Hollywood Deep

The teen comedy “Superbad” laughed its way to the top of the weekend box office, handily dethroning last week’s champ, “Rush Hour 3.” Sony’s, “Superbad,” which was made for a mere $20 million and stars relative unknowns Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, earned an estimated $31.2 million in the three-day period ending Sunday. The film, which was well-reviewed and was accompanied by plenty of critical buzz, opened on 2,948 screens. New Line Cinema’s,”Rush Hour 3,” starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, earned $21.8 million in its second weekend of release. The movie has grossed $88.2 million so far. Universal’s, “The Bourne Ultimatum” slipped to third place with a three- day take of $19 million. The Matt Damon thriller has earned $163.8 million in its three weeks of release. In fourth place was Fox’s, “The Simpsons Movie,” with a weekend gross of $6.7 million, while landing in fifth place was Warner Brothers’, “The Invasion.” The new release, which stars Nicole Kidman, took in $6 million.

Sony captured the top spot for the first time since early May with “Superbad” which powered ahead of expectations. The R-rated tale of three nerdy high school pals on a wild search to get booze to impress their lady friends, even beat out the $30.7M debut of June’s “Knocked Up” from director Judd Apatow and actor Seth Rogen. Apatow produced Superbad which co-starred and was co-written by Rogen. “Superbad” delivered the second biggest opening for an R-rated film this year only trailing “300″. The two are the only R pics to reach number one at all in 2007.

Rush Hour 3, the New Line action sequel should find its way to about $135-140M from North America. Like most of this summer’s threequels, Rush Hour 3 will end its domestic run well behind the gross of its predecessor.

I told you, these guys were funny. They even beat out the debut of their other film earlier this summer “Knocked Up”, and put “Rush Hour 3″ out of its misery. Following a formula for success, keeping the production budgets down, and concentrating on what’s funny. Bret Ratner and his Rush Hour team, did it the opposite way, spending $150 million on production, leaving them no chance to recoup. Only a huge blockbuster would have made Rush Hour 3 a box office success, and it didn’t happen. Superbad was made for $20 million, and the sky is the limit for box office success. both of their movies this summer followed this formula, and it worked. Well Done!
…DEEP!

Weekend Box Office

1. “Superbad,” $31.2 million.
2. “Rush Hour 3,” $21.8 million.
3. “The Bourne Ultimatum,” $19 million.
4. “The Simpsons Movie” $6.7 million.
5. “The Invasion,” $6 million.

Full Box Office Chart

Technorati Tags: “Superbad”, weekend box office, “Rush Hour 3.”, Sony, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, . New Line Cinema’s, ”Rush Hour 3, Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Universal’s, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, Matt Damon, “The Simpsons Movie, ”, Warner Brothers’, “The Invasion.”