Monday Morning Box Office: Sun Rises, Sun Sets, Adam Sandler Vehicle Grosses $40 Million
Enjoy a tall glass of these fresh-squeezed box office numbers on your Monday morning:
1. Click—$40 million
There really is no point in resisting Adam Sandler. He remakes a football movie with Chris Rock, $47 million. Romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore, $40 million. Screaming at Jack Nicholson, $42 million. And now a family-targeted reenactment of the most poignant moment of George Jetson's life: $40 million. We expect that next year's Sandler project, in which the sure-thing star and sidekick Rob Schneider do nothing but butter some toast while squeezing out the occasional fart, will bring in $43 million. Or $46 million if the two are assisted in their chore by a cute orphan.
2. Cars—$22.540 million
We are genuinely grateful to the folks at Pixar for not inflicting yet another family film featuring talking animals on the moviegoing public. It should be noted, however, that the studio's next reported project is this.
3. Nacho Libre—$12.138 million
Actual e-mail awaiting Paramount employees upon their return to work this morning:
"Good morning! Last week, we thanked all of you for the hard work and dedication that made Nacho Libre an unexpected, second-place smash hit. That was so great! But this weekend, our 'little Mexican wrestler movie that could' fell off 57 percent at the box office, finishing third with just a bit over $12 million. And so we must ask: Where was the strategy, creativity, and long hours that made us so successful just a week ago? You have failed Paramount, failed Jack Black, and most distressingly, failed yourselves. We cannot help but feel you could've done better, and that this third place slide is all your fault.
Layoffs will begin at 11:00 am. Look busy.
Your friend,
Brad Grey"
4. Waist Deep—$9.452 million
If you suffered from "low awareness" of this film, we offer two reasons why: 1) This movie stars Tyrese. 2) At some point this weekend, you at least considered the possibility you might buy a ticket to Click.
Congratulations! You've been successfully counterprogrammed.
5. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift—$9.502 million
We will feel only slightly guilty about eventually explaining that this is in our Netflix queue for "research."