeslot, there is some buzz that the fourth season of “Ugly Betty” may be the final season. So, ET checked in with series’ star America Ferrera to find out if that should be the case, does she want to see Betty turn into a swan?

“I have always [seen the character] as transformative,” she tells ET. “A caterpillar who has to grow into her own skin — into the version of herself that she is most comfortable with. I never see Betty turning into a supermodel, or one of a million cookie-cutter girls. I do see her as blossoming into a more mature version of herself.”

That said, sometime this season, Betty finally gets her braces off, and she has already started dressing more chicly for her new job as a non-poncho-wearing assistant editor.

“I think the new look was a natural progression for Betty,” America says. “It was less a choice to become something else than it was to let the growth take its course. Her bangs grew out. She accepts it. She says, ‘They are changing. I will see where it goes.’”

Fans of “Ugly Betty” should find this fourth season a bit more reminiscent of the first, because Betty’s promotion has once more put her in a situation where she is out of her comfort zone.

“She gets this promotion, which turned a lot of people against her,” America explains. “She is back at the bottom. It is a re-setting to how it was in the beginning, but now she is a little more mature, confident and can handle it more.”

“Ugly Betty” airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Gallery Link:
Photoshoots > Session 042 x02

I have finally got around to designing a real layout for the gallery. I hope you all like it!

She’s definitely one of the most unique actresses in television on August 5th, America Ferrera was spotted in a liplock with a costar.

The “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress looked to be thoroughly enjoying her smooch with Daniel Eric Gold while filming an episode for her hit show “Ugly Betty.”

Gallery Link:
Season 4 > Filming Ugly Betty in Manhattan – August 5, 2009 x12

I have capped America Ferrera’s appearance on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. She played a girl named, April Perez in the 5th season episode “Harvest”. There are 414 caps in all. Enjoy!

Gallery Link:
Guest Appearances > CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – 5×03 – Harvest x414