Maybe Tina Fey should just stick to movies. The former 'SNL' castmember and current star/creator of the critically-acclaimed yet ratings-challenged NBC show "30 Rock" has another #1 movie with "Baby Mama" ("Mean Girls" was her first). The comedy, which paired her with 'SNL' partner Amy Poehler earned an impressive $18.3 million to become the first comedy with 2 female leads to open in first place since...er, since...well, I honestly can't remember. It led a strong comedy charge at the box office as audiences went for laughs this weekend.
"Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" pulled in $14.5M in its debut, which should give the folks at the Studio Formerly Known As New Line a chance to finally be happy about something. The stoner comedy, budgeted at just $12M, earned about as much as the original did in its initial theatrical run.
"The Forbidden Kingdom" fell from 1st to 3rd with $11.3M in its sophomore weekend, losing a little less than half its audience, which isn't bad. Its total is now at $38.2M.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is showing even more staying power, finishing 4th with $11M (a drop of 37%) for a $35M total. It will be interesting if "FSM" and "H&K2" are able to pull extended runs in theaters, with the summer season about to begin. Both are prime examples of how cheap but well-made, well-targeted R-rated comedies can be cash cows for studios.
"Nim's Island" was 5th with $4.5M ($38M total).
"Deception," the Hugh Jackman/Ewan McGregor thriller that was skewered by critics -- including Jeffrey & Alison -- bombed with a $2.2M debut. This one seems like a favor the studio (Fox) did for Jackman, who also produced the film and is practically a contract player for Fox, with "Australia" and the "Wolverine" X-Men spinoff film coming for the studio.
As far as limited releases, Helen Hunt's "Then She Found Me" opened with an impressive $74,400 take from 9 theaters ($8,266 per screen). "Roman de Gare" did even better, earning $25,500 in just 2 theaters. We'll be reviewing this one on RT soon, once it expands into more theaters.
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