While the biggest movies of the month will come Christmas week, a couple of big titles hit theaters this week. Tom Cruise plays stoic and mysterious "Jack Reacher," while the characters of "Knocked Up" get another cinematic turn in "This Is 40." And if you loved Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Total Recall," you may want to compare The Governator's performance with that of Colin Farrell in the remake, coming to home video.

TUESDAY: 'Total Recall' on home video
The 1990 version of "Total Recall" had so much going for it. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the starring role! A three-breasted hooker! Classic lines -- Arnold shoots traitorous wife Sharon Stone while barking, "Consider that a divorce" as only Arnold can. We're still not sure why Hollywood felt a need to remake that film with Colin Farrell in the Arnold role. Critics liked the action, but felt this take had less humor. Now you can compare the two, as Farrell's "Recall" hits home video this week. (On DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 18.)

FRIDAY: 'Jack Reacher'
First, the height question: The character of Jack Reacher in Lee Child's books stands 6 foot five inches tall. His size is a major factor in many plot points. Tom Cruise is famously short. But this is Hollywood, and many of the filmgoers will have never read one of the Reacher novels, so this may not matter. In the film, a man who seemed to have quite clearly shot five people asks the cops for only one thing: That they get him Jack Reacher. The Hollywood Reporter had no trouble with the casting, with critic Todd McCarthy writing, "Tom Cruise might not be the 6-foot-5 rock described in the books, but he makes the title role fit him like a latex glove in a winning turn that could spawn a popular new franchise for the star." (Opens Dec. 21.)

FRIDAY: 'This Is 40'
Although "This Is 40" is being sold as a "Knocked Up" sequel, it's not about Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen's characters. The new film focuses on Debbie (Heigl's sister in the first film) and her husband Pete as they grapple with financial and parenting troubles. If you like director Judd Apatow's work, you'll want to check this one out. Apatow wrote, directed and co-produced, his real-life wife Leslie Mann returns as Debbie, and the Apatow-Mann daughters play the couple's children. (Opens Dec. 21.)

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Warner Bros.

Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Moviegoing was down again at the domestic box office as Sony's sci-fi action epic "Total Recall" opened to a soft $26 million, well behind the $36.4 million earned by returning champ "The Dark Knight Rises" in its third weekend.

New family player "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" also came in on the low end of expectations in opening to $14.7 million. However, the film cost a modest $22 million to produce so is already on solid ground financially.

The Aurora theater shooting and the 2012 Summer Olympics continue to mute moviegoing. Domestic ticket sales were down 25 percent from the same weekend last year, while research firm NRG continues to warn studios that 20 percent of the moviegoing audience are skittish after the shooting (16 percent reported they would be watching the Olympics this weekend).

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Heading into the weekend, Sony projected a domestic opening in the $25 million to $30 million range for "Total Recall," although many box office observers believed it would come in on the higher end and possibly jump the $30 million mark. The pic cost at least $125 million to produce.

"We opened within that realm. We're off to a good start and I think the film will be very successful on a worldwide basis," Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer said. "When you consider the scope of the movie and all the special effects, it was made for a very reasonable price."

"Total Recall" -- directed by Len Wiseman and headlining Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel -- is counting on a strong international run to boost its bottom line and opened in 10 Asian markets this weekend, earning $6.2 million.

The movie played best to older moviegoers in North America. Males made up 58 percent of the audience, while ticket holders over the age of 30 made up 53 percent.

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Neither critics nor moviegoers were wowed by the remake, based both on the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film and the short story by Philip K. Dick. The film drew generally poor reviews and earned a C+ CinemaScore from the audience, likely hurting word of mouth.

Fox's "Wimpy Kid 3" is the first film in the family franchise to open in summer (in keeping with the story's setting). The previous two installments debuted in March, each opening north of $22 million.

Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for Fox, said "Wimpy Kid 3" will make up the difference during the week, considering that kids are still out of school. He said the studio always knew the film would be a slow burn.

"We're off to a good start and the balance of summer lies ahead," Aronson said.

"Wimpy Kid 3" earned an A- CinemaScore.

Photos from THR: 'Total Recall' premiere red carpet arrivals

"Dark Knight Rises," from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, fell only 41 percent in its third weekend and has now grossed $354.6 million domestically. The movie continues to trail "The Dark Knight," which had amassed a domestic war chest of $393 million at the same point in time.

Imax theaters continue to see big grosses for "Dark Knight Rises," generating $5.6 million in tickets sales over the weekend for a cume of $43 million.

What did you see in theaters this weekend? Tell us on our Facebook page!

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Columbia Pictures

Colin Farrell as Douglas Quaid in "Total Recall."

REVIEW: For at least the first half of its 2-hour running time, it’s hard to tell if “Total Recall” works better as a remake of the popular 1990 classic that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger or as a love letter to 1982’s groundbreaking sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner.” The fact that both movies are based on the works of legendary author Philip K. Dick only fuels the argument that it succeeds on both counts.

Where the latter is concerned, it will have to serve until director Ridley Scott gets around to making that “Blade Runner” sequel he’s been talking about (while promoting his latest big screen offering, “Prometheus”). The cyberpunk influence of that film is obvious from the very first scene of Len Wiseman’s update of “Total Recall,” which depicts the earth of the late-21st Century -- or rather, what’s left of it -- as bleak, rain-soaked, decaying, over-crowded, overwhelming and full of flying cars that resemble spinners.

Otherwise, the plot is pretty faithful to the original film (which itself was based on Dick’s famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale”), save for a few changes -- the biggest of which is that the film’s reluctant protagonist never gets his “ass to Mars.” The story is completely earthbound and takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the only inhabitable spots left on the planet that were not ravaged by warfare lie in two nation-states: The United Federation of Britain (formerly western Europe) and The Colony (formerly Australia).

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Factory worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) and his beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) live in a run-down society that’s controlled by the corrupt Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston). Since he can’t afford to take a real vacation, he opts for the next best thing: a visit to Rekall, a company that implants fantasies into your mind that feel so vivid and real that they become part of your memory.

But when the implant procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid is forced to go on the run from the police, the government and those he trusted the most. His only hope lies with a woman he remembered from his dreams: a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) working for the underground resistance. Quaid is forced to make a difficult choice that will determine his real identity and the fate of the free world, but how does he know which choice to make when the line between fantasy and reality has become so blurred?

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After directing serviceable action films like 2003’s “Underworld” and 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard,” Len Wiseman takes on his most ambitious production yet with “Total Recall.” For the most part, he succeeds with a lavishly-produced remake that’s smart, sexy and action-packed with exciting fight scenes and flying car chases. The only problem is that it takes itself a bit too seriously, and some of the plot details in the screenplay (written by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback) aren’t as clear as they were in the original film -- especially during the second half, which gets a bit too convoluted.

Regardless, Colin Farrell does a fine job in filling the very big shoes vacated by Arnold Schwarzenneger, while Jessica Biel gives a strong performance in an otherwise under-written role as the only person he can trust. But without question, “Total Recall” is Kate Beckinsale’s movie. By combining the two characters played by Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside in the original film, Beckinsale -- who is married to director Wiseman -- plays the quintessential bad “guy,” and she’s really good at it. (Hard to believe that this is the same actress who broke through with 1995’s “Cold Comfort Farm.”)

The prospect of implanted fantasies may still be a long way off, so until that day comes, seeing a spectacle like “Total Recall” will serve as the next best thing. This is an action film with a capital “A,” so consider this review as an implant to see a fantasy like this the way it was meant to be seen: at the movies.

Do you think Colin Farrell will be able to fill the role first played by Arnold Schwarzenegger? Will you be seeing "Total Recall'? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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Andrea Howlett / Splash News

Kaitlyn Leeb plays the famous three-breasted prostitute in the remake of "Total Recall."

The original "Total Recall" movie, released in 1990 and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, has many memorable scenes. In one scene, Schwarzenegger painfully pulls a gigantic tracking device out of his nostril. In another, his eyes swell to near bursting (it's even worse for the film's bad guy in a different scene).

But one of the most memorable scenes is brief: A bar prostitute offers her services up to Schwarzenegger's character and flashes her chest at him, revealing she has three breasts.

 And when fans heard that "Total Recall" was being remade this year, with Colin Farrell in the Schwarzenegger role, well, that was one of the questions they had: Will that character be back?

Indeed she will. The Toronto Star ran a feature on the actress who plays her, Toronto native Kaitlyn Leeb, who appears in the film's trailer coming on to Farrell's character.

Leeb told the paper she enjoyed walking around Comic-Con in San Diego this summer displaying the prosthetics, which took up to five hours to put on.

“It bugged me that people thought I was walking around Comic Con with my breasts hanging out,” she told the paper. “They’re not mine.”

Will you see the "Total Recall" remake? Tell us on Facebook.

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Columbia Pictures

Colin Farrell in a scene from the "Total Recall" remake.

Colin Farrell has some gigantic, Governator-sized shoes to fill as he takes on Arnold Schwarzenegger's leading role in the remake of 1990's "Total Recall." The trailer for the upcoming film, which opens Aug. 3, was released Sunday.

Some elements will look familiar. Like Schwarzenegger's character, Farrell will play a simple worker named Douglas Quaid with a possible spy alter ego going by Hauser. Farrell told CinemaBlend.com that the new version is not closer to Philip K. Dick's short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," as has been reported.

Drew McWeeny of HitFix already is a fan of Farrell's casting, writing "When Colin Farrell snaps and kills everyone in the room, that's surprising.  When Arnold does it, that's just Wednesday."

This version of "Total Recall" won't be traveling to Mars, apparently, though everyone's favorite minor character, the three-breasted hooker, will reportedly be back. And yes, that's John Cho of "Harold & Kumar" fame as an employee of memory company Rekall.

Watch the trailer and tell us what you think on Facebook.

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