“Hangover II” Gains Wide Audience Despite Dismal Reviews

The Hangover came onto the scene in 2009 as a fresh, funny comedy that won over audiences across the world and even the critics.

Now director Todd Phillips is back with “the Wolf Pack” from the first film – Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms, with Justin Bartha and Ken Jeong also returning – for The Hangover, Part II, and the critics aren’t quite too favorable this time around.

To be quite honest, it’s an awful follow-up, as it copies and pastes nearly everything from the first film but gives it the scenery of Bangkok.

So much for originality. However, audiences aren’t dissuaded by the (literal) parallels in the plots or the nasty reviews from critics.

The Hollywood Reporter brings news that it’s set to make at least $25 million – possibly even $30 million – from Thursday showings alone; that does include the $10.4 million snagged from midnight showings. It’s bound to be one of the biggest Thursday openers ever and could make as much as $125 million before the five-day weekend is over.