Monday Morning Quarterback Part I
By BOP Staff
August 6, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Brett Ballard-Beach: Consistency, thy name is Denzel (well, and Universal this year at least). Since 2000 (and discounting his two directorial efforts) all but one of Denzel's films have opened above $20 million. That's 14 films in as many years. And with that one exception, they have finished with no less than $65 million and several have made more than $100 million. And, most importantly, the majority were R-rated and/or Denzel was playing an anti-hero. Factor those all together and that is a run as impressive as the uber number of $100 million action and comedy blockbusters that Cruise and Sandler have had in the same period. Without Denzel and Mr. Wahlberg, this might have been looking at R.I.P.D. grosses. But with them, it became if not an event pic, at least a guarantee of an enjoyable action-comedy caper. And since the budget on this remains reasonable (well below $100 million), this should end up as a winner in the long term as well. (Trivia answer: the one exception? 2003's Out of Time. Opened with $16 million, finished with $41 million).
Felix Quinonez: I think it's definitely a win for everyone involved. I also think that it is really impressive how reliable Denzel Washington is. It's been a real popular argument lately that star power doesn't mean what it used to but I think it's hard to deny the fact that the presence of the leads added a significant amount to the opening weekend gross. The movie itself almost went out of its way to look generic and kind of boring. But the real draw was the chemistry of the stars and that definitely got some butts in those seats.
Bruce Hall: It's a win, albeit a tepid one. Let's be honest, if 2 Guns had cost $91 million to make instead of $61 million, we'd be having a slightly different conversation right now. Then again, an R-rated multicultural action picture opened the same weekend as a (partially) animated family film and came out on top by a pretty handy margin. I'm not sure when or if that's ever happened before. However, Universal pushed this one HARD in Latino and African American communities, and the response seems to have been lukewarm at best. I should also mention that Washington and Wahlberg are two well-liked stars who have pulled in over five billion dollars in combined domestic office during their time as leading men. I don't mean to directly compare the two as actors (you my boy, Mahky-Mahk), but I'd have liked to see a bit more muscle out of this title.
It's all academic, though. Universal continues their stellar year, Denzel adds to his legend as a reliable box office performer, and Wahlberg continues to be the second most successful rapper turned actor in film history.
Jay Barney: I'd have to agree with Bruce and indicate that the bigger story here is that Universal has continued their hot streak. 2 Guns is not going to make the money some of the other films the studio has produced this summer, but with a $27 million opening, it is very likely to make most of its budget back domestically. When the foreign dollars are brought in, this will be another win for the studio. As far as Washington and Wahlberg, it is a pairing that fans seem to have embraced.
Edwin Davies: I must admit that I was expecting a touch more from the opening weekend for 2 Guns. Not a huge amount more, but I thought that if Denzel could team up with Ryan Reynolds and open Safe House to $40 million then a film with a more established action star should be able to make at least $30-35 million. Then again, Safe House benefited from being released at a time of year when people hadn't been watching action films for months on end. Even so, this is going to be a small victory for all involved thanks to the fairly modest outlay, which it should earn back before it leaves theaters. If nothing else, this result demonstrates that the Venn Diagram of Denzel Washington fans and Mark Wahlberg fans is pretty much a single circle.
Shalimar Sahota: Along with Edwin's comparison with Safe House, the mix of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe also pushed American Gangster to open to over $40 million back in 2007, so likewise, even I thought 2 Guns would open a little higher. Maybe the target audience already had their action fill with The Wolverine last week? This is still a good opening and I'm sure it'll play well and make Universal very happy. It's also quite likely that Universal will continue their hot streak with Kick-Ass 2 in the coming weeks.
David Mumpower: I echo the thoughts of Edwin and Shalimar. My takeaway from the opening weekend of 2 Guns is that Mark Walhberg added nothing to the project's bottom line. As Brett mentioned, Denzel Washington movies are good for this much independent of the co-star. In fact, Flight grossed almost as much at $24.9 million, and the second most famous person in that cast was Don Cheadle, whom I love but who isn't a box office draw. Thus, Wahlberg didn't add any more here than he did to the happening.
To a larger point, we have a fascinating box office conclusion we can draw from this result. Washington plus Crowe is good for a $43.6 million opening weekend. Washington plus Wahlberg is only $27.1 million. And Crowe plus Wahlberg sans Denzel in Broken City is good for only $8.3 million. Yes, movie concepts come into play, but I think that's a hysterical evaluation of what each actor brings to a project.
Kim Hollis: I'd say it's perhaps a little lower than my expectations given the fact that both Washington and Wahlberg generally have a certain dollar range for their box office openings. Apparently, as Edwin mentions, they have about the same fan base. Nonetheless, it's a good opening and gives Universal one more thing to brag about for 2013. The remainder of their 2013 is pretty quiet (other than Riddick), so to say that they've knocked it out of the park is an understatement.