As much as I overestimated Shrek‘s appeal, I overestimated MacGruber waaaaaay more. $4 million? Ouch.
5/28
Wide
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Jake Gyllenhaal protects a time-altering dagger from bad guys.
WILL IT SUCK?
Here’s the good news: They got director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco) on the case. Here’s where I lose wood: The writers penned The Uninvited and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. This might be an early bellweather for Sorcerer’s Apprentice because a lot of the same writers show up there, too. At least the original writer of the video game has a “screen story” credit, but the curse of all video game movies sucking is unlikely to end here. Early buzz is mixed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Coming off the second frame of Shrek doesn’t help but nothing really facing it the following week. The bigger problem is that video game movies almost never make tentpole money. $86 mil. (which would make it the second most successful video game movie of all time, behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
(5/27)
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The city, in this case, is Abu Dhabi.
WILL IT SUCK?
Same team as last time, so no reason to expect anything terribly different. Joining the cast this time are Miley Cyrus, Penelope Cruz, and Liza Minelli, and look out for the return of John Corbett.
Early buzz is not good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Killers is going to be a little bit of a challenge next week, but not much. $190mil.
Limited
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Guy gets revenge against the men who put a bullet in his brain. Quirky, endearing revenge.
WILL IT SUCK?
It’s been five long years since Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s last writer/directorial effort, the amazing A Very Long Engagement, his follow up to the classic Amelie, so, yeah, I’ve been waiting for this one. Early buzz is solid. At SXSW, I heard it described lovingly as Jeunet does Ocean’s Eleven.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Jeunet’s films never make as much as they deserve. $7mil.
GEORGE A. ROMERO’S SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
In Romero’s sixth installment in the undead saga, two families war over what should be done with all these damn zombies.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed. The worst yet from Romero according to IMDb users.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Unlikely to fare much better than Diary of the Dead. In fact, I won’t be surprised if it makes far more in its month of VOD release in advance of theatrical. $1mil.
Next Week: A supporting character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall gets his own movie.
I think “MacGruber” was probably not helped by the fact that “Iron Man 2″ is still doing well, even in week 3, and the Scott/Crowe “Robin Hood” redux opened pretty strong. Plus, you’ve got “Killers” next week, which based on the trailer looks like it has something of a “True Lies” vibe, then “A-Team” after that…it’s a crowded field. They might have been better off releasing “MacGruber” BEFORE IM2 (at the expense of not being a ‘summer’ movie) or holding it until August, where comedies tend to do better.
Re: “Get Him To The Greek” – am I the only one who doesn’t get the appeal of Russell Brand?
Oh, and lest I forget…
MACGRUBER
His eponymous film didn’t make a lot of money
MACGRUBER
It calls into question any future SNL films
MACGRUBER
Get Tina Fey on conference call
MACGRUBER!