Weekly Over/Under: Are you ready for some football, or is it time for The Last Kiss?
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 13, 2006
Last week’s Over/Under was almost a wash - I am willing to admit that. The consensus among the Film School Rejects was that The Covenant would easily clear the $8 million mark. Lo and behold it did, but not quite by the large margin that was originally anticipated. It took a beating from some other new releases, but overall the teenage girl age 12 to 21 demographic won what would become a very weak weekend. Here is the breakdown of the top 5 (just click the name of the film to see our featured review):
1. The Covenant (review) - $8.85 million
2. Hollywoodland (review) - $5.93 million
3. Invincible (review) - $5.63 million
4. The Protector (review) - $5.03 million
5. Crank (review) - $4.9 million
Last Week’s Bids (current records):
Neil Miller - Over (2-2)
Brian Gibson - Over (2-0)
Chris Beaumont - Over (2-0)
BobbyQuickDraw - Over (2-0)
Cole Abaius - Under (0-2)
Matthew Alexander - Over (2-0)
It looks like Cole takes the loss this week, but he gets style points for being the only one to go against the grain. Enough of this lobbing up softballs nonsense - let’s do something a little more difficult this week.
This Week’s Over/Under: Will the Rock and his Gridiron Gang finish higher or lower in box office revenue than Zach Braff’s The Last Kiss?
The Analysis: This one is a very difficult one, as both seem to be great films. But despite their similar drawing power, these two flicks are very different. Gridiron Gang, riding off the heels of Invincible, will captivate football fans and gangsters everywhere. This should draw decent crowds due to the beginning of both the college and pro football seasons in the past few weeks (especially here in Ohio, where we have plenty to cheer about… Thanks Texas.) The Last Kiss, on the other hand, comes off as one of the best chick flicks of the entire year. Most guys still remember how great Garden State turned out to be, and would gladly sacrifice seeing a football film on opening weekend to spend some quality time with their lady and - well - Zach Braff. So if you put them up against each other directly, it may be a tough call. But don’t forget those outside influences. The Black Dahlia is very highly anticipated among the cinemarati, and legions of little girls are still holding vigil for The Covenant. Also as I mentioned before, the football season is underway - which means that it is next to impossible for the key demographic of Gridiron Gang to remove their butts from their sofas and get out to the movies - leaving The Last Kiss with a bit of an advantage. But who knows… I could be calling this all wrong.
My Bid: I say that The Last Kiss pulls it out, but only by a few inches.
I am anxious to see what everyone else has to say on this one… Feel free to chime in below in the comments area or discuss it over on the Film School Rejects Forum.
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