ROTTEN TOMATOES: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Semi-Pro Wins Over Weak Frame

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Semi-Pro Wins Over Weak Frame

Ferrell owns the the top the box office.

by Gitesh Pandya | March 02, 2008

Will Ferrell scored another number one hit but attracted smaller-than-expected crowds to his new basketball comedy Semi-Pro leading the North American box office to slump to its worst showing in three months. Opening in semi-national release, the period romance The Other Boleyn Girl performed well but the comedy Penelope stumbled and barely made the top ten.

Ferrell's latest attempt to mine laughs out of sports came in the form of Semi-Pro which opened atop the charts this weekend to an estimated $15.3M. The New Line release averaged a decent $4,906 from 3,121 sites but did not match the numbers of the funnyman's other recent hits like Blades of Glory ($33M), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ($47M), and Anchorman ($28.4M). Those were all rated PG-13 allowing the comedian's teen fans to buy tickets while Semi-Pro carried the more restrictive R which most likely affected ticket sales. It was the lowest gross for a number one film since Jodie Foster's The Brave One which debuted to $13.5M last September.

Sony's hit assassination thriller Vantage Point fell to second place but enjoyed a good hold dropping 43% to an estimated $13M. The ensemble actioner has banked a terrific $41M in ten days and has benefited from a highly effective marketing push by the studio. Look for a domestic final of $70-75M.

Holding up even better was the fantasy adventure The Spiderwick Chronicles with an estimated $8.8M. The Paramount pic slipped only 33% and is taking advantage of a marketplace lacking other options for families.

Sony scored a solid debut for its period drama The Other Boleyn Girl which bowed to an estimated $8.3M from only 1,166 locations for an impressive $7,118 average. It was the best per-theater performance of any film in the Top 20. Starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, the PG-13 film played overwhelmingly to young women. Studio research indicated that the audience was 72% female and 66% under 35. Reviews were not very positive.

Jumper jumped down to fifth dropping 40% to an estimated $7.6M giving Fox $66.8M to date. Buena Vista's urban dance pic Step Up 2 The Streets followed with an estimated $5.7M, off 41%, for a $48.6M cume. The Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson reunion pic Fool's Gold grossed an estimated $4.7M, down only 28%, and raised its sum to $59.1M for Warner Bros.

Two films tied for eighth place with an estimated $4M each. Summit debuted its Christina Ricci pic Penelope in 1,196 locations and averaged a mild $3,349. The PG-rated film appealed to a more female audience and saw direct competition from the solid launch of Boleyn. Reviews were mixed. Oscar king No Country For Old Men expanded from 1,101 to 2,037 sites to capitalize on its Academy Award attention and climbed back into the top ten. Miramax has grossed $69.6M to date and should be headed past the $80M mark domestically.

Another Oscar winner Juno placed tenth with an estimated $3.4M, down just 19%, and upped its total to $135.1M. Fox Searchlight's indie sensation jumped up to number 16 on the list of top-grossing 2007 releases surpassing its parent studio's expensive summer action sequels Live Free or Die Hard and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Ellen Page's Juno is also the highest-grossing female-led film since 2002's Academy Award-winning musical Chicago which was headlined by Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $74.7M which was down a troubling 28% from last year when Wild Hogs opened at number one with $39.7M; and off 4% from 2006 when Madea's Family Reunion remained in the top spot with $12.6M in its second weekend.

Author: Gitesh Pandaya, www.boxofficeguru.com

(1-20 of 27 posts) | Reply

Bloody Mathias writes:
on Mar 02 2008 02:38 PM

Definitive proof that Farrell owes his hollywood career to scratchy-voiced and pimply middle school kids who flock to his PG-13 flicks. That R rating is not something he or studios backing his films will want after this.

(Reply to this)

thewholeyearinn writes:
on Mar 02 2008 05:26 PM

Agreed, it's just bad business at this point. I'm surprised they didn't get the message after Walk Hard flopped with an R-rating this past Christmas.
Will Farrell/Judd Apatow's arrogant athlete roles make for better than average comedies, but it's still true that half of their audience is the Scary Movie X crowd. Besides, they're always going to release them on DVD with a half an hour of extra filthy material that was cut, regardless of whether the rating of their original release. Personally, I'm glad because I get to see (generally)funnier movies when they're allowed to go for the R rating; and more importantly, I get to see them without the awful high school crowd.

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thewholeyearinn writes:
on Mar 02 2008 05:29 PM

*regardless of the rating on their original release (..oops)

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knowingtoast85 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 05:31 PM

Watch, with this and "Walk Hard," R-rated comedy will be pronounced dead any day now. Not that I think it is, or want it to be (at all), but suits look for trends of two. After all, it was "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" that started this.

I just hope "Pineapple Express" finds an audience in early August.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 05:35 PM

PINE APPLE EXPRESS looks ausome, I'm sure that will do good. I havent seen SEMI PRO yet, but I still plan on seeing it.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 05:36 PM

I got to see BE KIND REWIND on the weekend which was really good.

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JakeTheSnakeMane writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:12 PM

People seem to forget that The 40 Year Old Virgin proved R rated movies could make money before Knocked Up and Superbad.

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selke99 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:35 PM

And Wedding Crashers

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lamer writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:44 PM

Big surprise...

At least I can feel proud that I spend my money on "Spiderwick" over "Semi-Pro" and "Vantage Point".

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hewpot writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:46 PM

thewholeyearinn, your a joke...

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raymel1 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:46 PM

Just another Will Ferrell Movie to PASS on. Maybe One day, MAYBE, Possibly, I hope anyway, he will make a movie thats actually funny. I wont bet on it tho.

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zeldy345 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 06:58 PM

the media and viewing audience are impatient and very demanding these days...everything has to be new and different, but still have comfortable elements of the same in it...basically it has to be "contradictorily coherent." If an actor/actress embraces a theme more than once it becomes an old and tired gag. And well, people dont realize that comedy, especially in film, is about picking a persona and sticking w/ the gag...chaplin, arbuckle, buster keaton etc. they all did this. However, people now suffer from extreme overstimulation and its affecting film criticism. PostModern theory reveals how the Arts try to reinvent themselves at the same pace as current technological advances, and its a self annihilating process...this killed the classical arts (painting, sculpture etc.) in the 20th century, and it will probably kill film in the 21st century...its just a matter of time :(

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AnthonyDidge writes:
on Mar 02 2008 07:13 PM

I miss supporting actor/ensemble member Will Ferrell. SNL, Old School, hell the Landlord and Good Cop, Baby Cop online skits (Pearl was the star there) were funny stuff but on his own as the main actor it's a tired old game in the spotlight, this is from a fan of his stuff off SNL. I still remember the first skit I saw him in with Mariel Hemingway where they're yelling at their kids off camera to get off the roof. Sorry for the digression, Will go back to ensemble casts, much funnier.

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Moviemaniack1993 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 07:55 PM

The failure was due to the rating. Had it been PG-13, it would have easily pulled in close to $30 million. Maybe $40 million. Theaters were packed with kids who couldn't get into this movie, so I am surprised that Vantage Point was not number 1 again (the only other movie teenage kids would be likely to buy a ticket to once they were rejected from seeing Semi-Pro).

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Brad 3000 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 09:47 PM

In reply to this comment (#1613374)
I don't think the failure of Semi-Pro - if we can really call number one a failure - was due to the rating at all. We've seen that R-rated comedies can go very far time and time again. I think it was due to the fact that Blades of Glory sucked and the semi-weak open for Semi-Pro is more of a reflection on people feeling let down the last time out. Just my opinion though.

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Brad 3000 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 09:52 PM

In reply to this comment (#1613374)
Also, the "another Will Farrel sports comedy" thing. I think the formula is wearing thin for people. That said, i have to disagree with the critics - I enjoyed Semi-Pro better than any of Will's outings since Anchorman. Although maybe that was because I went in with low expectations.

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westond writes:
on Mar 02 2008 09:55 PM

I can't figure out why the studio released this with an R rating. I heard a couple of F-bombs and quite a few c*cksuckers but there was no nudity and the swearing could have easily been removed. Seems like they could have doubled their earnings without a whole lot of effort.

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ajmk123 writes:
on Mar 02 2008 10:03 PM

When is will farrel going to learn that he is not funny and is only good in a supporting role like Old School, HE CANNOT LEAD A MOVIE, just like that dude from 40 year old virgin.

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Poor_Frisco writes:
on Mar 02 2008 10:18 PM

"that dude" your talking about is Steve Carell and he's brilliant in almost everything he does (Evan Almighty being the one snag) whether he's the star or supporting. 40 year old virgin and the office shows he can carry the story and things like anchorman shows he can be a hilarious side character.

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CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Mar 02 2008 11:17 PM

hey, to go off topic for a moment... how about juno's impressive

box office total so far? it has now passed the fine, potentially, last

installment in the "die hard" franchise and thankfully passed the hopefully

last Marvel rotten film, Fantastic Four II. It just shows their still is

hope that audiences still have a taste for quality stories and fine acting:)

And yes, AnthonyDidge, I completely agree with your fine point about ewill

ferell and how he should choose more supporting/ ensemble roles. He was, in

my opinion, the last quality comic talent that S.N.L. produced and since he

left the show has gone considerably down hill since. Unfortunately like most

former S.N.L. members, his career has not been filled with many quality

comedy classics with him as the title character. I hope he goes back to being

a supporting actor because that is where his career could flourish. Hey, it

worked for his co-star, John Reilly, why not him? and i mean in quality

performances for reilly, not box office as i know "Walk Hard" didn't do so

well.

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