That 35 line reminded me a lot of the Charlie's Angels reaming I took, it seemed very low, but I get the feeling that when WSEX smells an opportunity to take advantage of the public it adds a million to it's prediction and waits for everyone to jump on the over, then cashes in when it goes under by a miniscule margine. These guys are good.
A lot of people assumed it would go over because the last movie did so well, in the case of Charlie's Angels and American Pie 2, but the reason they did so well was because of hype and anticipation. People were drawn to CA for whatever reason, and a lot of them didn't like it. People flocked to American Pie 2 the opening weekend because the first one was a classic, but a lot were dissapointed. They were let down. The most obvious play to me this weekend was under 42.5, just because I thought American Pie 2 was pretty weak, especially compared to the first.
The geeks of "American Wedding" enjoyed a lively reception at the nation's theaters this weekend, but a celebrity couple chronicled ceaselessly in the entertainment media met with commercial disaster in their first on-screen pairing.
The third film in the raunchy "American Pie" comedies, "American Wedding" collected an estimated $34.3 million to debut at No. 1, Universal Pictures said Sunday. The movie, for which reviews were mixed, opened with about $11 million less than 2001's "American Pie 2" but about $15 million more than the 1999 original.
Living up to its negative pre-release reputation, the Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez vehicle "Gigli" took in an estimated $3.8 million. Individually, the romantic crime comedy represented the worst opening of a wide release (1,000-plus theaters) for Lopez since the Oliver Stone directed "U-Turn" debuted with $2.7 million in October 1997, and the worst for Affleck since "Phantoms" bowed in January 1998 with just under $3.1 million.
Although Affleck and Lopez already have completed another movie together — writer-director Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" — the foul reception of "Gigli" raises questions about the couple's working relationship.
"They'll continue to be big stars, and chances are they will not work together again — and they shouldn't, by the way," said Revolution Studios partner Tom Sherak, which produced "Gigli" for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "You move on," he told Associated Press.
"It's rare for a movie with that level of star power to do so poorly," observed Brandon Gray of the box office tracking firm Boxofficemojo.com. With or without the Lopez-Affleck star power, Gray said the film may have been "doomed from the start" because "romantic crime comedies just don't do well" at the box office.
As examples, he cited the Brad Pitt-Julia Roberts pairing "The Mexican," one of the more successful of its type, which opened at No. 1 in March 2001 with $20.1 million but topped out at $66.8 million; "True Romance," which bowed at No. 3 with $4 million in 1993 and totaled $12.3 million; and the 1985 "Prizzi's Honor," which took in a total of $26.7 million but was never on more than 722 screens.
"Even when they are well-liked," Gray noted, "it's a tough genre."
As bad as it was for "Gigli," there have been worse wide-release debuts. For example, "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," which starred Eddie Murphy, opened last August in a comparable 2,320 theaters with just $2.2 million. Its per-theater average was a measly $940, versus "Gigli's" average of $1,715 in 2,215 locations.
Among openings of limited-release, adult-oriented films, "The Magdalene Sisters," Peter Mullan's chronicle of the abuse of young women sent to facilities run by an order of Irish nuns, opened strongly in five theaters in Los Angeles and New York, bringing in an estimated $83,000 or $16,600 per location, Miramax Films reported.
The French import from Claude Lelouch, "And Now Ladies and Gentlemen," also posted a healthy opening in art house terms, averaging $8,333 per theater in six sites in Los Angeles and New York venues for a weekend total of $50,000, Paramount Classics reported.
Manhattan Pictures' "The Secret Lives of Dentists" posted a healthy debut in limited release, averaging a solid $10,463 per venue in a dozen theaters, for an estimated weekend total of $125,552, the New York-based distributor said.
The third film in the raunchy "American Pie" comedies, "American Wedding" collected an estimated $34.3 million to debut at No. 1, Universal Pictures said Sunday. The movie, for which reviews were mixed, opened with about $11 million less than 2001's "American Pie 2" but about $15 million more than the 1999 original.
Living up to its negative pre-release reputation, the Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez vehicle "Gigli" took in an estimated $3.8 million. Individually, the romantic crime comedy represented the worst opening of a wide release (1,000-plus theaters) for Lopez since the Oliver Stone directed "U-Turn" debuted with $2.7 million in October 1997, and the worst for Affleck since "Phantoms" bowed in January 1998 with just under $3.1 million.
Although Affleck and Lopez already have completed another movie together — writer-director Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" — the foul reception of "Gigli" raises questions about the couple's working relationship.
"They'll continue to be big stars, and chances are they will not work together again — and they shouldn't, by the way," said Revolution Studios partner Tom Sherak, which produced "Gigli" for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "You move on," he told Associated Press.
"It's rare for a movie with that level of star power to do so poorly," observed Brandon Gray of the box office tracking firm Boxofficemojo.com. With or without the Lopez-Affleck star power, Gray said the film may have been "doomed from the start" because "romantic crime comedies just don't do well" at the box office.
As examples, he cited the Brad Pitt-Julia Roberts pairing "The Mexican," one of the more successful of its type, which opened at No. 1 in March 2001 with $20.1 million but topped out at $66.8 million; "True Romance," which bowed at No. 3 with $4 million in 1993 and totaled $12.3 million; and the 1985 "Prizzi's Honor," which took in a total of $26.7 million but was never on more than 722 screens.
"Even when they are well-liked," Gray noted, "it's a tough genre."
As bad as it was for "Gigli," there have been worse wide-release debuts. For example, "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," which starred Eddie Murphy, opened last August in a comparable 2,320 theaters with just $2.2 million. Its per-theater average was a measly $940, versus "Gigli's" average of $1,715 in 2,215 locations.
Among openings of limited-release, adult-oriented films, "The Magdalene Sisters," Peter Mullan's chronicle of the abuse of young women sent to facilities run by an order of Irish nuns, opened strongly in five theaters in Los Angeles and New York, bringing in an estimated $83,000 or $16,600 per location, Miramax Films reported.
The French import from Claude Lelouch, "And Now Ladies and Gentlemen," also posted a healthy opening in art house terms, averaging $8,333 per theater in six sites in Los Angeles and New York venues for a weekend total of $50,000, Paramount Classics reported.
Manhattan Pictures' "The Secret Lives of Dentists" posted a healthy debut in limited release, averaging a solid $10,463 per venue in a dozen theaters, for an estimated weekend total of $125,552, the New York-based distributor said.
...anyways.... on to next week. S.W.A.T. doesn't really look all that appealing to me anymore, although It did pique my interest with the teaser trailer before it gave away the lame premise in the full-length trailer. It fell back off the buzz chart, so it's hard to tell if the early positive buzz is sustaining. I will be leaning towards the over on this one. Freaky Friday is also recieving a somewhat warm welcome and could also be an over. But no doubt WSEX knows these movies are tracking well, and will put out a line that's a million over their prediction anticipating over bets, who knows.
