ROTTEN TOMATOES: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Ferrell & Heder Still America's Favorite Couple Comments

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Ferrell & Heder Still America's Favorite Couple

by RT Staff | April 08, 2007

Summary

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder skated to another gold medal victory over the Easter holiday as the comedy "Blades of Glory" remained atop the charts despite the arrival of a handful of new pictures. The Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez experiment "Grindhouse" opened well below expectations and finished with disappointing results in fourth place. Back to Article

(1-36 of 36 posts) | Reply

JoshTee! writes:
on Apr 08 2007 05:10 PM

[b]Hmmm...[/b]
The news about Grindhouse makes me sad.

Does it really make much sense to open the movie over Easter weekend, though? Surely there can't be much of an audience for an R-rated action movie over a family holiday. Even people like myself get dragged to sh*t like Firehouse Dog on weekends like this...

I don't have the option of going to Grindhouse, however, because my hometown theatre (a 14 screen, mind you) didn't get it. Idiots.

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bribios writes:
on Apr 08 2007 05:12 PM

Shame about grindhouse, although i guess mine is another 8.50 that didnt see the movie. Hell, they might as well have kept it NC-17. next weekend maybe...

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dagreenman18 writes:
on Apr 08 2007 05:59 PM

How the hell does shit like are we Done Yet? pull in more than grindhouse. if it's not number1 next week im gonna be really fucking pissed.

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FireflyFan4evr writes:
on Apr 08 2007 06:52 PM

We all know what movie out of this weekend's batch will still be remembered 25 years from now. ie- Grindhouse. Not any of these other retarded movies that retarded people have to keep seeing.

And why do families have to see the wussiest films out there nowadays? QT and RR saw movies like Grindhouse when they were kids. Hell, I saw The Terminator and Aliens when I was 6.

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Read-A-Book writes:
on Apr 08 2007 08:21 PM

As the JoshTee stated, this is a family holiday, so most people went to see "safe" movies with family in town.

Also, I think a lot of fans of Grindhouse (including me) are waiting for it on DVD where we can enjoy the unrated version. HINT HINT. Rush this to DVD!

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pmart456 writes:
on Apr 08 2007 09:08 PM

People won't remember any of this weekend's movies in 25 years, in fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that none of this year's movies, so far, will be considered classics in 25 years. . . Grindhouse will be considered a failed experiment by Tarantino, who btw already has a classic film that people have talked about for more than a decade already - Pulp Fiction

Grindhouse won't be number 1 next weekend either. . .Disturbia or Perfect Stranger will be. . unless they both get AWFUL reviews, in which case, it could be Blades three weeks in a row (ew).

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Volkovoy writes:
on Apr 08 2007 09:40 PM

[b]You have go to be kidding me.[/b]
Ok I can understand that it might have been the wrong weekend to release Grindhouse (Easter and all) and that it might have been a movie targeted to a very specific audience but PLEASE!! Are We Done Yet?? I thought Grindhouse might have gotten #2 at least. I could have understood Meet the Robinsons, and maybe even Blades of Glory 2 weekends in a row but Are We Done Yet!!! I know I'm on a tangent... To comment of a few things said already.

If you were a true fan of Grindhouse you would have went to a theater to see it, one critic said it best "It reminded me of why we used to go to the movies and buy popcorn, it made going to the movies fun again." I haven't had this much fun at the flicks in a long time. I will say one thing though, I can't wait for the DVD, I hope that it's packed full of extras! Oh, BTW, since there isn't anything good coming out this week, I'll probably go and see it again!

I saw cool movies like Terminator, Aliens, Friday the 13th, etc.... when I was a kid, and I hope my children would rather see Grindhouse over Are We Done Yet...there I go again...

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smartmoviekid writes:
on Apr 08 2007 09:59 PM

THIS IS FREAKIN INSANE! look i understand that its easter but crap like "are we done yet'' (which doesn't deserve capitals mind you) pulls in more. this is stupid to the highest level. i hope people get the common sense to witness the once in a lifetime experience that is "Grindhouse" next week. I did, and man I'll never forget it.

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Elixir writes:
on Apr 09 2007 12:52 AM

grindhouse was awesome but it should not have opened on a holiday weekend like this, FREAKING EASTER

come on people

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MarkMortimer writes:
on Apr 09 2007 02:53 AM

In reply to this comment (#860656)
Which probably explains your antisocial attitude :)

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ThreePea writes:
on Apr 09 2007 04:23 AM

You people scare me. You would want to your kids to go see Grindhouse? I guess the fact that most of you saw Aliens and Terminator when you were young kids explains a lot. Hope your kids don't go to my school. Sheesh.

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red_wine writes:
on Apr 09 2007 06:15 AM

Wow! This is shocking! And even embarrassing. Commercial success more than makes up for critical panning but critical acclaim ain't enough if the movie under-performs. There's not a doubt about it. As of now, Grindhouse has failed.

Its not like Grindhouse is Letters From Iwo Jima. You don't expect to earn money for such movies. You have tremendous critical acclaim and the payback comes in terms of awards....and well in this case, a film that will be remembered as as one of the great war movies of the modern times. What will Grindhouse get? Nothing, money was the only thing that could have made Grindhouse successful.

Too bad though. I thought the movie had great coolness quotient that the crowd that flocked to see the R-Rated 300(Mother f ucking 367 worldwide gross!!!!) would also go to see more blood and gore. Sad.

I'm still looking forward to it though. I suggest, rethink your publicity campaign and release it as a double feature across the world.

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daycare writes:
on Apr 09 2007 07:10 AM

Are we there yet was a huge hit back in 2005. Why inm the hell would you think that Are we done yet would not be a hit. Ice Cube last 4 films has been baxoffice hit. What makes this any diffrent.

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Merlin235 writes:
on Apr 09 2007 07:46 AM

In reply to this comment (#860664)
Every time a movie like Grindhouse comes out, the same people flood the boards with comments like, "I just creamed myself" and "I think I need to change my pants" and "what higher calling is there than tits and violence." And yes, it's worrysome to me, to. Hopefully they are no where near the Jr. High kids I mentor. Personally, I can't for the life of me discover when or why being "provocative" has earned films critical praise. Provocative doesn't mean it's worthwhile or beneficial.

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JustAnotherName writes:
on Apr 09 2007 07:55 AM

[b]Advertising is the Key[/b]
Grindhouse just didn't have the right advertising plan. And yes, Easter weekend was a bad move. Parents took young ones to MTR and AWTR and the teens went next door for BOG.

BOG had a BRIILIANT advertising campaign. They made errors in the begiining focusing too much on the jokey gay angle. I think when they realized they made an error (people were not interested in a movie all about gay jokes) they switched gears and hit the web, ads and talk shows hard. They targeted their market and focussed on Ferrell. It must have been a small fortune but they took the gamble, obviously feeling they had the right cards, and it worked.

I don't know how MTR will do out of theatres. Isn't the 3-D what its all about? I think they are going to take a hit on this one.

AWTY or whatever this one was called had an audience for the 1st one and it was smart to open Easter weekend.

Fire House Dog. I like these kind of movies. It will make it up in DVDs.

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BuckRogers writes:
on Apr 09 2007 07:57 AM

In reply to this comment (#860666)
Yeah but, that doesn't explain why he is the worst actor in the worst movies of all time.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Apr 09 2007 08:05 AM

In reply to this comment (#860666)
Actually XXX:State of the Union flopped badly.

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FILMCZY writes:
on Apr 09 2007 08:05 AM

Also with a 3 hour+ running time, theatres are not going to have as many showing as, say, "Are We Done Yet?", hence a lower box-office. I can't exactly see theatre chains showing this on 5 screens...

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Apr 09 2007 08:13 AM

This is kinda how I thought Grindhouse would do. I saw it and it was an all new experience for me because I wasn't around back in the 70's. Planet Terror was amusing for a while and then just got kinda old, but Death Proof was pretty damn sweet with one of the greatest car chase scenes ever and a great turn by Kurt Russell. I also saw Blades of Glory which was amusing, not the greatest film ever but worth seeing once.

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homeimp writes:
on Apr 09 2007 08:38 AM

In reply to this comment (#860656)
This post made me very sad. There is no need for children to see The Terminator or Aliens, any more than there is a need for them to see The 300 or GrindHouse. This is not a censorship issue, it's just plain common sense. We don't teach children to read by handing them Lord of the Rings or The Naked And The Dead. We don't teach them to draw by having them copy the Mona Lisa. One of the worst experiences of my movie life was coming out of Natural Born Killers and realizing that behind me was a man carrying his 4 year old boy in his arms. Want to make a bet where that 4 year old is now? A college graduate for sure, right?

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Gimy writes:
on Apr 09 2007 08:46 AM

there's a few factors that went into this miserable showing. it had VERY LITTLE to do with the actual movie. the time and the fact that the other movies(which are complete GARBAGE) made more leans towards the "R rated" conspiracy. under 17 bought tix to the other movies, and either watched them and snuck into Grindhouse or just went to Grindhouse instead. i don't care if a Q movie is 2 years long, no way it would get beat out by a hack Will Ferrell/Jon Heder(can either play a different character...EVER?!) and an Ice Cube kiddy flick. some theaters showed it 3 times(mine) and others didn't show it AT ALL. it was set up to fail. sucks too because its one of the best movies out and i bet MOST theater chains drop it after two weeks, if that. i GUARANTEE the dvd's will sell like crazy though. Unrated...and each movie will be 2 or so hours...

(Reply to this)

Racer Z writes:
on Apr 09 2007 09:23 AM

In reply to this comment (#860674)
I agree with some of what you're trying to say. I saw Grindhouse this weekend, but there is NO WAY I'm ever taking my son to see it. I can understand why family movies came out on top on a weekend like this. On the other hand, I don't necessarily think taking a child to an "R" rated movie is going to ruin them for the rest of their lives either. I saw Blade Runner (one of my favorite movies) in theatres when I was 9 years old. I even saw movies like Stir Crazy and 48 Hours in theatres. Now, my dad took me to a lot of movies when I was a kid that I would NEVER take my son to now, but it didn't ruin me. I went to college and am now a successful illustrator and graphic designer.

It's all about parents teaching their children good values and not leaving it up to Hollywood to do that. My parents are awesome and did an incredible job raising my brother and I. It really had nothing to do with the movies we saw.

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brownitus writes:
on Apr 09 2007 10:03 AM

[b]Hahahaha[/b]
It's a BUSINESS, dudes. Look at Wild Hogs, that turd has grabbed almost $150M. The four of them were on Oprah, etc. It was smart marketing, same shit with any of the other crappy films that rake in $$$. Families want entertainment for an hour and a half or two hours before or after they've had their dinner at Denny's.

Grindhouse has a very narrow fanbase, and then they put it out on Easter weekend of all times, the hell do you expect. It will likely be a big hit on DVD, they'll make a profit on it for sure. But when you're a business, you don't say "Uhh, there's some 20-something pothead college bozos with no money that want us to make ABC Film, let's do it!" You say "There's millions of families that like Joe Actor, let's put him in Crap Script A and get a decent team on the post-production, families will be in the right mood at Easter, bingo!" There's nothing wrong with that, it just IS. Grindhouse has been put out, all the nerds will get off bigtime when the DVD comes out and is filled with extras and blah blah.

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LEGENDc writes:
on Apr 09 2007 10:53 AM

[b]G-House gets an A[/b]
This weekends movie venture had me eagerly anticipating a double bill
of B-Movies, which I never have watched a B-Movie in the theater but
when these movies are being made by Quentin Tarantino and Robert
Rodriguez I cant help to jump on the rollercoaster and enjoy the ride.
The first movie was Planet Terror by Rodriguez and was about flesh
eating zombies attacking and eating everything in there way. Ridiculous
dialogue, overacting, over the top action all on a real bad print of
film just makes me laugh to myself as I enjoy this real bad horror
movie, (and yes I know that all those things I just described our
staples in grind house movies). The thing that made me really enjoy
Planet Terror was the cast, we had Freddy Rodriguez, Rose McGowan, Jeff
Fahey, Michael Bien, Quentin Tarantino, Naveen Andrews (Sayeed from
Lost), Bruce Willis, Stacey Ferguson ( yes Fergie), and my favorite Josh
Brolin as a doctor whose wife is in the middle of running out on him
with her lesbian lover until that is the Zombies attack. The second
film Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino is a welcome breath of fresh air
in this 3 hour and 11 minute film. A film that I can only describe as
100 percent Tarantino. It seemed like a sixty minute set up to some of
the greatest car stunts I've ever seen. Casting a real stunt women as
herself in this movie (Zo� Bell) Tarantino strikes gold in a half
dialogue half jaw dropping car chase of a movie. Kurt Russell is beyond
great as the villain Stuntman Mike and Death Proof just nails the whole
Action B- movie genre for me. So for Grindhouse to cover everything in
one viewing they added four fake trailers and an add for the restraunt
next to the theater. All very funny and so weird that this was stuff
that was really put out there in the seventies and replicated perfectly
here by the two film geeks Tarantino and Rodriguez. How did they decide
to do a horror film then a great stunt action film? How did they get
perfect trailers to fill in the space needed? How did they get me to
enjoy myself so much watching bad movies for three hours? All the
answers lie within the geniuses of Tarantino/Rodriguez. For a bloody
good time and your moneys worth this is a house worth visiting.

(Reply to this)

StuntmanMike writes:
on Apr 09 2007 11:37 AM

[b]HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!![/b]
Honestly, did anyone here know that "Are We Done Yet?" is a sequel to "Are We There Yet?" before reading this article??!!! WTF? Firstly, I barely remember the advertising for the first one and that was Ice Cube's highest grossing movie? Oh my God! What about "Anaconda" (classic B-movie) and the first two Friday's! How did this happen? They used to only make sequels to good movies, now they give a sequel to anything!

And Grindhouse rocks. I've seen it twice already and each time I come out of the theatre feeling like I've been on the best rollercoaster ever. Hopefully it will do better next weekend. I think the Easter release with "Blades of Glory" fresh on it's heels was a mistake. But honestly, who cares if it doesn't make as much money as expected? Tarentino and Rodriguez still have the creative licenses to do what they want when they want. They're gonna keep on making movies on their own terms, no matter what the box office, and that's what counts.

(Reply to this)

bookworm1994 writes:
on Apr 09 2007 12:22 PM

[b]I told you so!!![/b]
Well, well. Look what we have here. I want an apology from you all.

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curtis writes:
on Apr 09 2007 12:30 PM

[b]Boxoffice from Sunday- Are we done yet movies up.[/b]
You can not take the power away from kids.

. BLADES OF GLORY PARAMOUNT 3,410 4,885,000 1,433 -41% 68,014,000
2. ARE WE DONE YET? SONY 2,877 3,510,000 1,220 n/a 18,565,000
3. MEET THE ROBINSON BVI 3,435 3,465,000 1,009 -52% 52,112,000
4. GRINDHOUSE WEINSTEIN CO. 2,624 2,525,000 962 n/a 11,440,000
5. REAPING, THE WARNER BROS. 2,603 2,500,000 960 n/a 11,960,000
6. 300 WARNER BROS. 2,674 2,130,000 797 -39% 193,512,000
7. SHOOTER PARAMOUNT 2,353 1,555,000 661 -38% 36,763,000
8. WILD HOGS BVI 2,825 1,510,000 535 -31% 145,386,900
9. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (TMNT) WARNER BROS. 2,811 1,070,000 381 -61% 46,630,000
10. FIREHOUSE DOG 20TH CENTURY FOX 2,860 800,000 280 n/a 5,050,000
11. PREMONITION SONY 1,752 710,000 405 -46% 44,458,000
12. REIGN OVER ME SONY 1,747 605,000 346 -42% 17,367,000
13. HILLS HAVE EYES II, THE FOX ATOMIC 1,169 445,000 381 -61% 19,140,000
14. LAST MIMZY, THE WARNER BROS. 2,104 435,000 207 -66% 19,138,000
15. NAMESAKE, THE FOX SEARCHLIGHT 335 435,000 1,299 -3% 6,877,000
16. HOAX, THE MIRAMAX 235 350,000 1,489 n/a 1,400,000
17. AFTER THE WEDDING IFC FILMS 7 15,000 2,143 -6% 119,000

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nickb1016 writes:
on Apr 09 2007 01:24 PM

honestly im not suprised that grindhouse failed. i was extremely excited for it, but i didnt go c it in theaters for one reason...nobody wanted to go c it with me. all of my friends were like that looks stupid, its going to be bad, how can one movie be 3 hours long. i kept trying to explain that its 2 movies, its supposed to seem bad, and how the hell is rose mcgowan with a machine gun leg not one of the coolest things ever! they jst didnt get it and im guessing that a lot of other people didnt get it either. i only got it because i looked it up on the computer. if the concept is not spoon fed to them then the entire american public is not going to get it...its sad

(Reply to this)

tycox writes:
on Apr 09 2007 04:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#860674)
[b]DON'T BE SUCH A PUSS!!![/b]
I would rather expose my child to a graphic movie anyday than to have him watch the news and see what George W. Bush is doing to this country! That would truley frighten any child if he/she could understand the real fear in this world brought on my our own government!

(Reply to this)

godinanalcove writes:
on Apr 09 2007 06:36 PM

In reply to this comment (#860678)
[b]Does this sound similar?[/b]
"Ridiculous dialogue, overacting, over the top action all on a real bad print of
film just makes me laugh to myself as I enjoy this real bad horror
movie" LEGENDc

Was this X3? When I saw planet terror, spoilers, the guy at the hospital. Oh look wolve with blades, it seems similar to the third X men. But low budget and actually better than X3, where or how did Ratner spend the money?

(Reply to this)

Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Apr 09 2007 10:12 PM

In reply to this comment (#860683)
It's always the government's fault, isn't it? Let's always blame the government. Let's pound our chests, throw back our heads and scream out loud how this dumb republican or that corrupt democrat has screwed us over... Now, if you're living in a country where totalitarianism is the norm, you have a point....

Children are a product of their parents and the teaching therein, not the government (I'm not sure which would be worse, but that's splitting hairs on one nasty scalp). If anybody outside of the parental unit is to blame for anything, it's the media, not the government.

(Reply to this)

smartmoviekid writes:
on Apr 09 2007 10:56 PM

actually i don't think a child will learn a lot form seeing crap about families doing stuff in a broken home or a CGI dog or two feminine-acting skaters either. movies re not always a learning experience. and i've been seeing violent material since i was 4 and look at me im top in my school with my grades. im not saying let ur kids watch blood and gore, im saying maybe these kids movies are not enough to let kids experience something new as they get older.

(Reply to this)

iheartbrucecampbell writes:
on Apr 10 2007 01:21 AM

In reply to this comment (#860686)
[b]hmm[/b]
how're your grades in english?

as for the failure of grindhouse, just look at all the "yeah, i wanted to see it, but then i didn't because blah blah" people. there's your answer, half of the people they were banking on to see it didn't show up because they were either too stoned or were the only people in their group of friends that cared to see it, and couldn't possibly be caught dead alone in a theatre. as for me, i saw it twice, once at a thursday night showing with a packed theatre that absolutely howled with delight, and then again on saturday, where it was just the five people i went with and an old couple. bizarre turns of events, for sure, but again, if the core audience doesn't bother to see it, then they're screwed. but rest assured, they will be double and triple and quadruple dipping with the dvds, so they'll make their money back.

(Reply to this)

JustAnotherName writes:
on Apr 10 2007 06:49 AM

In reply to this comment (#860686)
[b]Media does effect children and young adults.[/b]
If some of the older people are posting they will probably acknowledge that media (print, music, movies, etc.) did indeed have an effect on them. Now, it could have been positive, negative or both. I think that media did effect me when I was a teen and young adult.

Some girls become anorexic. Some people act out violence. Others change the way they think about morals.

On the other hand some are moved to go into the entertainment business. Some decide on a business career or have a social/spiritual awakening.

The media does have an effect and it is parenting that guides the children. Too much of what the parents do not think is appropriate can change a childs thinking. A parent needs to limit exposure if they do not think it is acceptable for their way of life. And if their is exposure to meida the parent does not approve of then parents needs to be a PARENTS and look out for changes in their childs thinking and actions.

All too often the parents are not remembering the effect the media had on them and if their parents did anything if it was not in agreement with the family standards. They may stay on top of the childs school friends, attendance, grades and so on yet they seem to misunderstand there are other areas of life that effect their childrens choices.

(Reply to this)

bookworm1994 writes:
on Apr 10 2007 06:34 PM

[b]Told you so . . .[/b]
Well, well. I want an apology. Grindhouse will break 30M is what I heard. Haha! Told you BoxOfficeGuru is wrong!!!

Oh, don't give me that psychobabble. I am right, and you are wrong.

(Reply to this)

jeanpaul writes:
on Apr 15 2007 10:57 AM

In reply to this comment (#860682)
[b]GrindHouse is for fucking sadists.[/b]
Your friends seem to have more sense and logic, and are probaby far less sadistic than you are. THAT is the reason they didn't come with you to that "twisted", sick, sadistic entertainment you so very much enjoy and look forward to.

A person has to be twisted, un-educated, man-hating, everything hating sadist to enjoy watching movies like Grindhouse.

It's UGLY that such movies are being made. But what's UGLIER is that there are people willing to pay to watch this sadistic crap.
Such people... God save us from them.

(Reply to this)

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