Box Office: America Definitely Not Into Pink Panther 2
Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on February 8, 2009
Well, the story this weekend was the big stink at the box office made by the Pink Panther 2, and not in a good way, either. Any hope of a challenge to He’s Just Not That Into You went up in smoke once the reviews and the bad buzz got out about this movie, and as a result we have our first major big-time bomb of 2009 to report this weekend.
I know some box-office pundits will say in their copy “audiences just aren’t that into The Pink Panther 2.” Are you kidding me? Audiences were more than “just” not into this movie — they were REALLY in no mood to see it. They were running from the theaters in droves, screaming. They were gagging at the thought of seeing Steve Martin trip up over himself as Clouseau again. Take a look at the weekend totals
- He’s Just Not That Into You – $27,465,000
- Taken – $20,300,000
- Coraline – $16,335,000
- The Pink Panther 2 – $12,000,000
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop – $11,000,000
- Push – $10,204,000
- Gran Torino – $7,420,000
- Slumdog Millionaire – $7,400,000
- The Uninvited – $6,400,000
- Hotel for Dogs – $5,820,000
That’s right, Steve Martin’s latest Pink Panther effort finished fourth! Now, I’m not terribly surprised by the haul brought in by He’s Just Not That Into You. That chick flick wound up roughly in the range that a lot of people expected. Also, get ready for a new round of “Jennifer Aniston is box office champ again” stories from these pathetic celebrity rags in Hollywood who want to play up the whole Aniston-Angelina-Brad Pitt feud.
I think some people might be surprised that the 3-D animated Coraline got as high as $16 million, but I think this was a case of good buzz helping that movie’s cause. Some people are already talking Oscar about that flick.
Meanwhile, the bad buzz obviously sunk the Pink Panther. It wasn’t just the brutal reviews and the 13 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating that did damage — it was also the stench left over from the first Pink Panther movie Martin was in. It’s pretty hard to sell the public on a movie that everyone thinks is going to be a piece of junk, and this weekend is the proof of that.
At any rate, I knew The Pink Panther 2 was in trouble once I found out how bad the online sales were for the flick. It seemed like nobody was buying advance tickets for this one. Meanwhile, the advance sales for He’s Just Not That Into You were through the roof.
Still — $12 million? That’s pretty dismal, folks, for an established franchise such as this one. But this movie absolutely got what it deserved. In fact, I’m sure the Sony folks knew what a turd it had on its hands by releasing this flick during the pit of February, the time of year when the studios routinely send their garbage movies out to the trash. I say this weekend is definitely the end of the Pink Panther series once and for all. We can finally send that feline to the cartoon grave to rest alongside Betty Boop, Felix the Cat, Mr. Magoo and other cartoon characters. The Panther is finished.
Also finished is Fanboys, the much-ballyhooed and long-delayed Weinstein Company release. It was only in 44 theaters, though, and I dunno if you’re going to see a big wide release after this weekend. It made only $164,000, which is what you would expect out of 44 theaters, but what really hurt was the per-screen weekend average of $3,727. By contrast, the average for The Pink Panther 2 was $3,700. Yikes, that isn’t good news, folks. I don’t know what the Weinstein Company’s plans are, but my guess is that you can look forward to seeing Fanboys at a DVD rack near you sooner rather than later.
You know, I’m not particularly surprised. It was a niche audience that was interested in this movie anyway, and the reviews weren’t even particularly good. Fans of the movie are still going to be disappointed by the showing, though.
That about sums up this weekend at the box office. You know, I kind of have mixed emotions about The Pink Panther 2 falling flat on its face. I’ve been a big fan of the Pink Panther franchise over the years, back to the Peter Sellers days. But I just thought these Steve Martin versions were a disgrace. I highly doubt that the producers will get a third chance to try and get it right, and in a way I think that’s too bad.
That’s all for this week. See you later this week for next weekend’s projections here at the Reject Report.
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