Box Office Guru Preview: Get Smart Spies Top Spot
Love Guru looking for love from moviegoers.
Two big star-driven studio comedies invade North American multiplexes on Friday giving audiences even more choices during what has been a scorching hot June box office. Steve Carell headlines the action-comedy Get Smart from Warner Bros. while Paramount counters with its Mike Myers starrer The Love Guru. Meanwhile a line-up of solid performers from past weeks will still be in theaters helping the overall industry deliver another busy session.
A full year after taking a beating for the mega-budgeted Evan Almighty, funnyman Carell aims to return to the number one spot with a film more suited for his talents - Get Smart. The PG-13 vehicle finds the star of The Office playing Maxwell Smart from the 1960s television show updated for today's modern era. Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Arkin co-star. The Warner Bros. title should play out as a major entertainer thanks to its mix of action and comedy. After recent hits like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, and his NBC sitcom, Carell is one of the most popular and relevant comedians working today. Add in a recognizable franchise property (for the 30+ crowd at least) and well-known co-stars that young people like and Get Smart's appeal becomes strong. Critics have had mixed reactions but audiences won't care anyway. Competition will be a factor since Mike Myers is out there plus there are three holdovers coming off of $30M+ weekends. Debuting in about 3,700 theaters, Get Smart could bow to around $38M this weekend.
Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell in Get Smart
Four and a half years after his last live-action film, Mike Myers returns to the big screen in his latest comic creation The Love Guru. The PG-13 film about a spiritual expert hired to help a star hockey player reunite with his cheating wife co-stars Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley, and Verne Troyer. Direct competition will certainly come from Get Smart, but Myers has been around long enough to have a fan base he can tap into. The star has anchored all three of the biggest opening weekends in box office history for comedies - Shrek the Third ($121.6M), Shrek 2 ($108M), and Austin Powers in Goldmember ($73.1M). Reviews for the new Paramount release have been mostly negative but that is common for films with gross-out humor. Recent spoof comedies have opened in the high teen millions and this one has even more starpower. Teens and young adults will make up a big part of the audience but older folks might take interest too. Opening in over 2,700 theaters, The Love Guru may debut to around $23M this weekend.
Mike Myers and co. in The Love Guru
With male audiences distracted by two new laughers, and most comic fans having already come out to spend their green, The Incredible Hulk will have a steep fall ahead of it. The new incarnation is not as loathed as 2003's Hulk which crashed an alarming 70% on the sophomore weekend, but feelings are not too much warmer. A 60% decline could result giving Universal about $22M for the weekend and a ten-day cume of $97M.
Kung Fu Panda does not have very much to worry about with the family crowd so a 35% drop may result. That would put the DreamWorks-Paramount title at roughly $22M as well and would allow the total to soar to $155M.
M. Night Shyamalan is looking at suffering one of the year's largest dropoffs with The Happening. Most audience feedback has been negative so even though the Fox film opened better than the director's last effort Lady in the Water, it may match up with or exceed that film's 60% second weekend fall. That type of drop would give the Mark Wahlberg starrer around $12M this weekend and $53M after ten days.
LAST YEAR Steve Carell was on top of the box office but with an expensive concoction as the adventure comedy Evan Almighty bowed at number one with $31.2M for Universal. With a reported budget of $175M, the effects-heavy pic ended up with only $100.5M domestically and $173M worldwide. Opening in second with better-than-expected results and almost the same per-theater average was the thriller 1408 with $20.6M on its way to a solid $72M for MGM. Close behind was former champ Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer with $20M in its second frame tumbling a disturbing 66%. Rounding out the top five were Ocean's Thirteen with $11.4M and Knocked Up with $11M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
A full year after taking a beating for the mega-budgeted Evan Almighty, funnyman Carell aims to return to the number one spot with a film more suited for his talents - Get Smart. The PG-13 vehicle finds the star of The Office playing Maxwell Smart from the 1960s television show updated for today's modern era. Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Arkin co-star. The Warner Bros. title should play out as a major entertainer thanks to its mix of action and comedy. After recent hits like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, and his NBC sitcom, Carell is one of the most popular and relevant comedians working today. Add in a recognizable franchise property (for the 30+ crowd at least) and well-known co-stars that young people like and Get Smart's appeal becomes strong. Critics have had mixed reactions but audiences won't care anyway. Competition will be a factor since Mike Myers is out there plus there are three holdovers coming off of $30M+ weekends. Debuting in about 3,700 theaters, Get Smart could bow to around $38M this weekend.
Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell in Get Smart
Four and a half years after his last live-action film, Mike Myers returns to the big screen in his latest comic creation The Love Guru. The PG-13 film about a spiritual expert hired to help a star hockey player reunite with his cheating wife co-stars Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley, and Verne Troyer. Direct competition will certainly come from Get Smart, but Myers has been around long enough to have a fan base he can tap into. The star has anchored all three of the biggest opening weekends in box office history for comedies - Shrek the Third ($121.6M), Shrek 2 ($108M), and Austin Powers in Goldmember ($73.1M). Reviews for the new Paramount release have been mostly negative but that is common for films with gross-out humor. Recent spoof comedies have opened in the high teen millions and this one has even more starpower. Teens and young adults will make up a big part of the audience but older folks might take interest too. Opening in over 2,700 theaters, The Love Guru may debut to around $23M this weekend.
Mike Myers and co. in The Love Guru
With male audiences distracted by two new laughers, and most comic fans having already come out to spend their green, The Incredible Hulk will have a steep fall ahead of it. The new incarnation is not as loathed as 2003's Hulk which crashed an alarming 70% on the sophomore weekend, but feelings are not too much warmer. A 60% decline could result giving Universal about $22M for the weekend and a ten-day cume of $97M.
Kung Fu Panda does not have very much to worry about with the family crowd so a 35% drop may result. That would put the DreamWorks-Paramount title at roughly $22M as well and would allow the total to soar to $155M.
M. Night Shyamalan is looking at suffering one of the year's largest dropoffs with The Happening. Most audience feedback has been negative so even though the Fox film opened better than the director's last effort Lady in the Water, it may match up with or exceed that film's 60% second weekend fall. That type of drop would give the Mark Wahlberg starrer around $12M this weekend and $53M after ten days.
LAST YEAR Steve Carell was on top of the box office but with an expensive concoction as the adventure comedy Evan Almighty bowed at number one with $31.2M for Universal. With a reported budget of $175M, the effects-heavy pic ended up with only $100.5M domestically and $173M worldwide. Opening in second with better-than-expected results and almost the same per-theater average was the thriller 1408 with $20.6M on its way to a solid $72M for MGM. Close behind was former champ Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer with $20M in its second frame tumbling a disturbing 66%. Rounding out the top five were Ocean's Thirteen with $11.4M and Knocked Up with $11M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
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(1-20 of 20 posts) | Reply
 on Jun 19 2008 04:53 PM This makes sense to me; The Love Guru seems to have pretty narrow appeal, whereas Get Smart looks like what most would consider good comedy. As for the Hulk, I don't think it is going to have legs at the box office. Also, I feel it is probably smart to all but ignore the critics on these comedies; it seems like they never get comedies right. (Reply to this) |
 on Jun 19 2008 05:14 PM Im gonna see Get Smart, Guru looks stupid, and I think the Hulk will have a small drop because I am sure lots of people didnt rush out to see it opening weekend because they wanted to hear if there freinds liked it and most people seem to have really liked it, it was pretty good. I bet The Happening will have a huge drop because most people seem to have hated it. Get Smart- 40-45 Mllion Total- 100-110 Million Hulk- 32-35 Million Total- 150-160 Million Love Guru- 25-30 Million Total- 65-75 Million The Happening- 8 Million Total- 55-62 Million Next Weekend Wall*E (ill probably see it)- 58-68 Million Total- 200-215 Million Wanted (cant wait!)- 28-36 Million Total- 78-88 Million (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 19 2008 05:27 PM Feelings not so much warmer towards the new Hulk?!?!?!? I was on Yahoo and it has a B from like 10,000 users, Ang Lee's Hulk got a C from Yahoo users. Here the Incredible Hulk has an 89% from users, and Ang Lee's Hulk has a 45% from users. I dunno it just seems like alot of people really like the new hulk. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 19 2008 06:04 PM In reply to this comment (#1801673) I meant B on yahoo (Reply to this) |
 on Jun 19 2008 06:20 PM (I always post my final predictions on Tuesday/Wednesday on ComingSoon.Net's Weekend Warrior). What's with the analysts saying that Hulk will have a steep drop?? People LOVE it!! Word of mouth is tremendous. It will hold up very, very well, and so will Get Smart. MY PREDICTIONS 1. GET SMART - $45.7 million (rounding out to $133 million total) 2. INCREDIBLE HULK - $33.8 million (rounding out to $172 million if you guys support it and continue to spread the good word) 3. KUNG FU PANDA - $24.3 million (rounding out to $198 million...wow!) 4. LOVE GURU - $21.9 million (dying off at around $66 million) 5. THE HAPPENING - $13.1 million (ending at around $78 million) I will be seeing GET SMART tomorrow night. YAY! I love Steve Carell and the supporting cast! Fun looking movie! :] (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 19 2008 06:24 PM In reply to this comment (#1801715) mhhm it wont show the plus sign, it has a B Plus on yahoo. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 19 2008 06:50 PM In reply to this comment (#1801604) @Archmage_Quintus: Critics get comedies wrong, or studios do? I haven't seen a really funny comedy in some time, and that includes the ones that have been beloved recently, like 40-year old virgin and superbad. They've all been mediocre at best. (Reply to this) |
 on Jun 19 2008 08:00 PM I think The Hulk will have a little drop this weekend. I thought it was great and much better than the first one. The most I see it dropping is 50% but no more than that, but I think it will have a smaller drop. I'm going to see both Get Smart and The Love Guru this weekend. Get Smart looks to be good and I only want to see Guru because of Romany Malco from Weeds. Looks to be an alright weekend this week. (Reply to this) |
 on Jun 19 2008 10:43 PM Get Smart - $30 m The Incredible Hulk - $25 m Kung Fu Panda - $21 m Love Guru - $20 million I really hope Love Guru doesn't get more than that but chances are likely that it will. Get Smart seems like the kinda movie that will onlybringout old people who remember the show and fans of comedy/Carrel, so the low 30s seems about right which is what Evan Almighty get last year. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 19 2008 11:50 PM Here's why GET SMART will do good: Steve Carell has a solid audience. Kids love him, adults love him, teenagers love him...he's a very likeable, funny, friendly, accessible actor with a tenderness to him. People love him. He's truly funny. And GET SMART is right up his alley...I think it's the perfect vehicle for him. It also has such a widely known, really likeable, familiar supporting cast that can be seen in the trailers, and that always helps. Audiences love The Rock too. And the movie is like IRON MAN in that it's a movie that could be for anyone. It's also like IRON MAN in that it is a solid comedy as well as a solid action movie. It's both of the things audiences want this summer. It's not too dark but it's not too silly or stupid. Like IRON MAN, families can go and see it (but then, like IRON MAN, it might not be as appropriate for the kids as some thought), teens and adults and older fans of the show will go see it. I think it should do very well this weekend and hold up well through the summer. Also, people are loving how every weekend it looks like out of the 2 new movies that come out, one actually looks like it's actually worth seeing and looks like a lot of fun. Like INCREDIBLE HULK and KUNG FU PANDA, this is that movie this weekend. Tons of people think Love Guru looks horrendous. A lot of people think GET SMART just looks like a LOT of fun. It should do very fine this weekend. Surprisingly very well. And yes, hopefully people get smart and skip the Love Guru. GET SMART! Yes! :] (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 06:20 AM Meh... I don't know about Get Smart, although Steve Carrell is a good selling point to me... as well as Anne Hathaway, I have such a crush on her :) (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 07:21 AM Hulk is screwed. It won't drop the 70% the first one did, but it may be 60% or more. Sure, it will have better legs than last time, but not good enough to make its 180M budget back in the USA. People like it more than the last one...but it doesn't seem like much more. At least not enough to make it profitable. Get Smart just looks OK, but it will make big money. Great vehicle for Carrell, and I'm sure Hathaway in those outfits won't hurt the male audience either. Love Guru looks awful, hope it ends up the bomb it deserves to be. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 07:49 AM well, it finally happened with Myers, the whole SNL syndrome(eventually doing the same character, same bit over and over and over) hit him and by the looks of Guru...hit him hard. whenever you see a comedian rehash the same characters over and over...its sad. it started with the last Austin powers...some lines and scenes were kinda hack, but the flick was still hilarious. then shrek 3 borderline sucked and now Guru is nothing original, nothing funny...nothing good. judging by how sh3tty comedies do nowadays though...it probably will be a hit. i'm gonna see Get Smart and hope its as funny as the trailers(which i hate seeing for comedies). Carell reminds me of Leslie Nielson in it and the trailer gives me the exact opposite feeling about it than the Guru one. it looks genuinely funny. HOPEFULLY the Inc Hulk tanks...and same with Love Guru and Kung Fu Panda does better. EE, please don't mention Iron Man and Get Smart in the same sentence. its not even worth comparing. its like comparing Forgetting Sarah Marshall(fing hilarious! can't wait for the dvd) and The Dark Knight. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 08:05 AM seeing get smart the inc hulk (diddnt have time to see it last weeekend) (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 08:47 AM GET SMART - 42 million LOVE GURU - 29 million INCREDIBLE HULK - 28 million KUNG FU PANDA - 20 million THE HAPPENING - 13 million (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 09:06 AM All I can say about the Hulk is that I'm seriously considering seeing it again. The last time I said that-- h#ll, the last time I DID that was for Spiderman 2. While I thought overall that Iron Man was a superior movie, I just personally got a bigger buzz out of this Hulk movie. And I just sat through the first hour of Lee's Hulk and it solidified it for me; this one is just *better*. The comedies: Carrell will house Myers. Nothing against Myers and I can honestly say some of the gags in 'Guru' commercials actually caused me to chuckle, but Carrell just has better buzz. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 09:42 AM I really am baffled as to how people enjoyed Incredible Hulk. After seeing Iron Man and being shockingly impressed and enamored by its originality, this movie was a huge disappointment. I was so taken aback by its addle-brained inanity, I couldn't even relish the end scene with Stark. And I can't even force myself to get excited for that "battle of the ages". I'm sure the pun has already been belabored by critics alike, but it was anything less than incredible. "HULK...SMASH!!" has to be one of the laughable lines in the history of superhero empowered fiction. Edward Norton was about the only positive aspect of this movie. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 02:59 PM In reply to this comment (#1802472) Hulk has to say "HULK SMASH!" becuase that's what he does.. It'd make no sense if he didn't say it cuz he does it in the comics. Get Smart looks dumb. (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 20 2008 11:29 PM The INCREDIBLE Hulk was indeed incredible. People don't "like it just a little bit more but not by much"...they love it! Great reactions and recommendations by people. I'm spreading the word too. And obviously, Gimy is a comedy girl and definitely not into comic book superhero action movies. But she's a girl so I guess that's natural? Shouldn't be that way though. But Gimy, definitely go see GET SMART. It's very funny and very, very fun. The audience was really rolling. They seemed to love it alot. Not too pointlessly vulgar and stupid like "Zohan" or obviously "Guru" (which I refuse to ever see) either, except for one very gratutious scene that can be seen at the end of a recent trailer. But besides that and how slutty Hathaway can be at times, it was a very enjoyable flick. I'd give it an 8.5/10. And Carell will beat Myers senseless this weekend. Why? Because his movie is just GOOD. He made a smart decision. He's not doing the same ol' crap over and over. He deserves to be the star this summer. Go Carell! :] (Reply to this) |
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on Jun 27 2008 06:59 PM I havent seen Get Smart yet (probably on fri) and I definitely am going to see Walle. I am looking forward to both. I saw The Incredible Hulk today and it was well INCREDIBLE!!! And the Love Guru looks to be the stupidest movie next to Napoleon Dynamite (Reply to this) |
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