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But it's shorts season!

Kim Hollis: Shorts, the latest children's film from Tarantino's buddy Robert Rodriguez, failed to match the magic of the Spy Kids franchise or even Shark Boy and Lava Girl, opening to only $6.4 million. What went wrong here?

Josh Spiegel: Despite the fact that I've been seeing ads for this movie since Memorial Day, the problem may lie in the fact that the plot was never particularly clear. A kid gets a phone through his head, a baby is a genius, James Spader is evil....the actual concept was relatively obscured. Or, maybe Rodriguez should stop listening to his kids' ideas; wasn't Shark Boy theirs, too?

David Mumpower: This isn't the most shocking result of the summer or anything, but I have to say that I am deeply surprised it didn't do any better. We have been in several theaters that showed the trailer to young audiences. Their reception was universally positive. Like that YouTube video of the kid getting a Nintendo positive. I had already mentally prepped my explanation of why it had done so well, most of the logic based on how well Rodriguez relates to children. This turn of events has left me totally perplexed. In fact, I'd like to hear some good explanations of why this one was a box office non-entity.





Tim Briody: I think the title is a failure here. Spy Kids? Easy. Sharkboy and Lava Girl? Pretty self-explanatory. Shorts is probably the worst title this could have had. "Magic Rock" or something to that effect would at least get the point across.

Max Braden: Does school schedule have anything to do with it? This opening is fairly close to what Aliens in the Attic opened a few weeks ago. August hasn't been a great month in recent years for kids movies. Last year's Daddy Day Camp opened to under $5 million and 2006's Zoom was about the same (though the second and third Spy Kids movies did well in August).

Jason Lee: A bunch of kids wishing on a rock whose rainbowed hues make it look like a coaster from the Gay Pride gift shop. Based on recent elections in California, Arizona and Florida, I wasn't too surprised that this bombed.

Reagen Sulewski: I wonder if they needed to push the adult cast more to convince parents into the theaters, or if Rodriguez needed to call on more of his Spanish buddies again or something. It's puzzling for a director that's done so well with kid wish fulfillment to fail on quite literally that premise.

Sean Collier: Tim and Max have it. The title couldn't be more bland if it tried, and the kids have just gone back to school. Two big misses, and they're sunk.

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