'Chuck & Larry Has Box-Office Edge

[comedyfreak]

Two guys named Chuck and Larry edged out a teenager named Harry at the weekend box office. Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" overcame bad reviews to debut ahead of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," according to studio estimates Sunday. But they were close enough that there was a slight chance rankings could change when final weekend figures come out Monday.

Universal reported that "Chuck & Larry" took in $34.8 million, while Warner Bros. reported "Order of the Phoenix" at $32.2 million. Other studios were tracking "Chuck & Larry" in the $33 million range, which could make the No. 1 movie too close to call.

"I think it'll be decided Monday morning," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros.
Universal head of distribution Nikki Rocco said the weekend was no contest.

"I'm not going to underestimate Adam Sandler and his fan base in the middle of summer," Rocco said. "We're by far the No. 1 film."

New Line's musical "Hairspray," featuring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Queen Latifah in an adaptation of the Broadway smash, opened a strong No. 3 with $27.8 million.

Hollywood had a solid weekend no matter which movie ends up No. 1. The top 12 movies took in $147.6 million, up 3.5 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was No. 1 with $35.2 million.

To report weekend numbers, studios use actual grosses from Friday and Saturday and make estimates for Sunday based on past performance of similar movies. Being the first report on weekend business, the estimates draw more audience attention than Monday's final figures, so the No. 1 spot Sunday is a coveted position.

"These estimates are in some ways more important than the final Monday figures," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "They're often the first impression and for some people maybe the only impression they have of the box office for the weekend."

"Chuck & Larry" stars Sandler as a firefighter who poses as a gay partner for a widower colleague (James) so his pal can maintain life insurance for his kids.

The movie followed the usual pattern for Sandler comedies: Critics trashed it but loyal fans turned up.

"The beauty of Adam Sandler is his fan base adores him, and he delivers on comedy," Universal's Rocco said. "Adam is a star, and I can tell you we know we're on the way with another $100 million movie for Adam."

"Order of the Phoenix," which debuted at No. 1 the previous weekend, raised its domestic total to $207.5 million.

Fellman said the movie lost some business this weekend because of the mania over Saturday's publication of J.K. Rowling's final book in the fantasy series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"They wanted to get that book Saturday, lock themselves in the house and read it, because they didn't want their other friends by Monday telling them who made it and who didn't," said Fellman of Warner Bros.

"Hairspray" follows the musical adventures of a tubby teen (newcomer Nikki Blonsky) who sets out to racially integrate a TV dance show in the 1960s. The stage musical on which it is based was in turn adapted from John Waters' 1988 cult flick.

Women made up just over two-thirds of the "Hairspray" audience, said David Tuckerman, head of distribution for New Line. The studio hopes good word of mouth will keep the crowds coming and bring in more men in subsequent weekends, Tuckerman said.

"We knew getting the guys on opening weekend was going to be difficult. We knew `Chuck & Larry' would get the guys and we wouldn't," Tuckerman said.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight's sci-fi tale "Sunshine" opened to big numbers, pulling in $235,477 in 10 theaters. Directed by Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later"), the film stars Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh as members of a space crew trying to re-ignite the dying sun 50 years from now.

Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
his Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 - I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry Universal Pictures Distribution, Universal Pictures International $34,775,000 $34,775,000 1 3495
2 1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. Pictures International, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $32,185,000 $207,541,000 2 4285
4 2 Transformers Paramount Pictures, di Bonaventura Pictures, Inc., Paramount Pictures International $20,506,000 $262,969,000 3 3762
5 3 Ratatouille Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Buena Vista International $11,000,000 $165,628,000 4 3402
6 4 Live Free or Die Hard 20th Century Fox Distribution $7,300,000 $116,466,000 4 2727
7 5 License to Wed Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $3,760,000 $38,678,000 3 2525
8 6 1408 Dimension Films, MGM Distribution Company $2,600,000 $67,500,000 5 1451
9 7 Evan Almighty Universal Pictures $2,455,000 $93,469,000 5 1779
10 8 Knocked Up Universal Pictures Distribution $2,318,000 $142,725,000 8 1288
11 9 Sicko Lionsgate, The Weinstein Company $1,900,000 $19,140,000 5 1117
12 10 Ocean's Thirteen Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International $1,050,000 $114,570,000 7 750

[waichingliu81]

hmmm, i wonder if the film would've been just as successful- had the roles of chuck and larry been played by real-life openly gay actors. i very much doubt that. as i mentioned before, i am not a lesbian but as well as we all are aware mainstream hollywood isn't much of a fan of gay and lesbian movies. likewise, the two leads in this movie, kevin james and adam sandler aren't gay in real life- which could be argued why chuck and larry has been easily accepted by the public. there was a gay film that came out 2 years ago called the adventures of adam and steve which starred real-life openly gay actor malcolm gets, who was in the sitcom, caroline in the city, and thus, it achieved minimal mainstream success. in fact, it hardly achieved any commercial success, rather it was a low-key 'gay' film.

though whilst it is good that chuck and larry has done well so far, i am skeptical as to whether it would've attained this feat, had the main leads been homosexual, as opposed to hetrosexual

[AB]

I'm surprised it did that well, with all the good competition it was up against.

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by waichingliu81

though whilst it is good that chuck and larry has done well so far, i am skeptical as to whether it would've attained this feat, had the main leads been homosexual, as opposed to hetrosexual

What does that have to do with a movie, so what if the movie would have bombed if the actors were really gay? This one is a comedy made by two popular comedians who are well known. The movie is meant to entertain, something you can put your brain in neutral and enjoy. You're making something big out of nothing.

@Annball-I'm surprised Potter didn't come out ahead.

[swedeace]

I was among one of the first people who went to see I Now Pronounce You, Chuck & Larry on Friday's premiere. I am a fan of Adam Sandler's and Kevin James' comedy, and I also like Jessica Biel in 7th Heaven and The Illusionist. The previews really reeled me into this movie, and I decided to view it during the first day premiere. I'm not usually the type of person viewing it on the first day, but this movie was an exception. I found the previews were accurate during the movie. The movie kept me laughing, and it had its tender moments as well.

[sweetdiggity]

I went and seen it on friday, too. I really liked it. It was pretty funny!
I love Kevin James, he's awesome. Adam Sandler is great, too.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by sweetdiggity

I love Kevin James, he's awesome.

Never would have guessed that

[freshprinceofLA]

Damn I really wanna see this movie!

[Pitooey]

This movie had me laughing out loud (I never do that when I see movies).

I was also surprised at some of the actors. (I don't want to give the movie away) . It was a funny and good movie. I give it 4 ****'s out of 4.