Box Office: Harold and Kumar Get Stoned Again, This Time By Baby Mama

Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 27, 2008

Welcome to the weekend box office roundup here at the Reject Report. What can I say? It was another winning performance at the box office for Tina Fey as Baby Mama won with an $18 million gross. And as usual, it was another losing performance at the theaters for Harold and Kumar, whose Escape from Guantanamo Bay wound up trailing in second with $14.5 million. But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll do well on DVD.

You know, after seeing this latest Harold and Kumar flick in theaters I can see why these two are only able to gain a cult following instead of a mass audience. Let’s face it, these two guys are gross!! If you like bathroom humor, you’ll get plenty of it with any movie starring these two fools. There’s only so much of this flick that ordinary non-stoner type people can stand. But man, was it ever funny.

I think the reason this flick will do well on DVD (just like the first one) is because there is a lot less stigma to watching a movie like this in the comfort of your own home. If you show your face to see this flick in a theater, your friends might see you there and think you’re a bit demented. But no one has to see you watching this movie at home on DVD, so there’s less shame buying it.

The good news for Harold and Kumar is that this flick did a LOT better at cinemas than the first one did in its opening weekend. That first flick made, what, five million in its first weekend out?! So $14.5 million is pretty good by that standard. But these guys are definitely an acquired taste.

And what the heck was the deal with Deception? That flick only made $2.2 million dollars! That’s terrible! It was also in 2,000 theaters, so that’s a lot of empty cinemas showing this movie to audiences consisting of friends and relatives. I can’t say I am too surprised.

The damages are, as usual:

So we come to the end of Throwaway Movie Season, thank God, and we arrive at the Regular Season, the Blockbuster Season – the time when all the coolest movies are rolled out. And you can expect to see the folks at the studios up the ante on the promotional side of things all this week with the much-anticipated Iron Man coming out this week and with Speed Racer due to follow. I’m seeing lots of ads for Indiana Jones on TV right now. And Robert Downey Jr. should be doing the rounds of the late-night talk shows, promoting his movie. It’s fun times for movie fans, that’s for sure, and you can expect plenty of coverage right here at the Reject Report.

Already, I anticipate Iron Man will top Horton Hears a Who! for the top weekend gross of 2008. Whether any box office records will fall this summer, though, remains to be seen.

See you later this week for the start of Blockbuster Season at the Reject Report.

Read more articles by John Cairns