Are you sure we’ve made it to the summer blockbuster season? You wouldn’t know it by the box-office takes as of late. Shrek Forever After took the title for the third straight week with $25.3 million—and that says more about its competition than its longevity.
All of the newcomers finished below expectations and sent movie executives scurrying for their Maalox. Get Him to the Greek was the most successful of the floppish four, scoring $17.4 million for second place. Killers was killed, finishing third with $16.1 million. Marmaduke had a ruff outing, scratching out $11.3 million for sixth place. And the sci-fi Splice finished eighth with $7.5 million. Box office prognosticators will ponder these results over the coming weeks, offering theories as to why moviegoers have deserted the theaters this summer. The economy? The weather? Are they all watching Avatar at home?
Me, I tend to think that the reason is a bit more simple: None of these films looked, at least from the trailers, very good. Do I really want to see Jonah Hill (Greek) throw up on himself? Katherine Heigl (Killers) fumble with a gun? A mutant creature (Splice) terrorize Adrien Brody? A CGI dog (Marmaduke) do … well, anything? I wouldn’t have seen any of these flicks, had my boss not made me.
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