Other than The Expendables 2…

In case you haven't heard, Sparkle opens in USA theaters today – a film we've covered quite extensively since it was first announced, through press day most recently, as you should have noticed with Masha Dowell's cast & crew interview posts, as well as her review, posted earlier this morning.

So I certainly hope that you all are familiar with it by now.

A remake of the 1976 film of the same name, Sparkle, stars Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter, Derek Luke, and Mike Epps, and is shepherded by Salim and Mara Brock Akil.

TriStar is opening the film on 2,200 screens, which is a good number. By Sunday, we'll know just how well it did.

Also opening in USA theaters of note, albeit in limited release, is Why Stop Now?.

IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Sundance indie dramedy, which was initially titled Predisposed, but is now called Why Stop Now, with the tagline, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Rehab."

Tracy Morgan stars in the film, alongside Melissa Leo, Jesse Eisenberg, Tanya Wright, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

In the film, Morgan plays a hapless drug dealer named "Sprinkles" opposite Eisenberg's character, who happens to be a piano prodigy; the film centers around their relationship.

Co-written by Philip Dorling (he directed it as well) and 1994 Oscar-nominee for Philadelphia, Ron Nyswaner, the official synopsis for Why Stop Now? reads:

Eli Smith, a piano prodigy, is dealing with his troubled mother and enlisting help from a hapless drug dealer on the day he has an audition for a prestigious music program. Events spiral comically out of control as this gang of misfits faces the mistakes of the past, the challenges of the future, and the possibilities of love.

The film is based on a short film of the same name, which screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It also starred Melissa Leo, by the way.

IFC opens the film today in limited release.

Here's the trailer (poster and stills underneath):