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This weekend has to be a punch to the gut in Hollywood as both new releases failed to produce anywhere near the kind of money they were expected to.
Shrek Forever After opened fine, and that’s about all anyone is going to say about it. With $21 Million on Friday, the movie looks to be on track to around a $70 Million weekend. This isn’t terrible by any means, but considering Shrek the Third opened to $120 Million, Dreamworks has to be disappointed. Maybe it was the awfulness of the previous Shrek sequels, or the higher-standard of recent animated movies, but audience enthusiasm seems to be gone for this tired franchise. Will this opening destroy the chances of the planned Puss In Boots spin-off? I really hope so.
MacGruber, on the other hand, was a complete disaster by any standards. Earning only $1.5 Million on Friday, it will attempt a $4.5 Million opening. This means it was beaten not only by Letters to Juliet’s second weekend, but also has the possibility of being beaten by Just Wright’s second week in release (depending on Saturday and Sunday numbers). Though the film only cost $10 Million to make, the advertising costs alone were higher then this awful opening. How Universal still has the money to make films is a mystery to many.
Caption Contest: Give the photo at the top the funniest caption possible and grab your theater an extra 30 points for the weekend (that are not counted in challenges). Caption with the most “Likes” wins.
-Zack Young, Flickpicks
