In Contention

Category: Sunday Cents

  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Funny’ money

    Funny People*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It was no laughing matter at the box office this weekend as Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” opened at the top spot with a disappointing $23.4 million. Not only is that lower than both “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but it’s also the lowest figure to top this particular summer weekend since “A Time to Kill” in 1996. Don’t forget that “Virgin” and “Knocked” cost $26 million and $30 million, respectively, while “Funny People” carries a price tag of $70 million.

    Bottom line: this film didn’t perform like an Adam Sandler summer comedy at all. This is a guy who has opened six low-brow comedies in the summer months and had an average debut of $46.0 million. “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” opened with $38.5 million, for Pete’s sake. Even his notorious misfire “Little Nicky” opened to $21.4 million. So no matter how Universal wants to spin this, it’s not pretty. It dropped from Friday to Saturday, indicating that fanboy rush and word of mouth is not going to be great enough to keep it in theaters much longer than Labor Day.

    I think a $65 million finish is the best-case scenario and Apatow has officially lost his “cancer subplot” and “two-hour-plus running time” privileges. And you can kiss those Best Original Screenplay chances goodbye.

    “G-Force” fell 46% to third place and $17.1 million. The guinea pigs already have $66.5 million in the bank so go ahead and mark your calendars for “G-Force 2” in July 2011. And just to reiterate, no matter how bad or good you think “Funny People” is, it’s a filmmaker with a distinct voice trying something a little different and people soundly rejected it in favor of films like this.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘G-Force’ hits the G-spot

    G-Force*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    $32.2 million worth of Americans needed to see what happens when talking guinea pigs are entrusted with saving the world this weekend and have made “G-Force” our number one movie at the box office. Since I predicted $35 million last week, I can’t say this was unexpected, even if it is depressing. With yet another solid performance, the days of talking CGI critters interacting with cash-strapped human actors are just beginning.

    Second place goes to “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which dipped a now standard 61% to $30 million. It was only eight years ago when the first film opened but its 36% second weekend drop is already a figure from a bygone box office era. In 2009, if you open above $50 million and drop under 50%, then you are a word of mouth sensation.

    “Potter” has $221.8 million in the bank after 12 days, which is third best in the series at this point but I think we’re still looking at the second lowest total grosser when it’s all said and done.

    Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler tried to convince Americans that no matter how repulsive or reprehensible you find someone, if you spend a little bit of time with them you will fall in love – providing they are attractive, of course – in “The Ugly Truth” and $27 million worth of patrons took the bait. That’s not quite “The Proposal” numbers but it won’t do either star any harm in landing their next awful projects.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Wild about ‘Harry’

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    To the surprise of no one, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was the number one movie at the box office this weekend with $79.5 million. The film made an additional $80.1 million on Wednesday and Thursday, so Daniel Radcliffe and company have just under $160 million in the bank after five days. Comparisons to other Potter flicks are pointless except the previous entry since it was the only other film to debut on a Wednesday in the summer.

    “Order of the Phoenix” opened in 2007 to $80.5 million over three days and $146 million for five. This latest installment already seems a bit more front-loaded, so I think we might be looking at a total gross in the same ballpark as the $288 million for “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” which is currently the lowest earner of the franchise. But with worldwide sales, DVD and merchandise, every film in this 8-part series is worth about a billion dollars each to Warner Bros., so any scrutiny on the numbers is irrelevant.

    “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” holds on to second place for the third week in a row by dropping 36% to $17.7 million. A fourth film is already in the works where the three prehistoric friends get frozen and then thawed out in modern times for a museum exhibit. So, basically, it’s “Star Trek IV” with woolly mammoths. Where do I start the line?

    “Bruno” dropped a brutal 73% to fourth place and $8.4 million. In terms of major wide releases, only “Gigli,” “Friday the 13th,” “Star Trek: Nemesis” and George A. Romero’s “Land of the Dead” have lost more of their opening weekend audience. As I mentioned in last week’s piece, though, this was not unexpected and won’t keep Universal from making a tidy profit on their investment.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: One fine gay

    Bruno*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Sacha Baron Cohen’s full frontal assault on audiences took the top spot at the box office this weekend with an estimated $30.4 million from 2,756 screens. Considering that “Borat” made $29 million from 837 screens in its debut and then $31 million from 2,566 in its second weekend, I think it’s safe to say that lightning hasn’t struck twice in the same spot here.

    Universal can still be happy with its $40 million investment as the film has bright prospects overseas and on home video. But with almost 50% of the weekend figure coming from Friday alone, the signs are there for this to vanish from U.S. theaters pretty quickly. $65 or $70 million seems like the probable domestic total, or roughly half of what “Borat” finished with.

    If you’re looking for an explanation, I’ve got one for you: Gay Sexual Content = Box Office Poison in 60% of the country.

    “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” retains the runner-up position with a slim 33% drop from its somewhat disappointing debut. Another $28.5 million in the bank brings the running total to $120.6 million and sets the film on track to finish in the $175 million range, or exactly what was expected of it. Ray Romano may actually have himself quite the successful film career, as long as we never have to see his face again.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Photo finish on ‘Ice’

    Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs*Historical figures quoted are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It was another close race at the box office this weekend with estimates calling it an exact tie between “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” but Monday actuals might tell a different story.

    The third entry in the animated series (only the second major animated franchise to reach three films) earned $42.5 million for the three-day weekend and $67.5 million since opening on Wednesday.  Independence Day falling on a Saturday was always going to hurt but given the fact that the first two “Ice Age” films opened with $57.2 million and $74.6 million respectively, this is a bit on the low side.

    There really wasn’t enough material with these characters for one movie, let alone three, so it’s not surprising that the shine is wearing off.  But Fox will still cross $400 million worldwide with this sucker so it’s no big deal to them.

    Hot on its heels was “Transformers.”  A 62% dip to $42.5 million gives Michael Bay’s magnum opus $293.5 million after 12 days.  Uptight movie nerds need not worry though because at 12 days “The Dark Knight” had already amassed $333.9 million, so there’s no chance of Shia rubbing elbows with the bat’s total gross.  It does have a great chance of becoming the 12th film from this decade to cross $400 million though, and that’s a damn shame.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Box office ‘Trans’-stormed!

    Transformers: Revenge of the FallenAfter a critical mauling the likes of which is usually reserved for Uwe Boll, Michael Bay’s mega-budget sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opened to the second largest five day opening of all-time behind “The Dark Knight.” Is that surprising? Not really.

    The original film is one of only two non-sequels in the last three years to make over $300 million at the box office and was the highest selling DVD of 2007, beating the much-higher profile third films in the “Spider-Man,” “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises. In short, for whatever reason, people loved that film and the two years that passed was short enough to strike while the iron was hot, but long enough to significantly improve effects and get bigger, badder robots on screen for longer.

    $112 million for the three days and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday are the official estimates and that is astounding. Word of mouth could be absolutely poisonous and the film would still out-gross the original and collect over a half billion worldwide. This was the blockbuster that summer has been waiting for and it will take less than 10 days to pass “Up” as the highest grossing film of the year so far.

    The only other new action came from “My Sister’s Keeper” at number five with $11.8 million. For a cancer drama, that’s a fine start, but a troubling amount of it came from Friday, indicating some kind of fanboy rush. Are there groupies for this book like there are for “Twilight?” Just couldn’t wait to see if they added a cancer-free twist at the end? Very odd.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Audiences accept Bullock’s ‘Proposal’

    The ProposalWith absolutely nothing targeted towards the date crowd yet this summer, Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds took the stalest looking romantic comedy all the way to the top of the box office with $34.1 million. That’s far and away Bullock’s best debut as she’s used to figures in the high teens and then leggy runs after that. For Reynolds, well, it’s not even his biggest opening this summer but he now has thousands of Grandma’s to count as new fans. Given the dearth of direct competition, I think this has enough gas in the tank to get to $100 million.

    Way past that figure is “The Hangover,” dropping a microscopic 18% in second place for $26.9 million and $152.9 million total. There’s not much left to say here except that this is a film that tapped into the zeitgeist and there’s no duplicating or explaining it. Moving on.

    “Up” also held well, passing the domestic total for “WALL-E” and it’s still in the top three. While the film certainly stands on its own, some of that success is due to “Ratatouille” and “WALL-E” building the company’s reputation amongst adults. They set ‘em up, and Carl Fredricksen knocks ‘em down.

    Fourth place is where you’ll find the other new release, “Year One.” Plagued with bad buzz from vitriolic internet users, a $20.2 million opening isn’t actually half bad. The Friday to Saturday drop is, however, and this will be lucky to get to $50 million total. It may not make it’s money back until way down the line but nobody’s getting fired over this one and Michael Cera will live to see another painfully awkward day.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Bad ‘Hangover’ for new openers and holdovers

    The Taking of Pelham 123After denying “Up” the bragging rights of a repeat at the top of the box office at the last minute, “The Hangover” has accomplished that feat itself.

    The R-rated comedy dropped a minuscule 26% to add another $33.4 million to the bank and give it a very real shot at $200 million-plus. That’s a benchmark reserved for very few comedies and only the best of the best like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Crocodile Dundee.”  Speaking of those two, it’s a pity Nia Vardalos didn’t look to Paul Hogan’s career for a glimpse at the dangers of repetitive ethnic-centric comedy. If there’s a bigger success story than “The Hangover” this summer, we are in for some big shockers.

    Speaking of shockers, I saw the movie this week and I didn’t like it at all. Aside from some fresh stuff from Zach Galifianakis, it was pretty stale to me. It’s no “Wedding Crashers,” that’s for sure.

    “Up” also held up extremely well, dropping only 31% and staying in the runner-up spot with $30.5 million. It now seems likely to pass “Cars” and wind up the sixth highest grossing Pixar film when all is said and done.* I’ve always said that miscarriages in cartoons equals big bucks and finally somebody listened.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Dark clouds ‘Hangover’ Ferrell

    The Hangover(6/8 UPDATE: Variety is reporting this morning that, in a rare occurrence, “The Hangover” topped “Up” once actual numbers rolled in.  “Final figures will show that ‘Hangover’ grossed $45 million from 3,269 runs,” Pamela McClintock writes. “‘Up’ should finish at $44.3 million to $44.4 million from 3,818 theaters.)

    “Up” has now joined “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Madea Goes to Jail” as the only 2009 releases to spend more than one week at the top of the box office. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Strike that.  See update above.) A slim drop of 35% led to a weekend gross of $44.2 million and kept Carl Fredrickson floating above the competition en route to what surely will be one of the highest grossing totals of the summer. With $137 million in the bank already, it is pacing ahead of the 10-day tallies of “WALL-E,” “Ratatouille” and “Cars.” Anybody willing to bet on “Toy Story 3” breaking Pixar’s hot streak next summer? Didn’t think so.

    Coming in a close second is “The Hangover.” Starring a bunch of nobodies (relatively speaking) and from a director five years removed from his last hit, there’s no reason this should have made $43.3 million this weekend. But it did and the only explanation is that audiences loved it. Test screenings started the word of mouth and it rolled all through the marketing campaign and what many of us saw coming as a possible sleeper hit of the summer has turned into something else entirely: a bona fide blockbuster. Even if it fails to double its debut (doubtful with word of mouth so good), it would still be a massive success for Warner Bros. No word yet on how much of the gross came from people so hungover that they forgot they already paid to see the movie the previous night as well.

    Third place went to “Land of the Lost,” an unmitigated disaster. $19.5 million is what Universal would have hoped for in one day when they greenlit this sucker with a budget north of $100 million. Will Ferrell and dinosaurs seem like a smart combo to me but the trailers and buzz for this one labeled it a stinker long ago and nobody could decipher whether it was for kids or young adults. Director Brad Silberling has now sunk two potential franchise starters in a row (with “Lemony Snicket” being the other) and has to be sweating his career right now. And Danny McBride deserves better.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Stocked ‘Up’

    UpIn the biggest non-shock of the year, Pixar has released a unanimously acclaimed new film and it has topped the box office. What is a little surprising is that “Up” managed to make $68.2 million despite a distinct lack of anthropomorphism. While Disney suits will have to continue to sweat over how they are going to make money out of Pixar on dolls and theme park rides, they certainly don’t have to worry about making money at the box office. This is their fifth biggest debut yet and puts “Up” in a very good position to out-gross both “WALL-E” and “Ratatouille” by the end of its run (but not “Cars” — go figure). That certainly won’t hurt it when the inevitable Best Picture discussion pops up at the end of the year.

    Sam Raimi returned to his horror roots and debuted in third place with $16.6 million. Obviously, that’s a disappointing figure in a world where “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “The Unborn” can each hit $20 million. It may seem like the world is one big “Evil Dead” fan but the truth is that it’s a rather small pocket and they alone can’t guarantee good business. The film got better reviews than normal for the genre but alarming declines from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday seem to have pegged this one as a quick burnout. Summer continues to be the worst place to open a horror film and Universal may have been better off waiting till October.

    Last week’s champ “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” took a hit from “Up” and dropped 54%. That’s not great for a family film but it should rebound in the next few weeks and slowly work towards $175 million or so. Fox can’t be too disappointed with that since they essentially remade the same film, adding the bare minimum in terms of new characters or settings. With a cast of comedy legends old and new, you shouldn’t have a trailer relying on laughs from Hank Azaria.

    “Terminator Salvation” fell a harder 62% and cemented its status as a misfire. It’ll take another half-week to hit $100 million and not much more can come after that. Continuing the franchise without James Cameron or Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to have eliminated most of the target audience and an unwatchable product has done the rest.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Terminator’ frustration

    Night at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianHollywood tried something it rarely does this Memorial Day weekend: it opened two huge sequels at the same time. The last time anything remotely similar happened was the same holiday weekend in 2005 with “The Longest Yard” and “Madagascar.” They were really just fighting for second place, though, as the second weekend of “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” was a safe bet for number one.

    This year’s Memorial Day champ is Ben Stiller with “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.” The family comedy earned $53.5 million for the weekend and will have another solid day of business during the holiday tomorrow. That’s better than the $33.4 million debut of the original but that film opened during Christmas and had outstanding legs through early 2007. Its total gross of $266 million is completely out of the question for the sequel now.

    The debut is pretty much exactly the same as the second place debut of “Madagascar” from the aforementioned 2005 time frame and that film wasn’t even a sequel. With no other family films in the market, this has to be considered a little soft for Fox.

    Second place goes to “Terminator Salvation” with $43 million for the weekend and $56.4 million since opening on Thursday. Again, Warner Bros. has to see this as a little soft as after four days in 2003, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” was already at $70.4 million. Terrible reviews, as well as competition from “Star Trek,” helped seal McG’s fate and I can’t see word of mouth getting this anywhere higher than $135 million. International grosses will decide whether his planned trilogy comes to fruition or not.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Holy hit

    Angels & DemonsGod is so 2006. “Angels & Demons” was the number one movie at the box office this weekend but the $48 million it raked in is barely more than half of the $84.5 million registered by “The Da Vinci Code” in its opening frame. What happened? Three things.

    First, the free publicity generated by the media and the “controversy” surrounding the first film’s opening was nowhere to be found this time. Second, the source material was much less popular. And third, the first film was generally considered pretty dull by critics and audiences. Add all that up and you have a lackluster debut when compared to the original, but on its own terms, you gotta be pretty happy with close to $50 million for an adult-leaning summer thriller. Especially when the film racked up $100 million in overseas territories this weekend as well.

    “Star Trek” showed “Wolverine” and Mr. Hanks what happens when audiences love your product by dropping a solid 43% for a $43 million weekend. It even out-grossed “Angels & Demons” on Saturday and Sunday, so expect the weekday grosses to be neck and neck.  It will pass “Wolverine”’s gross on Monday or Tuesday. J.J. Abrams clearly got it right with moviegoers and this one could see as much as $250 million before it’s done. Don’t think that doesn’t affect the Oscars because it does, and nominations in the sound and visual effects categories, and perhaps other technical fields, are a safer bet than they were a few weeks ago.

    Since “Wolverine” is pretty much already a box office non-factor, there’s not much else to report in the top 10, except that “Monsters vs. Aliens” dropped only 8% due to the fact that families have no other options out there. Expect that to bode well for “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” as parents clearly want something to take their kids to and Ben Stiller is ready to deliver.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: A ‘Star’ is reborn

    Star TrekParamount broke the summer sophomore weekend slump with the impressive launch of “Star Trek” this weekend, earning $72.5 million for the three days and an extra $4 million from Thursday evening showtimes. On the same weekend that supposed summer blockbusters “Speed Racer,” “Poseidon” and “Battlefield Earth” all imploded out of the gate, J.J. Abrams and company successfully rebooted yet another franchise and you can expect Paramount to start production on a sequel as soon as humanly possible.

    No “Star Trek” film had ever previously opened with more than $50 million, as the series has always catered to a pretty specific niche audience. Abrams and Paramount did all they could to destroy that perception and convince people that this version was hipper, sexier and more action-packed. The buzz worked and the film should continue to perform well in the coming weeks, easily out-earning “Wolverine” in the long run and probably becoming only the third “Trek” film to pass $200 million after the 1979 original and 1986’s “The Voyage Home.”

    Summit Entertainment had the only other new release in “Next Day Air,” and they limited it to only 1,138 screens across the country. The resulting $4.0 million finish is a mediocre amount for that kind of release and didn’t really work as counter-programming like the studio probably hoped. Who would have thought that nearly 15 years after “Clueless,” Paul Rudd and Donald Faison would still have careers and Alicia Silverstone would not?

    “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” dropped a disastrous, but not unexpected, 68% to $27 million and $129.6 million total. Brett Ratner’s entry in the franchise passed $100 million in three days while Gavin Hood’s took a full week. $200 million ain’t happening and foreign grosses will have to put the gloss on this film for Fox.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘X’ marks the spot

    X-Men Origins: WolverineAfter all the hype, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” opened with a solid $87.0 million at the box office this weekend.  Both “X2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” started with over $100 million* but “Wolverine” does better the $72.6 million of Bryan Singer’s original from 2000. When a film is received as poorly as Brett Ratner’s third entry in the franchise was, it’s only natural for the follow-up to start a bit lower.

    Almost any franchise will prove this but the easiest example is “Batman.” Schumacher did his worst with “Batman & Robin” and unsuspecting customers shelled out $67.1 million* on opening weekend. The movie collapsed from there and it took Warner Bros. years to attempt another shot at the bat. In steps Christopher Nolan and “Batman Begins” debuted with a cautious $54.6 million. Everybody loved it, the stars aligned and “The Dark Knight” opened to $158.4 million. Obviously, there were other factors at play but look at the “Back to the Future,” “Mission: Impossible” and “The Matrix” films for further proof.

    Anyway, all that is to say that $87 million isn’t really disappointing, nor is it that spectacular. “Iron Man” debuted with $98 million on this weekend last year without any previous big screen incarnations. “Wolverine” will most likely not make it to $200 million and life goes on.

    Matthew McConaughey tried his luck at counter-programming and brought in $15.3 million for “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” That’s the worst debut he’s had in the romantic comedy genre since “EdTV” in 1999 and only a tiny fraction better than “Made of Honor”’s debut last year versus Tony Stark. I’m willing to go out on a limb and guess that McConaughey’s salary was a bit larger than Patrick Dempsey’s so that return is just not good enough. I like to think that it didn’t do well because it looked awful but that wouldn’t explain “Wolverine”’s numbers.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Obsessed’ impressed

    ObsessedAmerica liked it and they put a ring on it.

    Beyonce’s new thriller “Obsessed” topped the domestic box office this weekend with $28.5 million, adding another impressive performance to the budding actress’s career. Impressive box office performance that is.

    Whether or not Beyonce truly and gracefully inhabits the character of a woman forced to kick ass when some other crazy bitch starts stalking her man, I can’t be certain. This should easily make $70 million+ from a $20 million budget so all involved have just gotten a nice bonus.

    Despite gunning for the same target audience, Universal’s “Fighting” also performed admirably and earned $11.4 million for third place. You can’t accuse them of not being straight to the point and enough males or teens must have thought that a movie called “Fighting” had to be bad ass and worth their $10. Channing Tatum’s career lives to fight another day.

    Actual star power enters the fray at number four with “The Soloist.” Joe Wright’s once-Oscar hopeful earned $9.7 million, which is okay but not enough to justify moving out of the 2008 season. Even though audience reaction is bound to be positive, I just don’t see the legs being great here and a sub-$30 million finish won’t have anybody remembering these folks when ballots are due next year.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Zac attack

    17 AgainFor the second weekend in a row, a product of the Disney Channel has headlined the top film at the box office. This week it’s Zac Efron in the Warner Bros. comedy “17 Again.” Sure, this plot has been done before multiple times (three in 1988 alone), but not with that distinct new millennium flavor. What’s that? “13 Going on 30?” Okay, so no movie this millennium has done it with a boy as the lead.

    And that’s why this film needed to be made. Conceptual gripes aside, I actually like Zac Efron and if the trailers are any indication, his timing and charm are the only things this film have going for it. A $24.1 million opening weekend is virtually identical to the aforementioned Jennifer Garner vehicle, which helped her establish an identity outside of “Alias.” Her next film was “Electra” so hopefully Efron is paying attention.

    “State of Play” investigates second place with $14.1 million and a handful of decent reviews. In previous years this kind of film would have done better (Affleck’s 2002 April thriller “Changing Lanes” debuted with $21.2 million), but in 2009, Universal will take that result. Direct competition comes from “The Soloist” next week but the word of mouth among adults should be strong enough that this sticks around until Memorial Day.

    After the demanding “Master and Commander” shoot, Russell Crowe said he wasn’t interested in doing movies where he was in every shot any more and that explains his last four films pitting him against an equally famous co-star. With the exception of “American Gangster,” all of them have debuted with $13-$14 million.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Whoa, Montana!

    Hannah Montana: The MovieMiley Cyrus proved to be just as popular in two dimensions as she was in three as “Hannah Montana: The Movie” opened at the top of the Easter box office chart with $34 million.  Given that $17 million of that came from Friday alone, one could assume that this will be a one-week wonder.  However, most kids were out of school for Good Friday so you have to cut it a little bit of slack.

    The debut couldn’t quite match the $40 million of “High School Musical 3” but it far outpaces the $20.6 million debut of the last Disney Channel princess to get her own movie (anybody remember Lizzie McGuire?)

    Seth Rogen tested his appeal by appearing in a pitch black comedy from the creators of HBO’s “Eastbound & Down” and the result was a relatively soft $11.1 million for “Observe and Report.”  The women who make up more than 50% of the audience for films like “I Love You, Man” and “Knocked Up” just weren’t interested in a film that includes possible date rape in its trailers.  Go figure.  Warm reviews and a long life on DVD will have to be the rewards for making something unique and interesting.

    Way back in seventh place is Fox’s third disaster of the year, “Dragonball Evolution,” with a limp $4.7 million.  Missing the boat by a good 10 years in terms of this property’s appeal, the existence of the film in 2009 is completely baffling.  I’m gonna go out on a limb and declare its Oscar prospects to be minimal.  Maybe if Fox Searchlight had released it instead.

    Even with no school on Friday, “Fast & Furious” dropped a hefty 59% from last weekend.  Apparently the title refers to how the film will exit the theaters.  “Adventureland” had a better decline of 40%, but still too high for a film relying on word of mouth to get somewhere.  It’s partly my fault since I thought about seeing it this week but ultimately saw “Duplicity” instead.  Probably a mistake, since that film was mildly amusing at best.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Fast’ cash

    Fast & FuriousI have recently unearthed an internal industry memo.  It reads:

    Dear Studios,

    If you’d like us to pay to see your franchises, you must bring back all the cast members that starred in the original.  Do not worry about changing the plot too much, we liked what we saw that first time.  You don’t even need to change the title, just get rid of those definite articles that waste marquee space.  If you follow our demands, we will show up in droves.

    Signed, America

    That explains how “Fast & Furious” was able to make $72.5 million over the weekend.  That’s stronger than both the $50.9 million of the original and the $60.1 million debut of its first sequel.  It’s better than any other film from 2009 so far and any other film that’s ever debuted in the month of April.  By a mile.  For Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, what seemed like desperation now looks like smart business sense.  Legs will be atrocious but it doesn’t matter.  $300 million worldwide seems like a certainty at this point and Hollywood may start looking at April a little differently.  Anybody that shelled out $10 to see this has no right to complain about anything Hollywood puts out ever again.

    A film with good reviews opened as well but since there were no car chases in it, sixth place and $6.0 million is all it could muster.  The film is “Adventureland” and despite Miramax’s attempts to market it like a raunchy, broad teen comedy, audiences saw through all that and the film performed like a coming-of-age drama.  Legs could be decent but they’ll have to be tremendous for the film to even reach $20 million.

    Another new face appeared in the top 10, bringing up the rear.  Overture expanded “Sunshine Cleaning” to 479 theaters and earned a solid $1.9 million.  The Sundance pick-up has set itself up to finish slightly better than Overture’s indie-that-could from last year, “The Visitor,” but don’t count on any Oscar attention.  The grosses aren’t near enough to wipe away the mediocre reviews.

    In its second week, “Monsters vs. Aliens” dropped an understandable 44% and crossed the $100 million mark today.  Despite a slower start, it should have no trouble fending off “Fast & Furious” and lay claim to the title of highest grossing film of the first quarter by the time May rolls around.  As for the film most had pegged for that honor, the news gets grimmer and grimmer.  Already out of the top 10 and struggling to double its debut, “Watchmen” is being met with shrugs throughout the world and has amassed only $67 million overseas.  “Bride Wars” has made $54 million so you do the  math.

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