Holy mother of crap. I didn’t see this coming at all. First there were rumors (which turned out to be true) that “Ghost Rider” wasn’t being screened for critics, and then news that the producers were already looking at a sequel, and — well, let’s just say it: I thought this movie was gonna do good, but not great business. It is a comic book movie, after all, and that usually does pretty well in the first week. Not always, but usually pretty well, going by the last few years. But damn — $44.5 million in its opening week??? Holy Cripes. I didn’t see that coming AT ALL.
Via the AP:
“Ghost Rider,” Sony’s comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Debuting in second place with $22.1 million was Disney’s “Bridge to Terabithia,” based on the children’s novel about a boy and girl who create an elaborate fantasy land to escape from the troubles of the real world.
The movies bumped off the previous weekend’s No. 1 flick, DreamWorks’ Eddie Murphy comedy “Norbit,” which slipped to third place with $16.8 million, lifting its total to $58.9 million.
Premiering at No. 4 with $14 million was the Warner Bros. romance “Music and Lyrics,” starring Hugh Grant as a washed-up pop singer and Drew Barrymore as his unlikely songwriting partner.
The Lionsgate romance “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls” opened in fifth place with $12.1 million, a sharp drop from filmmaker Perry’s February releases the last two years, 2006’s “Madea’s Family Reunion,” which premiered with $30 million, and 2005’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” which debuted with $21.9 million.
Universal’s spy thriller “Breach” debuted at No. 6 with $10.4 million. It stars Chris Cooper as
Robert Hanssen, the FBI man caught in 2001 for selling secrets to Russia, and Ryan Phillippe as a young bureau operative who helps bring him down.
Yet more proof that mainstream critics are all but useless.
“Seriously? $44.5 million? CHA-CHING!!!
Related Posts