MANILA, Philippines — The big news in Hollywood this week is Sandra Bullock’s unexpectedly successful comeback as a bankable star by way of her new romantic comedy, “The Proposal.” Pundits expected the movie to be clobbered by the R-rated hit, “The Hangover,” but Bullock’s movie ended up topping the box office at $34 million.

Conventional wisdom has it that, at 44, Bullock is over the hill and ready to play mother roles. But, the veteran actress’ latest starrer is her best-performing movie to date, so she clearly isn’t ready to be put out to pasture.

Idea

What spelled magic for Bullock this nth time around? Preview audiences liked the fact that the film’s story revolved around her character. In the film, Bullock plays a high-octane book editor who is shocked to learn that she’s about to be deported back to Canada—until she hits on the “bright” idea of forcing her obedient assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to “admit” that he’s just asked her to marry him.

—Which leads us to the movie’s other major unique selling proposition: This is Reynold’s breakthrough film, and his presence in it makes the project come across as fresh and exciting.

The combination of veteran female star and new male fave has clicked with viewers, making “The Proposal” 2009’s most popular romantic comedy thus far. It just goes to show that the movie biz is still full of surprises, and you can’t predict which movies and stars moviegoers will
embrace—or reject out of hand.

Speaking of misses, we’ve been getting quite a lot of them this season, so moviemakers should be on their guard and redouble their efforts to second-guess the competition—and what viewers really want to see.
Appeal

Of course, now that the “Transformers” sequel has hit our movie screens, most other new productions will have to bide their time before they can get their chance to appeal to viewers.

But, they can take heart that, soon enough, their time will also come. Take “Transformers’” Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox: Only three years ago, they were near-unknowns. These days, however, they’re at the top of the film heap, and even big stars are giving their “Transformers” sequel a wide berth at the tills this month.

Advance word has it that the new “Transformers” movie will gross even more than “Transformers 1.” An indication of this is the fact that the new film’s opening night in the UK sold 50 percent more tickets than the first movie’s debut there.

This is great news not just for the movie’s producers, but also for Megan and Shia, who are this season’s hottest young comers in Hollywood. Shia has a raft of new starrers, while Megan is regarded as one of the sexiest new stars to hit the world’s movie capital in years.

They shouldn’t rest on their laurels, however. The “Transformers” sequel introduces two younger starlets who are expected to make their own waves this year: Isabel Lucas plays a lovely and lethal robot, and Ramon Rodriguez costars as Shia’s Latino best buddy.