This weekend's comedy clash at the cinema was no contest. "Get Smart" easily bested "The Love Guru" with a $39.1 million debut. The Steve Carell-topped revival of the classic sitcom overcame middling reviews to take the pole position.
Mike Myers' return didn't even land in second place.
That went to the smash-hit kids cartoon "Kung Fu Panda," which took in another $21.7M ($155M total). "The Incredible Hulk" smashed his way into third with $21.5M ($96M total), which marks a steeper-than-Marvel Studios-hoped drop of 61% from last week. It should earn more than 2003's "Hulk" did ($122M) but whether it will earn enough to start a franchise is now seriously in doubt.
"The Love Guru" could not overcome the dreadful reviews and took in a disappointing $14M. What, did NO ONE listen to Jeffrey and Alison this weekend?!?
In fifth place, "The Happening" with $10M ($50.2M total), an alarmingly-large 67% week-to-week decline.
A few notable efforts by some indie films: "Mongol" took in $744,000 in just 94 theaters ($7,914 per screen average), and "Brick Lane," our Websclusive this week, earned $50,500 from just 7 screens ($7,214 per screen).
But "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" put those two, and every other film this week, to shame. During a limited engagement of just 5 theaters in NYC, the family film earned a superb $223,000 (over $44K per screen!). That bodes well for its national release Fourth of July weekend.