Huge weekend for ‘Best Man Holiday.’ Disney has mobile game woes.

After the coffee. Before the trip to Jiffy Lube.

The Skinny: It was on this day in 1985 that Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann’s career came to an end in a Monday Night Football game against the Giants. We lost Theismann, but won the game. Enough Redskins history, Monday’s headlines include the box office report and a look at Disney’s problems with mobile games.

Daily Dose: During the halftime show of Sunday night’s Chiefs-Broncos game, lead anchor Dan Patrick actually gave an introduction to a Toyota Camry commercial. The ad is part of a new campaign for Camry built around the fictional character “Coach T� that has gotten some buzz. Still, making Patrick read a little intro to the spot seemed a bit much. Hope Patrick got a cut of whatever extra cash NBC got for the extra love.

Christmas comes early. No, I’m not talking about the annoying fireworks tree lighting ceremony at the Grove on Sunday night, I’m talking about the surprising performance of “The Best Man Holiday� at the box office. The movie, a sequel to the 1999 romantic comedy “The Best Man,� took in a little more than $30 million, almost double from what the so-called experts were projecting. That was enough for a solid second place behind “Thor: The Dark World,� which made almost $40 million in its second weekend. Box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Movie City News.

PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of movies and TV

Risk reduction can cost money. More movies are being financed by smaller independent companies and distributed by big studios. Sometimes, that is a good way for the studios to reduce risk but when a movie becomes a hit, then they don’t make as much either. That’s what happened with “Ted,� last year’s surprise smash comedy. Now Universal has less leverage in negotiating with Media Rights Capital, which funded “Ted,� for rights for a sequel. The Wall Street Journal looks at the deal-making in the movie business.

Better social skills. Walt Disney Co.’s social gaming business is having problems getting out of its own way. The New York Times looks at this small but growing sector of the online gaming world and Disney’s stumbles into finding success in the mobile gaming world. “If Disney can steer through this terrain, substantial profits await. Revenue from mobile app stores is expected to total $26 billion this year and grow to $77 billion by 2017, according to Gartner, a technology research firm,� wrote Brooks Barnes.

Excellent. FXX, the new cable network launched by FX earlier this year, struck a huge deal for reruns of the long-running cartoon hit “The Simpsons.� While rerun sales are usually not huge news, the size and scope of this deal is too big to be ignored. FXX is shelling out several hundred million dollars to sister TV studio 20th Century Fox Television for the show, which previously has only been available in reruns to local TV stations. More on the deal from Variety and the Los Angeles Times.

Brave New World. Former movie and TV mogul Barry Diller, now head of the digital disruptor IAC/InterActiveCorp., says in an interview with Business Week, “we’re at the beginning of a transformation from closed systems—wired or satellite-driven—to open Internet systems. It’s only a question of the transition time.� Among Diller’s bets are Aereo, the start-up that delivers broadcast signals via the Internet that is caught up in a legal battle with the nation’s TV station.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Dawn Chmielewski on Hulu’s new strategy.
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