FRIDAY 9:30 p.m. (Pacific): Warner Bros new action comedy Get Smart has easily won the battle of big studio comedies with $15M on Friday and a likely $40M opening weekend. The movie, adapted from the classic Mel Brooks–Buck Henry late ‘60s TV classic received decent reviews (51 percent Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and 53 percent Positive on MetaCritic), and it is well on its way to one of the all-time best openings for a live action television adaptation.
The world of television has meant big dollars for Warner Bros this summer, first with the mega-hit Sex and the City and now Get Smart, which becomes the all-time fourth-best live action TV adaptation (non-sequel).
ALL-TIME BEST OPENINGS FOR LIVE-ACTION TV ADAPTATIONS (excluding sequels)
1. Sex and the City – $57.03M
2. Mission: Impossible – $45.43M
3. Charlie’s Angels – $40.12M
4. Get Smart – $40M (estimate)
5. S.W.A.T. – $37M
6. The Dukes of Hazzard – $30.67M
7. The X-Files – $30.13M
8. Starsky & Hutch – $28.1M
9. Wild, Wild West – $27.68M
10. Addams Family – $24.23M
The Peter Segal-directed comedy will likely also mark the all-time best openings for stars Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.
ALL-TIME BEST STEVE CARELL LIVE ACTION OPENING WEEKENDS
1. Get Smart – $40M (estimate)
2. Evan Almighty – $31.19M
3. Anchorman – $28.41M
4. The 40 Year-Old Virgin – $21.42M
5. Dan in Real Life – $11.8M
ALL-TIME BEST ANNE HATHAWAY OPENING WEEKENDS
1. Get Smart – $40M (estimate)
2. The Devil Wears Prada – $27.53M
3. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement – $22.95M
4. The Princess Diaries – $22.86M
5. Ella Enchanted – $6.16M
There was much less box office love for Mike Myers’ new comedy Love Guru (Paramount), which will likely finish No. 4 for the day and for the weekend. The film has limped out of the gate with a disappointing $5M, and, even with the help of recording superstar Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba, the poorly reviewed comedy will manage only $14M on its opening weekend. After back-to-back-to-back $100M+, and most likely $200M+ grossing movies, this represents a setback for Paramount (although the Dreamworks comedy Tropic Thunder, set for August, has a chance to be the biggest hit of the late-Summer).
Myers’ first non-Shrek movie since 2003’s The Cat In the Hat will probably be only the fifth-best opening of his career.
ALL-TIME BEST LIVE ACTION MIKE MYERS OPENINGS
1. Austin Powers 3: Goldmember – $73M
2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me – $54.91M
3. The Cat in the Hat – $38.32M
4. Wayne’s World – $18.12M
5. Love Guru – $14M (estimate)
Marvel’s Incredible Hulk (Universal) has posted the No. 2 Friday gross with an estimated $7.25M, but that will translate to only about $22.5M for its second weekend. That is a huge 60 percent or so drop, and, after 10 days, the re-booted Edward Norton Hulk debut will be at about $97.41M domestic. That would put Incredible Hulk slightly behind the pace of Ang Lee‘s version of the big green guy five years ago.
Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks/Paramount), in its final pre-Wall-E (Disney) weekend, scored another $6.3M Friday and is headed for an estimated $21.75M three-day for a new cume of $155M+. Industry sources are telling me that Panda will likely finish its domestic run with $230M-$240M, which would be a spectacular showing.
M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Happening (Fox) fell to $3.2M or so on Friday, and the genre pic’s second weekend take will likely be an estimated $10.25M. That would represent a 65 percent drop from last weekend while still rounding out the top five.
REVISED THREE-DAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW! Get Smart (Warner Bros) – $40 million, $10,228 PTA, $40 million cume
2. Incredible Hulk (Universal) – $22.5 million, $6,414 PTA, $97.41 million cume
3. Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks) ‘ $21.75 million, $5,366 PTA, $155.64 million cume
4. NEW! The Love Guru (Paramount) – $14 million, $4,648 PTA, $14 million cume
5. The Happening (Fox) – $10.25 million, $3,433 PTA, $50.51 million cume
6. Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) ‘ $8.1 million, $2,554 PTA, $290.52 million cume
7. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (Sony) – $7.32 million, $2,233 PTA, $84.1 million cume
8. Sex and the City (Warner Bros.) – $6.5 million, $2,662 PTA $132.42 million cume
9. Iron Man (Paramount) – $3.85 million, $2,014 PTA, $304.63 million cume
10. The Strangers (Rogue Releasing) – $2.24 million, $1,420 PTA, $49.87 million cume
