Monday Morning Quarterback
By BOP Staff
September 16, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Burn After Reading, the latest film from the Coen brothers, opened to $19.1 million. Given the star power of Brad Pitt and George Clooney, is this a good result, a mediocre result, or was money left on the table?
Max Braden: It's Clooney and Pitt, but I don't think anyone expected an opening the size of Ocean's Twelve or Thirteen. Even without the Coen name on the movie, I think most audiences recognized this as more of a spoof than straight up comedy. But $19 million is probably better than expected for this material. The Oscar pedigree of McDormand, Malkovich, and Swinton probably helped measurably.
Pete Kilmer: People can tell when George and Brad are doing the 'odd' movies. So yeah I think the opening for this movie is pretty solid, despite its lukewarm reviews.
Reagen Sulewski: It's well above the average for the Coens, which is the baseline that I used for it. I never got the sense that this was being marketed as a Clooney movie or a Pitt movie, but as a Coen movie. Their personalities came out through the ads as the dominant one. And given how some of those have turned out (see: Intolerable Cruelty), this is a pretty big win. In any case, I think it's interesting that as famous as Clooney and Pitt are, they've been in a lot of movies that barely had an impact at the box office, and weren't even considered bombs for doing so.
David Mumpower: I see this as a phenomenal opening and I think the fascinating issue is who should take the credit. Are the Coen Brothers more popular due to No Country for Old Men or is it the Pitt/Clooney factor? The Ladykillers, a Tom Hanks vehicle, only opened to $12.6 million while Clooney's last outing with them, the aforementioned Intolerable Cruelty, did similarly with a $12.5 million debut. While this isn't working as a de facto Ocean's 14: The Idiots, I still have to believe that No Country changed the perception of the Coen Brothers as a credible source for hit entertainment.
Brandon Scott: I am deciding whether or not I will burn the DVD after watching it. (It's a joke people, I don't promote the piracy of art!) Given that it is the Coens' largest opening weekend ever, I would say it is a big success. They have had many of these stars in their films previously and still not reached that figure, so good for them I guess.
Daron Aldridge: My vote goes for "good result" because the public's reluctance to embrace the Coen brothers brand of comedy while in theaters. Clooney and Pitt probably helped make this as accessible as they can get. Let's ignore the Intolerable Cruelty misfire. I think they also got those people who were craving a trip back to early '90s Brad Pitt (circa Johnny Suede and Cool World) with the tall, blond pompadour. He looks like he hasn't aged in 16 years.
Jason Lee: This has to be considered a huge success for the Coen Brothers and everyone involved. I think this movie had many opportunities to fall between the cracks and not boast a strong enough appeal within any one demographic. It's a Coen brothers film that wasn't reviewed especially well. It's a comedy about stupid people made by very smart people. It's got a A-list cast but directors that historically don't make a lot of money on opening weekend.
And Tyler Perry didn't even dress in drag this time.
Kim Hollis: Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys opened to $17.3 million. What do you think of this result?
Max Braden: It's unexpected for me since I'd seen no advertising for it, but the number is right in line with Perry's last two movies.
Pete Kilmer: I believe it's the first one of his in a long time not to hit $20 million, but it's also not based on a play of his, so I think it's solid opening.
Reagen Sulewski: I look forward to Tyler Perry's Laundry List opening to $19 million.
David Mumpower: Tyler Perry's I Want to Believe would have opened to $40 million.
Jason Lee: I thought Reagen hit the nail on the head in his Weekend Forecast. This opening was as predictable as Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin on SNL this Saturday.
Daron Aldridge: Even though it's slightly below his normal opening with Madea featured in the movie, they should be happy with this because Perry's movies don't tend to cost much to make. If the budget was kept reasonably, this is continue his streak of profit-making.
Scott Lumley: I don't claim to like Tyler's stuff or even have any desire to see it, but this is a guy that consistently gets productions made that tap into a demographic that nobody else seems to be servicing and he makes outrageous amounts of money doing it. What do I think of it? I think I have to applaud Mr. Perry.
Brandon Scott: It's right in line with a typical TP turnout. For whatever reason, the guy makes films that people see. Period. End of story.
It's like Heat. Only much much worse.
Kim Hollis: Righteous Kill, the Al Pacino/Robert De Niro cop movie that earned the scorn of Francis Ford Coppola, opened to $16.3 million. How surprised are you that Pacino and De Niro are worth almost as much as Clooney and Pitt?
Max Braden: The advertising smartly played up these two great actors working side by side, maybe the last chance to see them together. I think the advantage Righteous Kill had was that they were playing themselves straight, while Pitt and Clooney were goofing it up more than usual.
Pete Kilmer: People really want to see those two legends in a quality film. Now they just have to be in one (not counting Heat).
Calvin Trager: This couldn't have happened at a better time - I was just saying to Les Winan the other day that Grumpy Old Men is overdue for a reboot with a darker edge!
Brandon Scott: I am not really surprised, especially considering the respective vehicles. We could go on and on, breaking down the box office merits of each performer mentioned here, but this is a pretty decent result for a film that has been critically panned. I was anticipating this for a long time, but bad buzz killed the hype for me and I am not sure that I will get to this in a theater now.
Daron Aldridge: I'm not too surprised given the totals, which aren't exactly lofty. Now, if this one had opened against an Ocean's film and still been competitive, then I would be surprised.
Scott Lumley: They're all fairly heavyweight stars. Sure, Pitt may be the most famous man on the planet and Clooney may be one of the sexiest people in existence but these are guys that traditionally take chances with art house fare and the public knows that. Burn is arty, Righteous is mediocre, this is September - were we really expecting some spectacular deviations from these numbers?
Jason Lee: Maybe director Jon Avnet should have used commercials of Pacino or De Niro dancing like a dork while running on a treadmill. Seems like that's working nowadays.
David Mumpower: I'm surprised by how few of you are surprised. De Niro hadn't had a hit of this size in a drama since 2002 (unless we count Hide and Seek as a drama instead of a horror movie). Pacino hadn't had a hit of any sort (Ocean's Thirteen excluded) since The Recruit at the start of 2003. To my mind, this is an out of nowhere result.
Join the She-Woman, Man-Haters club!
Kim Hollis: The Women, an estrogen-laced title from Picturehouse, opened to $10.1 million in 2,962 locations. Even though it's the worst of the new openers, this is still a pretty good result, right?
Max Braden: It's no Sex and the City, but for September, and a romantic comedy with zero male characters, that's a respectable opening.
Pete Kilmer: I think it's a decent opening, but considering the pedigree this movie had (in regards to people who were originally attached) it could have been so much more if Julia and Sandra and the others had done it.
David Mumpower: The marketing team failed this movie in the naming. The Women immediately alienates the male demographic. Calling it No Man's Land or Where the Boys Aren't, on the other hand, paints a different picture, one that would have sold a lot of tickets. Sure, they would have left the theater disgruntled by the false advertising, but that's every weekend at the cineplex these days.
Jason Lee: It's not a HORRIBLE opening for something that looked like it have been a Lifetime Original Movie. That said, I think that the movie needed to tap into Sex and the City's "Friday night out with the girls" vibe to really have a shot at box-office success. Without it, there's absolutely no reason not to wait for it to come out on DVD. Clearly, this didn't happen.
Daron Aldridge: With a venue average of approximately $3,300, I think the result is poor. This movie has a pedigree of languishing in limbo and it doesn't appear that too many people would have been disappointed if it stayed there.
Scott Lumley: Considering it had a $16.5 million production budget, this has to be considered a success. Any film that you can put in the black after two weeks of release has to represent some pretty substantial profits. I don't know how leggy it will be as reviews seem to be awful, but it will make its money back and then some.
Brandon Scott: I am sure that Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton would spin it as a success. It is an okay result with a budget of $16 million but with that many theaters, its not debatable that they would have liked to see mo' money.
Lee Greenwood gonna sue somebody...well, he would if they had any money to sue for.
Kim Hollis: Proud Americans had a per venue average of $140. Say something funny about this.
Pete Kilmer: Americans were proud that they didn't go this! (And smart, too!)
Scott Lumley: It's a documentary about what makes Americans proud to be American. In the middle of a recession, during a unpopular war and while America is dealing with the aftermath of yet another hurricane. Yay. I hope the theater owners sold a lot of popcorn, at least.
Daron Aldridge: Is there anything to be proud of with that kind of total? It cost more to run the projectors.
David Mumpower: $140? Lee Greenwood tips his hookers more than that.
Jason Lee: Proud Americans decided to stay at home and wait for The Women to come out on DVD.
Brandon Scott: *in Miss South Carolina voice* I believe, that most US Americans don't have maps. There were only about 14 Americans that saw this movie per venue, such as, therefore, the Iraq.
Reagen Sulewski: Odds are if you saw this film this weekend, you had the theatre to yourself and your date. So maybe it inspired some new Proud Americans to be born!