Reject Report: Megan Fox Drowns in Meatballs

Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 20, 2009

rr-jennifersbody

I often say it is “feast or famine” at the box office, and as has been the custom for the past several weeks, the trend held true as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs won the weekend with a healthy $30.1 million haul. So there’s no question about what movie was the big winner this weekend.

As for the big loser — well, I have to say the slam dunk winner was Jennifer’s Body, which turned into Jennifer’s “Dead” Body at the box office. It only hauled in $6.8 million, a truly dismal performance that exceeded everyone’s worst expectations. Well, that’s what happens when you make a lousy movie that disappoints the horror fans: they don’t show up. And if this isn’t proof that Megan Fox can’t carry a movie all by herself, I dunno what is.

I’m actually kind of surprised, given the hype over Fox and over whatever Diablo Cody does. I guess people are more interested these days in seeing a good movie than falling for any hype, and I think people just felt Jennifer’s Body just wasn’t any good.

The other results speak for themselves. My own feeling about The Informant! is that this is the kind of movie that will do a fair bit of week-in and week-out business and benefit from enough word-of-mouth to stay in the Top Ten, at least for a while.

The results:

  1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $30,100,000
  2. The Informant! – $10,545,000
  3. Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $10,060,000
  4. Love Happens – $8,456,000
  5. Jennifer’s Body – $6,800,000
  6. 9 – $5,458,000
  7. Inglourious Basterds – $3,603,000
  8. All About Steve – $3,400,000
  9. Sorority Row – $2,489,000
  10. The Final Destination – $2,375,000

That is it for this weekend! See you later for more prognostications here at the Reject Report!


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  • JB was just sexed up movie for horny teens wanting to see Megan Fox...of course it didnt do as well..
  • MovieRobot
    to be honest im SHOCKED Jennifer's Body made so little.. the way the movie was being hyped up and all the fuss Megan Fox was making and how much people liked Diable Cody's Juno, i thought it wouldve at least made it into the top 3 films this week.. maybe this will teach Megan Fox to keep her mouth shut..
  • tylerdurden1681
    The numbers don't lie here. And the numbers also say that not that many people are going to the movies right now are they. I mean only one movie "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" is the only movie making good money, and that is kind of expected since it is a kids movie.
  • Andy III
    "I guess people are more interested these days in seeing a good movie than falling for any hype"

    Umm...didn't the 16th 'Final' Destination movie just make a buttload of cash even though (spoilers ahead) it's a piece of shit?
  • Bshet07
    I was pretty shocked to see this too, but after I let in sink in for a few seconds it all started to make sense to me. Most women hate Megan Fox and that's where she fails. I wanted to see this movie and still do (go ahead and judge me), but my gf refuses to go with me. I even threw out the idea to some of my buddies and they weren't interested. It's not a movie like "The Hangover" which is a movie a group of guys would go see, so JB is stuck in limbo with no real target audience. Women won't go with men to see it, and men don't care enough to go see it on their own....well, most men.
  • PHiL
    What are the numbers for the same movie but worldwide? Maybe JB did do better than the US. I'm sure JB will make lots of loots in dvd & blu-ray sales and rentals.
  • drunkenhopfrog
    Seems to me that the bland and vapid remonstrations a of 'Jennifer's Body' is probably what's killing it. Did the author see the movie? Is it worse than 'Love Happens' and Tyler Perry most recent rubbish?

    I guess that the problem is that for some reason folks think this is a slasher film when it is more a comedy about "the ugly friend." It's not great cinema and seems to point that 'Juno' was more a happy accident that the birth of a great screenwriter (or the talent of Jason Reitman), but it's not a "lousy" movie and certainly no more so than any number of films that have made much better bank this year.

    I think it is more a testament to the anti-star power of the uber sexed up and trashy looking Fox. Jessica Alba seems to be a much nicer person IRL, but her cred and Fox's cred are about the same: Super hotties with little or no acting talent. Alba is endearing enough to score on opening week from time to time. Fox isn't.

    I understand the FSR has a proper review that is actually quite fair to 'Jennifer's Body,' but pot shots in the dark like this are not especially profound.
  • I think the failure of Jennifer's Body is due to various reasons than just quality or hype. Sure those are huge parts of it, but I'm thinking there are a lot of other reasons.
    First of all, it opened opposite the big winner at the top, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Doesn't look special on the outset, but does have one big thing working in it's favor...IT'S A FAMILY FILM. Family films tend to do great bank in that both adults and kids can see it. They make a lot of money on that score alone. Also is that this is post-Up! filmgoingwise. A lot of people are still on a high in the success of Up! and having seen it (expect huge $$$ in dvd sales). Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs had that need for another family film you could take the kids to in the aftermath of Up! and it's the beginning of the current school year for kids...parents are going to want to take the kids out on the weekend.
    Also working against Jennifer's Body was Megan Fox herself.
    Her recent comments against Michael Bay (her director on the Transformers flicks) and every other thing she's let slip out of her lucsious little mouth rubbed many the wrong way.
    I'm not a huge Michael Bay fan, but there is such a thing as tact and not biting the hand that feeds you. As hot as Fox is, some got fed up with her mouth and chalked her up to becoming just another jaded young starlet.
    Then there's Diablo Cody's writing for Jennifer's Body.
    Many are saying that it's just Juno with a hot girl possessed by a demon.
    Some reviews I've read also cite Cody's creating her own slang and putting it in the mouths of teen characters when teens wouldn't talk like that at all.
    Of course we have to touch on the factor of marketing. Too much, if you ask me. Seemed for the past few weeks whatever channel I had on tv, wherever I went, all I saw was Jennifer's Body ads. I (and many others I talked to of it) were just sick of seeing the ads. Oversaturation of the ads, in my opinion.
    Tyler Perry's new flick is another factor.
    Yes, his flicks are an acquired taste, to be sure. But they do have a huge built in audience to them.
    The Informant has the Matt Damon contingent to it and he has his fans and the factor that it's different from the other films and seems the smarter choice in terms of content.
    Love Happens?
    A date movie...a romantic comedy...a chick-flick...any way you slice it, yet another movie with a built in contingent of fans.
    Jennifer's Body underperforming doesn't surprise me at all, still I thought it'd at least get to #4.
    I find Megan Fox attractive and loved Juno, but Jennifer's Body doesn't seem worth the $$$. I may borrow a friend's copy of the dvd, or something.
  • I'm glad she finally got married...
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