Was this the most lackluster movie weekend ever? Si. Was this the most underwhelming #1 of the year so far? Si. Ok, G-Force is probably worse but atleast it stirs up severe animosity in most people. I find it hard to get worked up over Funny People, however. I'm sure it'll come through in my review once I get it done.
1. Funny People- $23.4M
It looks like I wasn't the only one less than excited by the awkwardly marketed 3rd feature film from Judd Apatow. By comparison, it's opening weekend falls short of both Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, both of which were of the straight forward comedy variety. It's the lamest #1 opening for a comedy since Yes Man. I think there are a number of reasons why this movie fell so short of expectations. The previously mentioned marketing is one. The subject matter is a whopper at #2. Frankly, people don't enjoy watching rich people complain about their lives, which is basically the point of this film and it comes through in the TV spots. I think there's a bit of Seth Rogen fatigue still out there due to his overexposure. With so little else out there to be seen this week, there's no excuse for this sort of opening other than that people just plain didn't want to see this movie.
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- $17.7M/$255M
I don't know how much these studios pay IMAX to show their movies, or if it's vice-versa, but it ain't enough. It's been proven over the past year that any film featured on the extra large screens is going to have an extended shelflife well beyond it's natural course. This week Harry Potter debuted on IMAX at over 160 screens, which amped up it's box office an extra $3.2M. Potter has taken in an estimated $492M worldwide so far.
3. G Force- $17.1M/$66.5M
Ouch. 46% is a steep spill even for a bunch of movie rodents. Hard to believe this film was numero uno just last week. At this rate it'll be off the radar in a couple weeks, and I can start feeling good about this column again.
4. The Ugly Truth- $13M/$54.5M
So...yeah, that's a 53% drop from last week. I think this confirms that all the couples went to see this mess the first weekend, and then all the dudes finally put their feet down and sent their ladies to see it again by their lonesome. It's about time you guys sacked up.
5. Aliens in the Attic- $7.8M
Last week I mentioned that I wanted to see this movie for some reason. Couldn't put my finger on it. Then I was barraged with TV spots for it over the weekend, now that enthusiasm has disappeared. As far as debuts go, this is pretty horrible considering the film cost something like $45+ to make. Another poorly marketed film considering the high expectations of the studio, they never really highlighted the high profile voice talent they had at their disposal, instead focusing on a cast of relative unknowns facing off against non-threatening creatures.
6. Orphan- $7.25M/$26.8M
As I expected, Orphan held on to a stronger than expected percentage of it's box office based mostly on word of mouth. The horror/suspense dropped 44%, which is pretty standard for this point, but in my opinion it's prospects are better than some of the underwhelming niche films surrounding it.
7. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs- $5.3M/$182M
8. The Hangover- $5.08M/$256M
Again, The Hangover had the lowest drop of all returning films at only 21%. Unbelievable. Judd Apatow would kill for these numbers.
9. The Proposal- $4.85M/$149M
Continues to be unaffected by the similarly themed The Ugly Truth.
10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- $4.6M/$388M
Buh bye now.
Also of Note...
Proposed Saw prequel, The Collector, failed to collect any actual loot in it's debut weekend. Opening at roughly 1,300 sites it only brought in an estimated $3.6M.
500 Days of Summer nailed down another $2.8M as it climbed to 266 sites this week. At it's current rate, it should steamroll past Sunshine Cleaning as the top indie of the summer, and deservedly so.
The Hurt Locker pulled in $1.9M as it grew to 523 sites nationwide, which is actually a bit below expectations. I'm thinking that people still aren't into the idea of another Iraq war film, despite the glowing reviews and apolitical nature of the story.
The highest per-site average of the week goes to the debuting Adam, which opened at only 4 sites and brought in an estimated $94,800. The romantic comedy, which stars Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne(on my list) about a man with Asperger Syndrome who falls in love with his beautiful neighbor, is set to expand to more theatres next week.
