For months now, Disney's inescapable marketing effort has been declaring Oz the Great and Powerful the first movie event of 2013.

And now that's what Sam Raimi's big 3D fantasy adventure has become, opening to an estimated $80.2 million from 3,912 locations.

It's March, and as the nation begins to see the first faint signs of spring on this post-awards season weekend, a lumbering 3D event movie, a raucous comedy, and a horror sequel all joined in the box office competition.

Jack the Giant Slayer posted a first-place debut despite under-performing substantially, while 21 & Over opened to a promising start, and The Last Exorcism Part II failed to live up to its predecessor.

In its third weekend of release, the comedy Identity Thief bounced back to the number one position among domestic releases, holding off two new wide releases and the action franchise that knocked it from its perch last weekend.

A quartet of new wide releases vied for audience attention on this unusual weekend – flanked by holidays on either side thanks to Valentine's Day and Presidents Day – with each one representing a wildly different style. 

The two big winners were the action sequel A Good Day to Die Hard and the hit novel adaptation Safe Haven.

While Australian actor David Lyons did appear in the Julia Roberts film Eat Prey Love, American audience probably know him best for his work on a string of different NBC television shows. 

Lyons appeared on the final two seasons of the extremely popular series ER as Dr. Simon Brenner, as well as the fan-favorite but short-lived program The Cape, playing the show’s title character. He is currently appearing on the critically acclaimed series Revolution, where he portrays the program’s antagonist, Monroe. But Lyons can soon be seen on the big screen once again in Academy Award-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom’s (The Cider House Rules, Dear John) new film Safe Haven, which is an adaptation of author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John) popular novel of the same name and opens in theaters on Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14th.

The film centers on a young woman with a mysterious past named Katie (Julianne Hough), who lands in Southport North Carolina. Desperate and alone, she soon bonds with Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower with two small children, and is eventually forced to confront the dark secrets that haunt her. Lyons plays Kevin Tierney, a Boston police officer with ties to Katie in search of a suspect on the run. In addition to Hough, Duhamel, and Lyons, the film also features a performance by actress Cobie Smulders (The Avengers) in a very unique role. 

I recently had a chance to speak with David Lyons about his work on Safe Haven. The Australian actor discussed the new film, collaborating with Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom, improvising on set, his complicated character, why actor Josh Duhamel wanted to play Lyons’ part himself, working opposite actress Julianne Hough in her first pure acting role, and what it means as an actor to appear in a Nicholas Sparks film. 

Opening in theaters on Thursday, February 14th is the new romantic thriller from Academy Award-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules, Dear John) entitled Safe Haven, which is based on the novel of the same name by extremely popular author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John). The film features an excellent cast that includes Josh Duhamel (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Julianne Hough (Rock of Ages), Cobie Smulders (The Avengers), and David Lyons (TV's Revolution), as well as young actors Noah Lomax (Playing for Keeps), and Mimi Kirkland. 

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with both Mimi Kirkland and Noah Lomax in the IAR Studios to talk about their work on Safe Haven. The two young actors discussed the new movie, their characters, meeting author Nicholas Sparks, working with Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom, what Josh Duhamel is like to have as an on-screen dad, acting, and how they felt when they saw the film on the big screen for the first time. 

Synopsis: An affirming and suspenseful story about a young woman’s struggle to love again, Safe Haven is based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author behind the hit films The Notebook and Dear John.  When a mysterious young woman arrives in a small North Carolina town, her reluctance to join the tight knit community raises questions about her past.  Slowly, she begins putting down roots, and gains the courage to start a relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children.  But dark secrets intrude on her new life with such terror that she is forced to rediscover the meaning of sacrifice and rely on the power of love in this deeply moving romantic thriller.

Opening in theaters on Thursday, February 14th is the new romantic thriller from Academy Award-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules, Dear John) entitled Safe Haven, which is based on the novel of the same name by extremely popular author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John). The film features an excellent cast that includes Josh Duhamel (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Julianne Hough (Rock of Ages), Cobie Smulders (The Avengers), and David Lyons (TV's Revolution), as well as young actors Noah Lomax (Playing for Keeps), and Mimi Kirkland. 

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had an opportunity to sit down with Julianne Hough to talk about her work on Safe Haven. The popular actress discussed the new film, making a movie where she doesn't sing or dance, collaborating with Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom, improvising on set, what Josh Duhamel is really like to work with, and what it means to her as an actress and a fan to be in a Nicholas Sparks film. 

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Opening in theaters on Thursday, February 14th is the new romantic thriller from Academy Award-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules, Dear John) entitled Safe Haven, which is based on the novel of the same name by extremely popular author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John). The film features an excellent cast that includes Josh Duhamel (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Julianne Hough (Rock of Ages), Cobie Smulders (The Avengers), and David Lyons (TV's Revolution), as well as young actors Noah Lomax (Playing for Keeps), and Mimi Kirkland. 

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had an opportunity to sit down with Josh Duhamel to talk about his work on Safe Haven. The popular actor discussed the new film, working with Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom, the movie's unusual thriller aspect, originally wanting to play actor David Lyons' part, and why he was ultimately glad that he took on the role of Alex instead.