There was no Halo effect for Ben Stiller or the weekend box office.
Stiller's new comedy, The Heartbreak Kid, opened with a disappointing $14 million, per final studio figures released Monday, and the box office suffered its third straight down weekend when compared with last fall.
The videogame Halo 3, meanwhile, grossed more than $300 million in its first week of release, Microsoft said Thursday. The blockbuster sales figure dwarfed the $26.5 million that Hollywood's current top movie, The Game Plan, made in its first seven days in theaters.
But Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray said he doesn't think the success of Halo 3 is to blame for the box office's—or Stiller's—woes.
"I think these movies aren't that compelling," Gray said Sunday. "It's a very weak slate, and the box office is reflecting that."
Heartbreak Kid, which bowed in second place behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's kid-oriented Game Plan ($16.6 million), goes down as Stiller's weakest-ever opening for a movie that debuted at more 3,000 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo stats. It is a far cry—and many millions—from Meet the Fockers, which opened with $46.1 million in 2004, and last year's Night at the Museum, which jumped out to a start of $30.4 million.
For the directors, the Farrelly brothers, the debut was a statistical notch up from their 2005 romantic comedy Fever Pitch ($12.4 million), but when adjusted for inflation, a statistical notch—or three—down from their last comedy with Stiller, the 1998 breakout hit There's Something About Mary ($13.7 million).
A remake of Elaine May's 1972 character comedy of the same name, Stiller and the Farrellys' Heartbreak Kid was billed as an R-rated comedy for adults, with all the physical discomfort that now means.
"The nasty, negative slant of the movie's [advertising] was a turnoff," theorized Gray, referring to the taglines that warned "Love blows," "Love hurts" and so on, "particularly for the audience that liked Meet the Parents or There's Something About Mary."
The weekend's other major new releases would have killed for Heartbreak's heartbreak—and millions. The children's fantasy The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (fifth place, $3.7 million) and the teen dance drama Feel the Noise (seventh place, $3.2 million) proved little threat to The Game Plan.
Elsewhere, David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises ($2.1 million; $14.5 million overall) scaled back its release and fell out of the top 10. Also dropping out were Amanda Bynes' Sydney White ($1.4 million; $10.3 million overall) and Across the Universe ($1.9 million; $8.1 million overall), which unless it picks up the pace could make the notorious 1978 Beatles-tuned bust Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band look like a relative box-office powerhouse.
George Clooney, meanwhile, saw his star power light up the drama Michael Clayton, which grossed $719,910 at only 15 theaters. Michael Clayton held off the latest rerelease of the sci-fi classic Blade Runner ($89,150 at two theaters) for the weekend's highest per-screen average, $47,994 to $44,575.
In its second weekend of release, The Darjeeling Limited drew Owen Wilson into public and steamed ahead with $561,628 ($790,245 overall) at 19 theaters. Ang Lee's NC-17-rated Lust, Caution, also in its second weekend, was almost as strong: $362,808 ($471,158 overall) at 17 theaters.
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Stiller's new comedy, The Heartbreak Kid, opened with a disappointing $14 million, per final studio figures released Monday, and the box office suffered its third straight down weekend when compared with last fall.
The videogame Halo 3, meanwhile, grossed more than $300 million in its first week of release, Microsoft said Thursday. The blockbuster sales figure dwarfed the $26.5 million that Hollywood's current top movie, The Game Plan, made in its first seven days in theaters.
But Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray said he doesn't think the success of Halo 3 is to blame for the box office's—or Stiller's—woes.
"I think these movies aren't that compelling," Gray said Sunday. "It's a very weak slate, and the box office is reflecting that."
Heartbreak Kid, which bowed in second place behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's kid-oriented Game Plan ($16.6 million), goes down as Stiller's weakest-ever opening for a movie that debuted at more 3,000 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo stats. It is a far cry—and many millions—from Meet the Fockers, which opened with $46.1 million in 2004, and last year's Night at the Museum, which jumped out to a start of $30.4 million.
For the directors, the Farrelly brothers, the debut was a statistical notch up from their 2005 romantic comedy Fever Pitch ($12.4 million), but when adjusted for inflation, a statistical notch—or three—down from their last comedy with Stiller, the 1998 breakout hit There's Something About Mary ($13.7 million).
A remake of Elaine May's 1972 character comedy of the same name, Stiller and the Farrellys' Heartbreak Kid was billed as an R-rated comedy for adults, with all the physical discomfort that now means.
"The nasty, negative slant of the movie's [advertising] was a turnoff," theorized Gray, referring to the taglines that warned "Love blows," "Love hurts" and so on, "particularly for the audience that liked Meet the Parents or There's Something About Mary."
The weekend's other major new releases would have killed for Heartbreak's heartbreak—and millions. The children's fantasy The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (fifth place, $3.7 million) and the teen dance drama Feel the Noise (seventh place, $3.2 million) proved little threat to The Game Plan.
Elsewhere, David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises ($2.1 million; $14.5 million overall) scaled back its release and fell out of the top 10. Also dropping out were Amanda Bynes' Sydney White ($1.4 million; $10.3 million overall) and Across the Universe ($1.9 million; $8.1 million overall), which unless it picks up the pace could make the notorious 1978 Beatles-tuned bust Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band look like a relative box-office powerhouse.
George Clooney, meanwhile, saw his star power light up the drama Michael Clayton, which grossed $719,910 at only 15 theaters. Michael Clayton held off the latest rerelease of the sci-fi classic Blade Runner ($89,150 at two theaters) for the weekend's highest per-screen average, $47,994 to $44,575.
In its second weekend of release, The Darjeeling Limited drew Owen Wilson into public and steamed ahead with $561,628 ($790,245 overall) at 19 theaters. Ang Lee's NC-17-rated Lust, Caution, also in its second weekend, was almost as strong: $362,808 ($471,158 overall) at 17 theaters.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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