The big movie news this week was the rock-bottom ratings for the Oscar telecast. People just didn't tune in. Maybe it was the fact that the big movies weren't money-makers, but do the masses really expect the Academy to nominate Spider-Man 3 for an Oscar? No. However, nominating Ratatouille for best picture instead of limiting it to the animated section might have at least piqued the interest of moviegoers.

One movie that will not get nominated for an Oscar is the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro, which has already been spotted inspiring the Bostonist photo pool. But at least it's amusing, and it made the most money at the box office this weekend.

What's funny about Semi-Pro is that, although it opened at Number One, headlines about its success labeled it a disappointment. The movie didn't make as much as Talladega Nights or Blades of Glory. We live in a funny world in which $15 million in a week isn't enough. But it might be a sign that fans are on to the Ferrell Formula. Critics certainly are. James Verniere asks, "Can we just rerun my review from the last Will Ferrell film?"

More after the jump! Image of Ferrell and company getting ready to shout, "Let's save this movie!" from the Semi-Pro site.

The Other Boleyn Girl opened in 4th, and Penelope, with Christina Ricci in a prosthetic pig nose, opened in 8th. The ever-quotable Ty Burr tongue-lashed Boleyn Girl with the line: "I kept waiting for one of the Monty Python boys to step out from behind a shrub and clop a pair of coconut shells together."

Beyond the box office, Taxi Driver is at Coolidge Corner tonight, Last Year at Marienbad is at the Brattle Theatre, and Bostonist eagerly awaits "The 80's Rock!" series, which starts off with one of the finest B-movies of all time, the Ramones opus Rock 'n' Roll High School.