Previous reports made note of the film’s expansive budget, and sources close to the production tell THR that the cost and the enormity of the planned special effects were the ultimate downfall of “Lost.”

“Legendary is realizing it needs to be more fiscally prudent in the movies it greenlights,” the trade notes.

“Legendary also realized that in order to effectively bring to life Milton’s war between heaven and hell, it was going to need ‘Avatar’-like special effects. But ‘Avatar’-like effects call for an ‘Avatar’-like budget, and execs realized the technology wasn’t there to make the movie in the budget range in which they were working.”

Part of me admires the studio’s ability to bail on a project before getting in way too deep. But on the flip side, I really wanted to see Proyas bring this sprawling vision to the big screen. It’s unlikely this will ever happen, unless George Lucas or James Cameron decide they’d like to mount the project. Which is unlikely.

So for now, “Lost” is dead … and “The Hangover 3” is way more likely to happen now than ever before.

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According to a release, “Titanic” fans rushed the web in the last 24-hours — crashing multiple servers in the process — to secure advance tickets for the now sold-out preview screenings of “Titanic” in 3D.

“In a matter of hours, sell-out screenings were reported throughout the United States and in countries around the world, following the launch of the special screening program on Jan. 31,” the studio reported. “Moviegoers who were lucky enough to secure a seat will now be among the first people anywhere to see the newly re-mastered TITANIC in 3D, in advance of the film’s worldwide release on April 6th.”

These special fan screening are being presented exclusively in RealD 3D and will be held in the following cities: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Boston, Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, San Diego, Denver, Sacramento, Orlando, Tampa, Minneapolis, Montreal, Vancouver, Cleveland, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Portland, Kansas City, West Palm Beach, Raleigh, San Antonio, Hartford, Charlotte, San Antonio, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Austin, Edmonton, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Grand Rapids, Calgary, Columbus, Fresno, Ottawa, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Oklahoma City.

Internationally, these special one-time only preview screenings will take place in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and the UK.

The re-release of “Titanic” also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail on April 10, 1912.

Written, directed and produced by Cameron, “Titanic” is the second highest grossing movie of all time. It is one of only three films to have received a record 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director; and launched the careers of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Learn more about TITANIC in 3D at http://www.titanicmovie.com/

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Paramount announced that James Cameron, the genius behind “Titanic” and “Avatar,” will help bring an original Cirque story to audience members. The studio acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away,” which will be written and directed by Andrew Adamson, whose credits include the first two “Shrek” and “Chronicles of Narnia” films).

This will be a 3D presentation that, according to the statement, will capture the “artistic and acrobatic performances from some of the most elaborate Cirque du Soleil productions.”

“The coupling of filmmaker James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3D visual accomplishments and Andrew Adamson’s beautiful direction, combined with a timeless original story written especially for this movie, will make for a truly amazing movie going experience for audiences of all ages,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures.

The film, slated to hit theaters in 2012, does not have an official release date yet.

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HollywoodNews.com: As is often the case, the last weekend of the year is basically a repeat of last weekend, both in general ranking and numbers, as the holiday weekend tends to keep drops low, if often absent. Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol led the pack of major Christmas and holiday releases that actually went up from last weekend. The Brad Bird spy thriller earned $31 million over Fri-Sun, with an eye towards a likely $40 million four-day holiday weekend. At the end of its third weekend, the first of which was IMAX-exclusive, the crowd-pleasing Tom Cruise vehicle will have grossed $140 million by Monday, which means it has already outgrossed the $134 million-grossing Mission: Impossible III. Overseas, the sequel is doing even bigger business, with a worldwide total of $324 million as we close out 2011. The $215 million gross of John Woo’s Mission: Impossible II is likely out of reach, but surpassing the $181 million gross from Brian DePalma’s Mission: Impossible is not only possible but plausible. Worldwide, the film is shaping up to be $600 million earner, the respective totals, speculative as they may be now, would make this film Tom Cruise’s third-biggest domestic grosser and his biggest worldwide earner ever. MI4 already ranks ninth on both lists.

Coming it at a strong second place was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Both it and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked debuted below expectations two weeks ago, but both have used the holiday season to pick up lost ground, proving again that the last two weeks of the year are great for leggy runs. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows grossed $22 million, for a new total of $132 million. Combined with Monday’s grosses, that should put the second Sherlock Holmes picture exactly where the first was at the end of its New Year’s weekend, albeit with an extra seven days to get there. Point being, if the film can avoid complete collapse in the mostly barren January (and said mediocre January slate will boost every single film discussed here today), it may get closer to the $209 million domestic total of Sherlock Holmes than anyone thought possible two weeks ago. Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 earned $18 million for the weekend, giving it $94 million with the strong possibility of crossing the $100 million mark on Monday or Tuesday. The third Chipmunk film still lags behind the first two by $40-50 million ($, but a $150 million total would be nothing to be ashamed about, especially with the infamous Fox overseas machine (Alvin 3 has already made $79 million overseas).

In genuinely positive news, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo held onto those adult viewers with a solid $16 million second weekend, and it will end the long holiday with about $60 million. The David Fincher film will still struggle to get to $100 million, but that just means that the film shouldn’t have cost $90 million in the first place. Whatever my issues with the picture, the industry desperately needs R-rated adult franchises. So I’m still rooting for the film to turn a profit, which it will need strong overseas business to do. War Horse also earned $16 million in weekend two, although it was somewhat of a comedown considering it earned $15 million in its first two days over the last two days of the Christmas weekend. The Steven Spielberg Oscar-bait drama has now grossed $42 million. That’s not a huge number, but the film only cost $70 million to make (Spielberg knows how to stretch the dollar better than anyone outside of Clint Eastwood), meaning a strong European showing is all that’s needed to make the film profitable. If it gets Oscar love, then $100 million domestic is pretty assured, so it’s just a question of hanging on until the end of January.

The other Spielberg film, The Adventures of Tintin, showed even stronger legs. Ah, Christmas, the time when a film can score a $2.3 million opening day and still end up with around $50 million by the end of its second weekend! Regardless, the US market was just gravy for this one, as it’s nearing $300 million worldwide. Showing even more surprising strength is the Cameron Crowe family drama We Bought A Zoo. Produced for $50 million, the Matt Damon film had a $9 million weekend over Christmas and rose 52% to $14 million this time. The film now has $41 million domestic. Since it’s a Fox film, it will likely do about $350 million overseas (I jest, but only slightly). This closes out a pretty terrific year for Matt Damon. He has of late been inconsistent outside the Bourne franchise, but in just over twelve months, he’s had True Grit ($171 million), The Adjustment Bureau ($62 million), Contagion ($75 million), and now We Bought a Zoo which should gross at least $65 million before it’s done. Yes, he has a voice on Happy Feat 2 ($60 million domestic against a $135 million budget) and a cameo in Margaret ($46,495), but we won’t hold that against him. As for Cameron Crowe, We Bought a Zoo is now easily the third-highest grosser of his career, behind his Tom Cruise films Vanilla Sky ($100 million) and Jerry Maguire ($153 million). Oh, and Puss In Boots crossed $145 million domestic and $400 million worldwide. The Darkest Hour is struggling to make $25 million domestic, but it’s $13 million cume has nearly been equaled overseas ($8 million), meaning that Summit’s would-be tax write-off may accidentally make a profit next quarter. And The Muppets squeaked past the $80 million mark to close out the year, but the front-loaded performance of the film, as well as still-unknown overseas play-ability and merchandise sales leaves the franchise in doubt.

In limited release debuts, three female-centered films were opened all against each other right at the end of the year. The Meryl Streep vehicle, The Iron Lady (where she plays Margaret Thatcher) debuted with a huge $55,000 per-screen in four theaters. A Separation and Pariah cannibalized each other, earning just $22,200 and $12,000 per-screen respectively in their 3-4 screen debuts. In other Oscar bait news, The Descendants will cross $40 million tomorrow. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is holding on strong is limited engagement with a $4 million total, far eclipsing Shame ($2 million as of tomorrow). Young Adult may be somewhat disappointing, but it’s already equaled its $12 million budget and could get a real boost if Charlize Theron scores the Oscar nomination that she damn-well ought to. Hugo, at a cost of $140 million, may never make its money back, but it at least can say that it crossed the $50 million mark as of tomorrow. The Artist may be the presumptive Best Picture favorite at the moment, but at some point it has to start actually attracting audiences, as its $5.6 million total isn’t going to cut it come late-February. The Hurt Locker ($12 million) was a fluke for a reason, riding the critical passion all year long and then turning the post-nomination parade into a grotesque girls vs. boys contest with Katherine Bigelow cast as the damsel in distress against her mean, evil, Oscar-stealing ex-husband James Cameron. The Artist has no such absurd narrative this time around.

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You probably already know that James Cameron has been hard at work on a 3D conversion for his Oscar-winning epic, which followed young lovers Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) aboard the ill-fated ship. The 3D version of Cameron’s “Titanic” reaches theaters on April 6, 2012.

But that’s not Cameron’s only “Titanic” trip planned for next year. THR reports that the Oscar winner will host a two-hour TV special with National Geographic that returns to the bottom of the sea for the director’s final words on the sunken oceanliner.

“He is a freak about the Titanic,” says Michael Cascio, executive VP of programming for National Geographic Channel. “He is obsessed with trying to find out why exactly it sank. He’s actually comparing his research with his film to see what we’ve learned since then and what can advance the story.”

Cascio also said that some information obtained in filming this special could change people’s minds as to why the seemingly “unsinkable” ship actually sank.

“Titanic: Final Word with James Cameron” will air on National Geographic Channel in April, to coincide with Cameron’s 3D release as well as the 100th anniversary of the ship’s tragic end.

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Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” earned headlines earlier in the season when the auteur brought an unfinished print of “Hugo” to the New York Film Festival. Tonight’s version should be completely finished, and I’m dying to see what he conjures for his first foray into 3D storytelling.

Right after, I’ll run into a theater showing Jason Reitman’s new “Young Adult” so I can interview the director, his screenwriter (Diablo Cody) and cast over the weekend. Paramount has concocted a clever marketing strategy for Reitman’s dark comedy, taking it on the road with cast and crew Q-and-A sessions in select cities.

Oh, and Focus Feature’s “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy” is on this weekend’s menu (finally!!), but more on that as we get closer.

Three highly-anticipated films in a 48-hour span. And an invite to “War Horse” in the inbox. It’s beginning to look a lot like the Oscar season.

As we scramble to get all of this great coverage up on the site, here’s a great feature with Scorsese and James Cameron talking 3D. I haven’t been a fan. But between “Hugo,” Spielberg’s “Tintin” and the work Cameron continues to tinker on, we might be turning a corner with this technology. As an expert recently blogged, if these tree can’t figure out how to use 3D, no one can.

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James Cameron has been preparing a 3D retrofit of his Academy Award-winning epic “Titanic” for years. And now, with the film’s re-release inching closer, Paramount is mounting a campaign to lure audiences back to the ship of dreams to experience it like they never have before.

The updated “Titanic” sails into theaters on April 6. A new trailer celebrating the high-tech conversion recently landed online. The studio also shared the below poster, with an original design featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Released in 1997, Cameron’s masterpiece recreated the legendary ocean liner … just so it could be damaged and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The film earned $600.7M domestically, making it the highest-grossing picture of all time. (Cameron surpassed his own record with “Avatar” in 2009.) Maybe this “Titanic” re-release can reposition the romance ahead of Cameron’s sci-fi thriller?

Here’s the trailer and poster.

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As of this weekend, the answer is Jennifer Yuh Nelson, whose animated summer sequel to “Kung Fu Panda” crossed the $636M mark worldwide, making it the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman.

As reported by EW.com, the Panda sequel broke the record when it surpassed Phyllida Lloyd’s musical adaptation of the hit Broadway show “Mamma Mia!” with Meryl Streep and Amada Seyfried.

Women actually have a strong track record when it comes to animated or CGI-and-live-action blends, as other leaders on the chart include “Shrek 2” co-director Vicky Jenson and Betty Thomas for her work on “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.” Slightly further down the list, you’ll find original “Twilight” helmer Catherine Hardwicke, whose contribution to that popular franchise earned $192.8M domestically and $392.6M worldwide.

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HollywoodNews.com: As of yesterday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II is the highest-grossing film of 2011, both worldwide and domestically. On the domestic front, it surpass Transformers: Dark of the Moon and now sits at $344 million in just over a month of national release. On the worldwide front, the Harry Potter series finale is now the highest-grossing film of all-time not directed by James Cameron. Second only to Titanic ($1.8 billion) and Avatar ($2.7 billion), the eighth and final Harry Potter adventure now sits at $1.13 billion, surpassing the $1.119 billion gross of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Yes, we can discuss the 3D bump and the inflation argument, but Frodo’s big record (the biggest-grossing film not helmed by James Cameron) has held steady for nearly eight years as several films joined the $1 billion club but couldn’t get that extra $120 million needed to get over the hump. While it sits $7 million below Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in terms of pure overseas grosses, that will be surpassed in the next day or two, leaving the film as the third-biggest overseas grosser as well. All in just over a month of worldwide release.

So Harry Potter 7.2 stands as the biggest film not helmed by James Cameron, the highest-grossing sequel, Warner Bros’s highest-grossing film, etc etc. As far as inflation goes, it needs only $15 million in domestic sales to surpass the $360 million ‘adjusted-for-inflation’ gross of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is number two on the inflation-adjusted list (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’s $445 million is pretty much out of reach). In terms of estimated tickets sold, Harry Potter 7.2 stands with 42.79 million tickets, good for fourth place in the series.

But it’s just under 2.4 million tickets away from the 45.175 million tickets sold by the fourth picture, while the tickets-sold champ (again the first film in the series) is likely out of reach with 55.9 million tickets sold. Point being, 3D bump or not, the film is likely going to become the second-most viewed (in theaters) entry of the series. And the entire series is currently at $7.5 billion worldwide, with a final total of over $8 billion certainly in the cards. Just think, if Warner Bros. had split book four into two movies, we’d be looking at the first $10 billion franchise.

Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

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Written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”), the film reportedly covers several key aspects of Hoover’s career, spanning the Charles Lindbergh (Josh Lucas) baby-kidnapping case from the 1930s to the director’s clashes with Richard Nixon (Christopher Shyer) in the 1970s. Eastwood’s cast includes Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson and Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy, Hoover’s secretary and most-trusted advisor.

We were disappointed to learn that “J. Edgar” was skipping the fall film festival circuit (though some analysts still are predicting it could land on Toronto’s schedule when all is said and done the way “Hereafter” was added at the last minute). Right now, it’s eyeing a limited release on Wednesday, Nov. 9 before going wide two days later.

But as part of its Fall Movie Preview, EW has a first-look photo of DiCaprio in the role. We have it below. Expect plenty more “J. Edgar” coverage as we work our way through the awards season and determine if Eastwood has another Oscar contender on his hands.

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