Box Office Says Up with Zach Galifianakis, Down with Eddie Murphy, and Asks Why Do the Ladies Love “Hangover”?
No doubt about it now. Hangover is the breakout comedy of the summer. The Todd Phillips raunchfest is No. 1 at the box office for the second week in a row, raking in a reported $33.4 million for the weekend and bringing its 10 day gross to $105.4 million. That’s a record, people. Hangover is the first R-rated movie ever to cross $100 million that fast. In related Hangover news, those of you that kindly track my blog and follow me on Twitter have elected Zach Galifianakis as that screwball comedy’s Most Valuable Player. Sorry Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper, you didn’t come close.
Surprisingly, the action flick The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, loaded with the star power of John Travolta and Denzel Washington, did a middling $25 million, good for just third place after the Pixar money machine UP. Now for the bad news: Eddie Murphy, the movie-going public is obviously getting tired of your act. Imagine That, which some critics were actually kind to, dribbled out a measly $5.7 million, less than half of what was expected. After this and last summer’s Meet Dave fiasco, Murphy needs some career counseling and pronto.
Back to Hangover for a minute. Everyone expected this to be a guy movie. The wise money predicted that the ladies would balk at watching dudes being slobs. And yet Warner Bros. reports that 48 percent of the audience for Hangover has been female. This alleged guy movie is suddenly a date flick with unlimited box-office potential. So my question today is just for the women out there. What is it you see in Hangover? What qualities does it have to persuade you to recommend it to your girlfriends? Just curious, really curious.