Box Office Guru Preview: Can Chuck and Larry Beat Up Harry?
Two new star-driven Hollywood comedies face off at the box office this weekend in an attempt to unseat Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix from the top spot. Adam Sandler headlines the gay marriage pic I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry while John Travolta goes one step further starring as a heavy-set mom in the musical Hairspray. For the first time in nearly a month, no new release gets an early midweek headstart.
The happy couple
Adam Sandler is back for his annual trip to blockbusterland in Chuck and Larry starring with Kevin James and Jessica Biel. The PG-13 film reunites Sandler with director Dennis Dugan (Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore) and tells the story of two heterosexual firefighters who pretend to be married to each other to take advantage of the financial benefits. The former Saturday Night Live star only does one film per year and each comedy has a specific well-defined plot. That has led to a string of hits at the box office as fans so far have not had too much of him. Earlier this year, Eddie Murphy reached $34.2M with Norbit's opening while Will Ferrell bowed to $33M with Blades of Glory. Chuck should go a little higher.
The former wedding singer has scored $100M blockbusters in each of the last five years and aims to extend the streak to six with his latest summer offering. Last June, his comedy Click bowed to $40M on its way to $137.3M while 2005's The Longest Yard debuted to $47.6M over three days before heading to a $158.1M final. Sandler is one of the most reliable box office draws in the business and his usual fan following, skewing a bit more male, should be back again this time. Reviews have been bad as usual but should not factor in much. Potter and Transformers will still provide some competition for young males and females may be swayed more to Hairspray. Universal's marketing push has been on par with past films from the actor and Sandler has been hitting up all the standard talk shows for his yearly sales pitches. Tying the knot in 3,492 theaters, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry could open to about $37M.
The happy couple
Page | 1 2
(1-18 of 18 posts) | Reply
on Jul 19 2007 06:36 PM I predict $34 million for Chuck and Larry $13 million for Hairspray I`m always wrong, but whatever... (Reply to this) |
on Jul 19 2007 06:42 PM "Reviews have been bad as usual but should not factor in much." Hahaha, what a perfect quote. I love it. Also, is Chuck and Larry Rated R? I've been seeing that around here and there, and I'm fairly sure it's PG-13, but I'd appreciate it if anyone cared to verify. (Reply to this) |
on Jul 19 2007 06:53 PM It's PG-13. It was changed from R on appeal. (Reply to this) |
on Jul 19 2007 06:55 PM * Burbage dies on pg. 12 * Hedwig dies on pg. 56 * Mad-Eye dies on pg. 78 * Scrimgeour dies on pg. 159 * Wormtail dies on pg. 471 * Dobby dies on pg. 476 * Snape gets bitten on the neck by Nagini, dies on pg. 658 * Fred Weasley gets blown up on pg. 637 * Harry gets ****ed up by Voldemort on pg. 704 o Comes back to life on pg. 724 *Voldemort gets killed by his own rebounding curse (n00b) on pg. 744 * Tonks, Lupin, and Colin Creevy have their deaths confirmed on pg. 745 (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 19 2007 07:57 PM This reporter doesn't know what he is talking about. "The former Saturday Night Live star only does one film per year and each comedy has a specific well-defined plot." Ok, well tell that to my favorite movie of the year so far, Reign Over Me. (Reply to this) |
on Jul 19 2007 08:41 PM In reply to this comment (#949885) Okay, please stop with the fake spoilers. They're annoying as hell and nobody's buying it. And I think I'd die if I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry beats HP5 at the box office. It looks heinous. (Reply to this) |
on Jul 19 2007 09:21 PM In reply to this comment (#949885) hey, dude no one likes a blabbermouth to ruin their lives after a decade long commitment to something so special. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 19 2007 10:35 PM I predict both of these films will bomb...based on the simple fact that they both look horrible. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 10:04 AM In reply to this comment (#951193) Ah you forget my friend, the power of Adam Sandler. I thought Anger Management was one of the most pretentious, crappy movies I'd ever seen, yet it makes, what, over 200 mil? Click wasn't all that great yet makes well over 100 mill. Little Nicky made a little coin, and Mr. Deeds I heard wasn't that good, yet also makes over 100 mil. It's like that South Park where Cartman is the Awesomo 2000 and he comes up with these crappy movie ideas with Sandler, and the Hollywood execs are just eating it up. Sad how true that is. But I did enjoy Waterboy, Gilmore, Big Daddy, Madison, 50 First Dates (not as much). (Reply to this) |
on Jul 20 2007 11:06 AM Harry - $40 million Chuck & Larry - $35 million Hairspray - $20 million Transformers - $18 million Ratatouille - $10 million (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 11:06 AM Harry - $40 million Chuck & Larry - $35 million Hairspray - $20 million Transformers - $18 million Ratatouille - $10 million (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 11:06 AM Harry - $40 million Chuck & Larry - $35 million Hairspray - $20 million Transformers - $18 million Ratatouille - $10 million (Reply to this) |
on Jul 20 2007 11:25 AM In reply to this comment (#950709) Preach it, Bobby. Power to the HP lovers who can't stand dumb spoilers. If I hear another Harry dies I may very well kill myself. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 11:26 AM In reply to this comment (#950382) I think he means big comedies. No, he wasn't specific, but who the hell cares. Yay to Reign Over Me. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 01:59 PM Potter will hold to at least $40-$45 mil...possibly more with the new book coming out (spoilers above are ACCURATE....sorry, but it's true). Chuck & Larry will open very close to that, probably $35-$40 mil. Transformers will be 3rd with another $20-$25 mil. Ratatouille will take 4th with about $15 mil. Hairspray will garble in at 5th with about $10 mil. No one likes musicals (Chicago had tremendous actors, not hacks like Travolta and Pfieffer, and Dreamgirls got the African-American market because of Beyonce...deny it all you want, call it racist if you want, but fact is black people push black movies...look no further than the Wayans Brothers and the Madea films, which are all terrible). (Reply to this) |
on Jul 20 2007 02:21 PM I'm still going to see Chuck and Larry, it looks amusing and Biel is damn hot. You Kill Me just opened here today too, so I think I'll check that out Sunday. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 02:26 PM I say Potter takes it by a nose with all the book 7 hype. (Reply to this) |
|
on Jul 20 2007 09:00 PM In reply to this comment (#955596) I am very impressed to see someone predicting all holdovers dropping less than 45% from last weekend. If HARRY POTTER 5 dropped to just 40-45 million (just around , it will on track to be the highest grosser HP movie in the franchise. That was a very rosy and gutsy prediction, but the real eye-opener is predicting a less than 15% drop for RATATOUILLE, and less than a 25% drop for TRANSFORMERS. If the above prediction becomes true, this may well become one of the most impressive summer weekends ever, which we all love to see. (Reply to this) |
| You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register. |
Related Articles
-
Adam Shankman Leans on the Rock of Ages
(1)
-
Hairspray 2 to Feature Diet Pills, New Villains
(4)
- Weekly Ketchup: Anchorman 2, Dracula: Year Zero, Twilight Zone and Much More (34)
-
John Waters Opens Another Can of Hairspray
(4)
- 2008 MTV Movie Awards Winners (39)
- 2008 MTV Movie Award Nominations Announced (39)
- No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood Lead Critics' Choice Winners (8)
- Awards Mania: Spirits, SAGs Get Waivers, Announce Nominations; Uncertainty Surrounds Golden Globes (10)
- Atonement Leads Golden Globe Nominations (61)
- Jesse James Wins SF Critics Over; Into the Wild Leads Critics Choice Noms (5)
Most Discussed
- Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies (94)
- Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich (78)
- Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking (44)
- Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4 (41)
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks (34)
- Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee (29)
- 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World (28)
- Friday Harvest: Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, and more! (23)
- James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview (4)
- RT's Holiday Movie Preview -- Find Out What's Hot This Season! (0)
Latest News
- Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4 (41)
- Friday Harvest: Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, and more! (23)
- James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview (4)
- Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking (44)
- Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee (29)
- 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World (28)
- RT's Holiday Movie Preview -- Find Out What's Hot This Season! (0)
- Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich (78)
- Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies (94)
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks (34)
Latest Interviews
- James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview (4)
- John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (15)
- Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (15)
- Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview (8)
- Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film (28)
- Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)
- Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute (14)
- Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview (40)
- Michael Moore: The RT Interview (139)
- Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview (4)
Latest Features
- Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee (29)
- 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World (28)
- Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (36)
- 12 Facts About 2012 (135)
- RT's Movie Location Guide - London as Elsewhere (0)
- Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (15)
- Five Favourite Films with 24's Carlos Bernard (33)
- Six Horrible Part Sixes (32)
- Christopher Smith's Favourite Cult Horror Films (14)
- RT's Movie Location Guide - London as London (0)
IGN RSS Feeds