Paramount delays 'Lovely Bones' expansion

Facing stiff competition at the holiday box office and hobbled by largely negative reviews, Paramount Pictures has decided to hold back on this Friday’s planned expansion of The Lovely Bones, according to the Los Angeles Times. Director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the bestselling Alice Sebold novel debuted in three theaters in New York and L.A. on Dec. 11 and pulled in an anemic $218,774 in its first 12 days of release. Paramount, which is hoping to lure younger female moviegoers to the dark PG-13 thriller, now plans to expand the film nationwide on Jan. 15.