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Bruce Hall: Maybe over time, human DNA has been inoculated to ironic road comedies whose purpose is to put obviously mismatched people into obvious, isolated situations filled with crass, adolescent humor. I am not ready to say that we are firmly in the Post A-List Hollywood Era, but I think that if we're not, we're getting close. Big Names haven't necessarily meant Big Money for quite some time, and I think that for most people, if a film sounds just a little bit too much like something we saw earlier this year on DVD, or last year on the most recent office team building trip, then we might be inclined to skip it, or at least wait to hear what our friends thought.

If this movie really is as good as some of the earlier reviews say it is, then it might have some legs. It not then four months from now, it will find itself in a quiet section of the video store next to recent underperformers like Knight and Day. Yes, it will make money eventually. But on the whole, will it be worth it?

Meh.

Tom Houseman: This movie opened almost exactly on par with Couples Retreat last year. That one started off with $34 million and ended up with $109 million. I think that Zach Galifianakis is super hot right now (not in a physically attractive way, though; not with that beard), as is Robert Downey Jr. (but definitely also in a physically attractive way) and this should have really good legs. I don't think $120 million is too big a stretch for this one.

Matthew Huntley: Bruce, the movie is really NOT as good as the earlier reviews say it is. The truth is we've seen this movie time and again, in different forms, and they've been better and funnier. The reaction I got from the audience I watched it with was the way you ended your post: meh.

A $33 million opening is by no means bad, but I think this movie's legs will be short (it certainly won't have Hangover-type legs) and for most people who saw it, it will be just a distant memory by the end of the month. In that time, Warner Bros. should see enough bank to call it at least a mid-level hit, but not anything beyond that.

Tim Briody: A few years ago, if you told me that drug-addled Robert Downey, Jr. and cult comedian Zach Galifianakis would open a buddy comedy to $33 million, I'd have asked for a sample of whatever you were on. Yeah, Due Date is probably not very good. But as Tom pointed out, neither was Couples Retreat and that hit $100 million. This might just do the same.

Shalimar Sahota: As Matthew says, we've seen this kinda of film before. The most obvious connection would be Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and I just see this as a modern day remake. I think the opening take is generally good, and while reviews may hurt it a bit from going far over $100 million, the appeal of the stars and the director means that it'll certainly finish as close to it as possible.

Reagen Sulewski: I think you're expecting a lot out of star power if you're thinking Due Date would do more than this. Downey has a natural charisma but he's not a guy we're used to thinking of in comedies. Galifianakis is hilarious but still sort of an underground figure. So we're left with the concept, which is solid but not a stroke of genius like the obvious comparison of The Hangover.

Michael Lynderey: It's what happens when the folks at the studio lab mix the right elements - one unquestionably big name, one who looks like he will become one, a couple of cameos and decent jokes in the trailer, and a fairly uncomplex, easy-to-digest premise. Will Due Date be remembered ten years from now? Probably not. But it's a big, unmessy plus in the studio's books, so it certainly has earned its place in the studio's 2010 slate, and I doubt much more was ever really expected of it.

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