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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Stuck In Neutral

As it turns out, What Happens in Vegas... ended up in second place in the box office derby over the weekend--And by a considerable margin-leaving Speed Racer in the dust...

Pamela McClintock of Varirty:

Final box office numbers for the weekend showed Twentieth Century Fox's comedy "What Happens in Vegas" speeding past Warner Bros.' event kid pic "Speed Racer" to take the No. 2 spot behind Goliath "Iron Man."

Warners estimated on
Sunday that "Speed Racer" would finish the weekend with an opening gross of $20.2 million, putting in at No. 2, just slightly ahead of "Vegas," which made an estimated $20 million.

Actual numbers released Monday showed that "Vegas" grossed $20.1 million, while "Speed Racer" grossed $18.6 million.

Fox, along with several other studios, suggested from the outset that Warners was being too aggressive in its estimate, and that actual B.O. numbers would show the two pictures switching positions.

"Speed Racer," directed by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Joel Silver, cost well over $100 million to produce.

"Vegas," toplining Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, cost roughly $35 million to produce.

Paramount and Marvel Entertainment's "Iron Man" bested both films, despite being in its second weekend. The superhero tentpole made roughly $50 million over the weekend for a gross of $177.1 million in its first 10 days in release
.

$18.6 million is a really laughable number when you consider that Speed was supposed to be geared toward the family crowd...While Vegas was a mature themed comedy with no special effects or play on nostalgia, The bean counters at Warner Bros. obviously bumped up estimated totals in a big way...And now have egg on their face.

More bad news for Speed...

Moms don't break for 'Speed'

WB's erroneous tally fuels box office race

And its troubles are not limited to here in the U.S.

'Speed Racer' stalls in Europe...

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