Monday Morning Quarterback Part I
By BOP Staff
March 22, 2010
Daron Aldridge: This was in line with my expectations, if not a little more. I wouldn't have been shocked if this one failed to crack $20 million. Michael, I had forgotten that Butler was even in Nim's Island until you mentioned it, so I am not sure his drawing power could be a factor for that film. I suspect that he wasn't the reason $48 million worth of viewers bought tickets. I do agree that his two hits from last year are due in part to him. He seems to elevate the appeal of another mid-performing star. But Aniston is clearly not that type of star. Her only real hits have been ensembles like the He's Just Not... or as second fiddle to a proven comedy draw (i.e. Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and Marley the dog). The studios have been trying to make her a lead for so long that it just seems desperate now.
Jim Van Nest: I don't really know what expectations I had for this one, I'm just glad Hollywood is helping my out by putting Butler and Aniston in the same movie...so I only have to avoid one movie instead of two.
Reagen Sulewski: I think this is a little less than I would have expected but not by much. However, when you're talking about expectations here, I'm also taking into account the idea that Aniston and Butler are perceived to be slipping a bit. To fall under that has to be a worrying trend line. Then again, it's not All About Steve, so they've got that going for them. I think one of the telling things about this is that no one could even be bothered to care about the two stars' fake in real life romance.
Jason Lee: I agree with Josh and Michael, it's right in line with what I was expecting. Given the extremely annoying commercials, there was no way this film was going to come close to the openings of The Ugly Truth or The Break-Up. The fact that it made it over $20 million at all is a testament to the star power of Aniston and Butler.
Max Braden: I had a good vibe from the many trailers I saw for this, so I was expecting about $25 million, but the $21 million beats generic romantic comedy box office. Unfortunately, the dismal reviews will probably kill its overall grosses.
David Mumpower: I disagree with Max's assessment that the legs will be truncated by the film's quality. The reality is that comfortable projects such as this are bulletproof when it comes to reviews. The audience knows exactly what they are getting from them and even though this veers quite a bit from expectations, it's still filling the requisite void.
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