The Hangover’s strong opening
The Hangover owes its surprisingly strong opening in large part to a broader-than-expected audience. Fellman says the opening crowd, which had been expected to be dominated by young men, was actually 48% female.
The weekend’s second wide opener, Land of the Lost, lost out. The Will Ferrell redo of the 1970s Saturday-morning adventure series opened at just $19.5 million, more than $10 million below expectations and a far cry from the $33 million opening of Ferrell’s last PG-13-rated comedy, 2007’s Talladega Nights.
Brandon Gray of box-office tracking site Box Office Mojo isn’t surprised. “Land of the Lost was always one of those pictures destined to disappoint,” he says. “It’s based on a property not well known today, much like Speed Racer last year, and that mix of comedy and family movie and adventure can often be tricky.”
Moreover, he says, Ferrell isn’t known as a family comedy star. His last two comedies, Step Brothers and Semi-Pro, were rated R.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian finished fourth ($14.6 million), and Star Trek followed with $8.4 million. Star Trek has collected $222.8 million and has become the year’s No. 1 movie.
Tags: Box Office, Brandon Gray, Ferrell, Land of the Lost, Star Trek, Talladega Nights
