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UPDATE: As of noon today, big online ticketseller Fandango-com was reporting that 69% of its ticket sales were for Pineapple Express, 11% for Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 (both are opening today) and 14% for The Dark Knight.
This weekend's predictions start early with today's opening of Sony's Pineapple Express. I hate when that happens because it makes the Friday-Saturday-Sunday showdown far less exciting. (And box office analysts live for the drama...) This Judd Apatow-bannered stoner comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco should gross more than $10 million Wednesday/Thursday and probably mid to high $20sM for the weekend which would give the pic a 5-day total of mid-$30sM. Certainly, the tracking is showing a $35M-$37.5M range for the five days. But my box office gurus think the R-rated movie which is getting good buzz and great reviews could hit $40M. But will the weekend total be big enough to knock off Warner Bros' top gun The Dark Knight? Maybe. It'll definitely be a tight race. My box office gurus don't expect the Batman installment to drop much more than 40% Friday through Sunday. That would give the pic a $25+M weekend. Also opening today is Warner Bros' The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 whose tracking shows an $18M to $21M 5-day range which sounds about right.
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I caught the midnight showing of Pineapple Express last night and it was pretty enjoyable and seemed to get a good response from the crowd.
However, this thing would only have a chance at beating the Batman if it were opening on Friday. Once all the Apatow fanboys and stoners hit theatres Weds, Thurs & Friday, the weekend gross won’t be too impressive.
Also, don’t count out the R rating. That’ll keep a lot of people from seeing this one and a campaign by Batman fanboys is encouraging kids planning to sneak into Pineapple Express to buy Batman tickets (and help push it closer to Titanic) to do so.
Why didn’t they just open PE on Friday itself?
I do think PE will unseat TDK. It’s getting extremely positive audience reactions thus far.
if only people would use the energy expended on nonsense towards useful things, the world might be better and maybe some serious problems could be solved – rather than energy spent on increasing b.o. gross for a multinational corp.
Wow! What a bad airbrush job on that Pants 2 poster!! Can’t they get the talent together for a couple of minutes to take a real picture of them all together? Not even for this movie??!?
that is so lame. why cheat a good comedy from the box office it deserves so you can falsely inflate numbers on another movie…? this idea turns fanboys into corporate lackeys for warner bros.
Yeah, I agree with College Student. PE would have a chance to beat Dark Knight if it was released on Friday. Since it’s being released today, I night doubt it’ll beat Dark Knight.
Although it’ll be interesting to see how the studios will spin in on Monday – #1 movie in America for a 5-day weekend!
The studios opened the movies on Wednesday probably to avoid competing with the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, which takes place on Friday.
I saw Pineapple Express today and its very good…it was actually better than I thought it would be. I honestly think its got a shot at being the #1 movie this weekend even with the Wednesday opening…mostly because of its pedigre and the fact that, despite the -1 guy to girl ratio (at least) everyone seemed to be enjoying it.
Even if it doesn’t beat TDK, it will do very well at the box office through word of mouth and repeat viewings. Its a hit! (its no Walk Hard thats for sure)
Groan!! Not another Seth Rogen & Judd Apatow movie please. These 2 are becoming the next M. Night Shyamalan with the same production again and again. Enough already. Versatility is def not in their vocab.
C’mon Hollywood, do you have to rely on Apatow for humor and comedies?
I do wish for DK2 to win the B.O. this weekend and by a big margin.
Interesting to note: I am on vacation this week so I attempted to check out the Midnight screening of “Pineapple Express” last night. It was SOLD OUT at my local megaplex and I showed up at 11:30. I am not in a giant metropolis, this was in the Cincinnati, OH area. I really thought I would go over, check out the movie, and be there with 15 stoners. I couldn’t even get in. I guess the buzz was/is bigger than I expected.
That said, I went and caught a matinee today and didn’t love it. The movie made me laugh out loud a few times, but it’s insanely violent and really quite dark. That isn’t really how it’s been marketed (big surprise) and I think it kept me from really enjoying it.
This one will not skew as much towards the female audience because of the violence. It’s for the fanBOYS.
I also noticed quite a few kids in the theater (I’m talking 12-ish) who clearly snuck in after buying tickets for other flicks…
Armand,
You must not have seen the Pineapple Express because it’s nothing like Knocked Up and is very different from pretty much anything Apatow and Rogen have done so far.
Yo Armand of the bad analogies….
Rogen and Apatow are repetitive like M. Night?
WTF are you smoking?
What do the 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad and the Pineapple Express have in common other than being comedies?
That is range dude.
Very real genius type range for that crew.
Does each one end with a twist surprise ending like Nights?
They carry no crutches like that.
Unique concepts and very marketable every time.
Oh and they are actually funny.
Right now Hollywood could do worse that relying on Apatow for “humor and comedies” as you put it.
That is unless you want more MEET DAVE or STEP BROTHERS.
If you want more of that we’ll give it to you too but we won’t enjoy it as much as working with Judd and Seth.
Comment by reelbusy — August 6, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
Wow! You must be a fan, a 12 year old I am sure, with your choice of words.
Let me break it down for you. The genre is the same, comedies..this is what I was referring to. Till Apatow writes or produce a movie that doesn’t involves laughter or gross out tactis for laughter, then you can use your 12 year old language at me.
Now go drink your warm milk and get ready for bed, it’s 9pm already!
I don’t know how 68% positive at Rotten Tomatoes can be considered as “great” reviews. Personally, i found PE boring. Almost two hours of one joke.
Hopefully Tropic Thunder will kill this movie next week.
Hey Armand, the bad analogy making name caller,
So anyone who makes movies in only one genre is a hack to you?
That would be Hitchcock too then right?
He never left his genre.
Damn that repetitive film making genius.
Your logic doesn’t hold up, but we didn’t expect it too.
What or who do you think is funny in that “humor and comedy” genre?
You must have loved MEET DAVE after all.
BTW, you sound like the 12 year old fanboy rooting for your little superhero movie to win at the box office this weekend.
That’s so cute.
Did your Mom let you wear your Batman outfit and towel/cape to the theatre?
Root away fanboy.
I say The Dark Knight will be dethroned this weekend to the #2 spot, maybe in the $15-$20M range. It would be cool, if The Dark Knight can hang in the #1 spot for one more weekend.
The Olympics may play a part in the box office figures this weekend but since Pineapple Express is aimed at 25 and under, it may not matter that much.
Go Dark Knight!