Paramount Pictures announced it ended 2011 in the No. 1 position among all studios, having achieved the highest total combined gross of any studio for the year, earning a record $5.17 billion worldwide. The studio, which released a total of 16 new releases domestically this year, placed first in the North American market share with $1.96 billion, while also amassing record grosses at the international box office with $3.21 billion.

“This achievement reflects the combined efforts of our entire team across the globe and the careful process by which we select the projects and partners we believe in,” said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey. “We produce pictures that aspire to entertain audiences around the world, while at the same time we have sought to find innovative ways to reach movie-goers in this changing entertainment environment.

“This year our studio reached some key milestones, including the release of three vibrant Paramount franchise pictures and our first original CGI animated film. Our studio had its first ever $1 billion worldwide grossing film in Michael Bay’s hit ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’; we successfully re-launched our ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise with Tom Cruise, JJ Abrams and Brad Bird; our latest installment in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise had another $100 million dollar success; our first original animated film ‘Rango,’ from director Gore Verbinski, earned rave reviews and more than $100 million at the domestic box office; and  we released global phenomenon ‘Super 8,’ directed by JJ Abrams, who will now direct the newest ‘Star Trek’ for 2013. We also benefited from our distribution partnerships with DreamWorks Animation and Marvel and I want to thank them both.”

“Film President Adam Goodman and his team in production and development, and Vice Chairman Rob Moore and his team in marketing and distribution, did outstanding work and truly delivered. As we prepare to celebrate Paramount’s 100th year in 2012, we are all grateful to be part of this wonderful institution as it continues to prosper,” added Grey.

In 2012, Paramount’s release slate highlights include ‘World War Z,’ a zombie thriller starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation,’ the next installment in the global franchise starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum, a new chapter in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise, and ‘The Dictator,’ starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Larry Charles, the team behind ‘Borat.’

The 2011 box office results seen from the studio were built on a wide reaching range of titles, including the following (with current domestic grosses): ‘True Grit’ ($85 mil this year, $171.2 million total), Ivan Reitman’s ‘No Strings Attached’ ($70.7 mil), Jon Chu’s ‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’ ($73 mil), Gore Verbinski’s ‘Rango’  ($123.5 mil), Marvel Studio’s ‘Thor’ ($181 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ ($165.2 mil), JJ Abrams ‘Super 8’  ($127 mil), Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers:  Dark of the Moon’ ($352.4 mil), Marvel Studio’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’  ($176.7 mil), Craig Brewer’s ‘Footloose’ ($51.7 mil), the third installment in the hit ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise ($104 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Puss In Boots’ ($145.8 mil), Sundance prize-winner ‘Like Crazy’ ($3.4 mil), Martin Scorsese and GK Films’ ‘Hugo’ ($50.2 mil), Jason Reitman’s ‘Young Adult’ ($12.8 mil), Brad Bird’s ‘Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol’ ($142.8 mil) and Steven Spielberg’s ‘Tintin’ ($51.4 mil).

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A new Footloose film is set to some out this October and fans of the first film are concerned. Originally released in 1984, it had mixed reviews at the box office, but was still popular enough to gross $80,035,402.  Starring Kevin Bacon, the soundtrack became a classic hit, and the film became an important part of great 80s movies.  It was especially liked for its catchy soundtrack and fun dancing.

Recently, more and more movies are being remade for the next generation. Usually, old films that the current generation has little knowledge about are picked, recast, and sent back to the big screen. One of the reasons this happens is because advancing technology has allowed for greater special effects, and because it’s  a gambit to make money off of a popular old film by getting people to see a newer and—supposedly—better version of their classic favorite. In this case, director Craig Brewer, loved the first film and simply wanted to see a new version of it up on the big screen.

The new movie has a similar plot to the original. It is still about a slightly rebellious teenager who comes to a town that has a dancing ban. He falls for the preacher’s daughter, and he tries to change the law to make public dancing legal. There are some differences, however. The new version has moved locations from a mid-western farming town to a Southern town with the same name.

It is set in modern times, but with elements that make it an eclectic mix of generations. Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormwald) dresses like a 1950s greaser and drives an old yellow Volkswagen Beetle, but many of the other characters dress more modern.

The music is also a combination of several styles. A number of classics from the original are back such as the title “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” but Brewer has also included some hip-hop tracks, and even some jazz. Kenny Wormwald, in an interview with Jen Yomato on www.movieline.com, explains how Brewer wanted to keep the spirit of the original while adding elements that would make it relatable to his younger viewers.

He recounted his excitement over the angry dancing scene similar to the one Kevin Bacon shot in the mill being included (sometimes referred to as punch dancing), as well as the wide variety of new music and dances.

This mix of new with old is an effort to draw two very separate audiences to this new film. Versions of several of the original tracks were included, as well as an effort to keep to the same plot in an attempt to encourage those who have already seen the original to go see the new one. Additionally, Brewer set it in modern times, and added hip-hop and choreography similar to more recent films such as Step Up to encourage audiences who are fans of those types of movies to go to this one.

The main problem with this strategy is that Brewer risks alienating both intended audiences by trying to cater to the desires of each one. Fans of the original may have a hard time swallowing the bumping and grinding to modern music, while newer audiences may be turned off by the line dancing to music with a bit of a twang.

Even if this film does match up to the original with younger audiences, who have never seen the first one, it will be a hard sell for fans of the first Footloose. After all, even Brewer admitted, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

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