Reject Report Update: ‘Superbad’ Gets Good Box (Office)
Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 19, 2007
Well, for once at THE REJECT REPORT I get a prediction right, sort of. I predicted $30 million for Superbad, and it ended up getting $31 million. What a fluke. And The Invasion did dismal business at the box office. Six million measly smackeroos for the Nicole Kidman thriller. Why am I not surprised?
Never underestimate the power of good buzz to make a movie Number One, as was the case with Superbad this week. And never underestimate the power of bad word of mouth and bad buzz. When a movie like The Invasion gets people saying bad things about it before the movie rolls out, well, that’s a big red flag. A good time to short the stock, as we say on Wall Street.
The damages, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
| Release | Studio | Estimated Gross |
| Superbad | Columbia | $31,200,000 |
| Rush Hour 3 | New Line | $21,830,000 |
| The Bourne Ultimatum | Universal | $18,986,000 |
| The Simpsons Movie | Fox | $6,675,000 |
| The Invasion | Warner Bros. | $6,000,000 |
| Stardust | Paramount | $5,244,000 |
| Hairspray | New Line | $4,270,000 |
| Underdog | Disney | $3,613,000 |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Warner Bros. | $3,540,000 |
| I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry | Universal | $3,500,000 |
There’s really not much more to say about this week– no new records set, nothing. Though I did read that the box office is up for the sixth week in a row so people in Hollywood ought to be happy.
Clearly, the blockbuster season is over, but with Superbad doing so well I think the season ends on a good note for a lot of people. Eventually I am going to get around to doing a final tally of how well all these blockbuster summer movies did and how it all shaped up for these studios this summer. So expect to see that coming soon, maybe in another week or so.
That’s that for summer blockbuster season. Now, roll the end credits. (Without all those Chris Tucker/Jackie Chan Rush Hour outtakes. Please.)
See you again Friday with another Reject Report, as we prepare to go on holiday with Mr. Bean. Among others.
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