"Lovely Bones," a chilling drama from Peter Jackson that features a murdered girl from the beyond, was originally expected to appeal to a sophisticated, adult audience. But that didn't prove to be the case in test screenings this fall or when it opened earlier this month at three theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Paramount Pictures, which inherited the film from its former subsidiary DreamWorks, found that young women reacted the most favorably to "Bones" despite some fairly intense moments. It has decided to delay its nationwide release from Christmas Day to Jan. 15 and is retooling …

While the global toy industry slumped by 5% in the first half of 2009, Lego sales were up 23%, and CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp credits its combining the virtues of the virtual world of movies with the hands-on merits of its building bricks as a key factor in the revival of the Danish company's fortunes. Lego controls the construction-toy rights to properties such as "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Toy Story." The Lego Star Wars videogame, for example, allows users to explore a Lego world and take part in quests. "Here you have a category [videogames] where many …

If you can't get 'em to come to you, then go to them. That's the new philosophy of restaurant chains from the higher-end Ruth's Chris Steak House to the more subterranean Subway, Bruce Horovitz reports as eateries battle what one analyst calls "an abysmal year" for the industry. "The sheer number of restaurants now with a presence in the catering space is amazing," says Technomic's Melissa Wilson, pointing out that it is a $33 billion opportunity for restaurateurs. Catering large orders of 100 wings or more could be Wingstop's major growth initiative in …

Many of the most popular stories were politically driven, the editors report. Here are the top three stories overall in terms of page views: 1. "Ikea Builds Own Oval Office for Obama"; 2. "More Advertisers Pull Out of Glenn Beck Program" and 3. "Domino's Burns Subway."

As I peer longingly into the future, I see myself being chauffeured around town as dawn breaks in my 2011 Ford Fiesta even while I compile and write "Around the Net in Brand Marketing." How so?, you ask? Well, Brent Snavely reports this morning that the next-generation of Sync -- Ford's popular voice-controlled telecommunications and entertainment system -- will have the ability to turn any car into a Wi-Fi hotspot with no monthly fee. Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally will reveal details about the Sync in his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas …

Panera, the soup and sandwich chain that now has more than 1,300 outlets and is one of the best-performing stocks of the decade (a return of 1,560.65%), has responded to the recession in a somewhat contrarian way. It has just kept doing what it had been doing, writes Sean Gregory. "The key to Panera's success lies in what the company hasn't done," notes Piper Jaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan. "Panera hasn't fallen victim to discounting. It hasn't levered up the balance sheet. It hasn't tried to change." Panera founder, chairman and CEO Ron Shaich claims that …