'Meatballs' Scores Big at the Box, While 'Jennifer's Body' Attracts Few
Matt Damon beats out Fox and Aniston
Steve Mason has published early box-office estimates and while the number one film is no surprise, I must admit I am a bit shocked by one new openers in particular.
Sony's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was expected to finish first for the three-day frame, and after an estimated $7.7 million on Friday it looks to do just that as Mason estimates it will finish with $28.6 million for the weekend, just under $4 million short of Laremy's Thursday prediction. However, that's about as good as Laremy's predictions get in a weekend where the new releases didn't exactly shine.
While Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself looks to be performing on par with tradition, pulling in an estimated $3.1 million on Friday on its way to approximately a $10 million weekend, it's the newcomers that aren't pulling their weight.
Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! enjoyed solid reviews earning a 77% at RottenTomatoes, but it looks like its estimated $3.3 million Friday will translate to just under $10 million for the weekend. And guess what, outside of Meatballs that will make it the weekend's top newcomer as neither Jennifer Aniston or Megan Fox could takedown Matt Damon. I guess we should be happy for that…
The Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart rom-com Love Happens was beaten up by critics to the tune of a 16% RottenTomatoes rating and a $2.8 million Friday, but it should still outlast the Megan Fox comedic-horror Jennifer's Body. As Mason says, "Megan Fox better make amends with Michael Bay because she has considerably less drawing power without giant robots at her side."
Jennifer's Body opened to an estimated $2.82 million on Friday and Mason predicts it won't even crack the $7 million mark by the end of the weekend, which means it will be coming in at over $9 million less than Laremy predicted. Was Laremy that far off on his predictions or did Diablo Cody's follow-up to Juno under-perform that much? While I didn't particularly like Jennifer's Body (my review) I still thought the premise appeared unique enough to interest moviegoers despite its 41% RottenTomatoes rating.
So what was it? Are people staying home this weekend or do you plan on catching one of the new openers on Saturday or Sunday? Is Megan Fox not as much of a draw as people may assume? Does Diablo Cody have no kind of pull after Juno?
Weigh in with your thoughts below, and stay tuned as Laremy will be here on Sunday with a full recap.










