Not so funny for Universal
Despite rapid-fire penis jokes, a third act collapse and a rather melancholy theme, spit-wad shooter and sometime director Judd Apatow’s latest tour de fart, Funny People, landed at the No.1 position with an estimated $23.4 million.
Starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, Funny People still has some room to grow if it wants to catch its astounding $75-$100 million budget during its theatrical run. (See, that’s what happens when you have Paul Reiser stop by for a cameo. The payroll goes through the roof.) Look at the studio projections (low-$20 million to the mid-$30 million) and Universal may have been gambling on Funny People having a Hangover-like run. Time will tell.
This also marks Sandler’s worst comedy debut since 2000′s Little Nicky. Yet compared to the Happy Gilmore star’s more serious films (Punch-Drunk Love, Spanglish… Going Overboard), Funny People was a weiner winner. However, the dramedy has had the lowest start for a No. 1 movie since Jim Carrey’s lackluster Yes Man, which debuted with $18.3 million last December.
Execs at Universal may lose a few million from their bonuses as Funny People is another summer blah. Fellow penis film, Bruno, exited the top ten in a hurry and the Michael Mann/Johnny Depp original gangsta’ pic, Public Enemies, stalled before it could reach the $100 million marker.
The Apatow wedgie looks impressive when matched with the weekend’s other train wrecks. Aliens in the Attic made an abysmal $7.8 million at No.5 and horror-fest, The Collector, failed to crack the top ten with $3.6 million at No.11.
America, here’s your top ten:
- Funny People – $23.4 million
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $17.7 million
- G-Force – $17.1 million
- The Ugly Truth – $13 million
- Aliens in the Attic – $7.8 million
- Orphan – $7.3 million
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $5.3 million
- The Hangover – $5.1 million
- The Proposal – $4.8 million
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $4.6 million
"Jim Carrey's lackluster 'Yes Man'? that movie ended up grossing $97 million in the U.S. AND over $200 Million worldwide. only cost $70 million. lackluster? how about "word of mouth box office hit"? The same will happen with 'Funny People'. There was a time in the 90s when a film's value was judged over more than one freakin' weekend.
I think you'd have to go back further than the '90s for a time when a film's worth wasn't JUST about opening weekend.
1989 to be exact.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-mendelson/20-...
I didn't feel third act collapsed, as you put it, but actually played out as life would. A married woman won't drop her husband of 12 years for this asshole who comes sweeping in and he's not automatically going to become the guy we want him to be. The film plays as more drama than comedy and this distinction allows it to skip the usual romantic comedy tropes that make them suck.
Hence why it will get my recommendations.
I laughed from the beginning to the end, Bruno was outragious!