Zack and Miri Opening More Kevin Smith Than Judd Apatow
The early returns on Zack and Miri Make A Porno aren't what Harvey Weinstein was hoping for. After fighting over how explicit the film's promotional materials and title could be, the Seth Rogen-Elizabeth Banks romantic comedy didn't explode at the box office this weekend. The film netted an underwhelming projected $10.6 million even after a really slow Friday night opening. It looks like all the free publicity and feel-good endings in the world couldn't turn a frog into an Apatovian prince.Apatow's R-rated fare usually does a decent job crossing over to younger audiences, and Smith may have been hoping that pattern would continue with so many recognizable actors from Judd's films in Zack and Miri. Parents may have been especially wary of their teens seeing a film with 'Porno' in the title. Even the dour Changeling might have more legs than Zack and Miri, as Nikki Finke argues. In any case, the film's gross so far is more in line with Smith's past results than Apatow's: even Forgetting Sarah Marshall brought in $17.7 million on its opening weekend. Good word of mouth could help, but the film hasn't been a critical favorite so far either. Update: That early estimate may be a tad high. From The Hollywood Reporter:
"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" followed with $10.7 million, said closely held distributor Weinstein Co. Other studios, however, said that estimate was at least $1 million too high. "There's no question that we're being a little bit aggressive," said Weinstein Co. distribution chairman Steve Bunnell, referring to the studio's estimate of Sunday sales. Final data will be issued on Monday.
The larger impact is on the struggling Weinstein Company. Harvey can't be pleased to see this film underperform. Click here for the full results from the weekend.