DELLAMORTE'S BOX OFFICE WRAP UP 4/17/09

This just in: It’s been reported that God loves strike movies more than audiences.

Through the High School Musicals, Zac Efron has built himself up a following. That audience turned out to watch reruns of films that were made before they were born. With all the films that are remakes, I’ll give 17 Again credit for just being a rip-off and not a remake, since most of those films weren’t particularly good (Big gets over on Hanks’s charisma). That opening is all it’s worth, though, and $40 and change is where it ends up. How far are we from Zac Efron doing a serious role? He was in Me and Orson Welles, but that’s struggling to get released. So he’s done the arty indie, does he try and get in an Ang Lee film next? Will he pull a “Kevin Bacon sitting on the cover of People magazine?” Or does he make another five frothy Tiger Beat films and call it a day at his age, and then wait for ironic casting in ten years? Like Scarface, the world is his, and like Scarface, that day will end, as even Orlando Bloom had a shelf life (expiration date: Elizabethtown).That doesn’t mean there won’t be a second act to either, but girls grow up.

State of Play was originally going to star Brad Pitt and Edward Norton if my memory serves. Strike happened, and instead it’s Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck. Basically the film was a go, so then went with who they could get. Crowe hasn’t so much ruined his image as just done what he’s liked. I don’t know if he recovered, as it were, from the phone throwing. His reputation is as a diva, but he’s still got a working relationship with Ridley Scott (their Robin Hood films is still casting, so that must be moving forward), even if him plus Leonardo Di Caprio generated no box office heat (The Quick and the Dead reunion tour). Crowe still has it, but he’s gotten lazy, and the material has been lesser. But with a dump release date, and Ben Affleck (who appears to have atoned for his sins with Gone Baby Gone), I feel like this isn’t the worst number for this film. Though The Interpreter opened to $22. Will this find an adult audience and play a bit longer? No.

Lots of people love Crank, but perhaps the TWITTER FUROR over a bunch of comedians (and lame-o’s) twittering their reaction put a sour taste in the world’s mouth. Or Lionsgate dumped it. The movie is supposedly insane, and pretty awesome, but I was at the New Beverly all weekend, so I couldn’t make it for it (Carnival Magic!), and I wasn’t the only one. Also, it’s more of the same, only more. It strikes as a movie that does not attract women, so that probably killed it, and Jason Statham has been turning them out that the returns are diminishing.  

Monsters Vs. Aliens weathered 17 Again, and if it can hold it might inch close to $200, where Hannah Montana took Zac Efron on the chin. But there’s probably been enough teabagging jokes this week. Hannah cost nothing in the scheme of things, so a $70 total is a big win, and it’ll probably move some DVD’s. Fast and Furious will be out of gas (Hi-yo!) when Wolverine comes in the picture, but it’ll get over $150, and have to settle for less than $200. That’s still a great turnout, though, and a fifth picture must be in the works. Observe and Report, look, you have to give Rogen his due. He could have taken the huge payday and made shit, instead he worked with Kevin Smith and Jody Hill. And next is Michel Gondry. That said, I hope The Green Hornet works, and turns out. Warner Brothers has to hope the DVD sales on the unrated are good if they want to make a profit, whereas Zack and Miri making $30 was what was expected, if not hoped. This won’t be good for anyone. Knowing will scrape $80, I Love You Man $70, and Haunting crossed $50. Next week is a sacrificial offering of titles that are hoped to have one weekend before the summer starts. Then we can get back to the discussion of summers and Pirates.