Galumph Performs Decently

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I'm in San Francisco, my box-office guy hasn't called, my iPhone is hiding out in the car so I'm going with Steve Mason's Fantasy Mogul weekend estimates. I don't know anyone who gives two shits about The Forbidden Kingdom, but the martial arts pic that costars (as opposed to toplines) Jackie Chan and Jet Li has elbowed Forgetting Sarah Marshall aside and taken the weekend's first-place trophy. The chopsocky will take in an estimated $19 million vs. $18 million for Judd Apatow's emotionally naked galumph relationship comedy that whatsisname...you know, uhm, Nicholas Stoller directed.

Box-Office Mojo reports that The Forbidden Kingdom is playing at 3,151 locations, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is on approximately 3,400 screens at 2,798 theaters, the Al Pacino turkey 88 Minutes is playing on 2,400 screens at 2,168 sites, and Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed enters 1,052 venues.

Mason is reporting a mild case of Apatow fatigue and an "Apa-thetic" audience response to Forgetting Sarah Marshall in view of its $18 million earnings being the eighth-best Apatow opening tally (the first seven being Talladega Nights, Superbad, Knocked Up, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Kicking and Screaming and The Cable Guy). Mason is being too rough on the guy. I predicted a few weeks ago that Marshall would be a good enough-er and a maintainer of the brand, and it seems to be doing that.

comment #1

Jay T. says ...

Saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall yesterday... thought it was a lot better than you gave it credit for and I'm not sure why Jason Segel bothered you so much. Decent film, nothing special, but not a bad time at all.

comment #2

Jay T. says ...

Oh, and for the record, I'm going to have to call BS on your assertion that his character couldn't land someone like Kristen Bell. You failed to mention that he's a MUSICAL COMPSOSER!!! Girls eat that shit up, famous or not. That's a pretty significant piece of the puzzle...

comment #3

MattM says ...

Also, in contrast to the majority of higher opening Apatow films (Superbad, Knocked Up, and 40YOV), there's no generally recognizable star in Sarah Marshall. It's an Apatow film's best non-summer opening, too.

The other question is going to be word of mouth. I think WOM on Sarah Marshall is going to be excellent and it'll both build during the weekend and hold nicely. The interesting question is going to be how it holds next week against Baby Mama. (It's also going to be huge on DVD.)

Finally, seems that "Expelled" found its audience. It probably made back its production costs and most of its marketing costs yesterday.

comment #4

jason4235 says ...

Did I miss it or was Jonah Hill's "It's just one man" line from the trailer not even in the movie?

comment #5

Josh Massey says ...

So are you going to give Gorilla Nation a little credit for ignoring 88 Minutes?

Also, I see Sarah Marshall beating Forbidden Kingdom for the weekend. The date crowd will be out en masse tonight, and the Chan/Li diehards probably all went last night.

comment #6

K. Bowen says ...

I hate Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It's a stalker fantasy.

comment #7

D.Z. says ...

"I don't know anyone who gives two shits about The Forbidden Kingdom,"

I'd imagine it's the same people who don't give two shits about a "galumph" guy who's able to score with anyone he wants, but who should be pitied, anyway. That's pretty much why I hated American Pie, too.

Oh, and "chopsocky" is something I'd expect to hear from the ignorant people you complain about on a regular basis. This one's a fantasy film with a tribute to classic martial arts films.

Matt: I wouldn't say there were any stars in previous Apatow films, either. Carrell was only known for The Office before 40YV. And if I were Apatow, I'd be more concerned about how Sarah Marshall holds up against Harold and Kumar 2 than Baby Mama. If Fey and Poehler can't help Hillary, they certainly can't help Universal.

Josh: "Also, I see Sarah Marshall beating Forbidden Kingdom for the weekend. The date crowd will be out en masse tonight, and the Chan/Li diehards probably all went last night."

Possibly, but Sarah Marshall would end up having a huge drop next weekend, if that were the case. It's not an event movie, and it seems more misogynistic than other Apatow flicks.

comment #8

MattM says ...

While the four I mentioned didn't have stars, the others did (Ferrell and Carrey)--didn't express myself well. And personally, I found Sarah Marshall less misogynistic than Knocked Up. Sarah isn't a one-dimensional bitch like Mann's character in Knocked Up mostly was.

comment #9

Jay T. says ...

I agree with MattM -- first thing I said out of the theater was I was glad they didn't make Sarah Marshall a complete bitch... her character started off a little two-dimensional but rounded out just fine by the end. Made for a much better movie.

comment #10

K. Bowen says ...

Oh, I totally disagree with you guys. Sarah Marshall, to me, is the most misogynistic. She gets nicer as the film goes along, but it's still completely part of his stalker-fantasy understanding of her.

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