August 13, 2006

ONLY HOLLYWOOD...:

'Talladega' Leads Box Office Pack Again: 'Talladega Nights' Earns $23 Million, Maintains Box Office Lead for Second Week Straight (GARY GENTILE, 8/13/06, The Associated Press)

The Will Ferrell comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" raced ahead of the competition to remain the box office champ for a second weekend with $23 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

Last week's news of another terror plot against airliners apparently did not dampen audience appetite for Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center." The Paramount Pictures release beat expectations by earning $19 million over the weekend to place it third at the weekend box office.

The shocker of the weekend was the high-school dance film "Step Up" from The Walt Disney Co., which placed second with a box office take of $21 million.

"It stepped up out of nowhere and surprised everyone," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It was totally unexpected." [...]

"World Trade Center" turned in the best weekend debut ever for director Stone, whose previous controversial films such as "JFK and "Nixon" made many wonder how he would portray events in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.


Could be surprised that a NASCAR flick, a patriotic movie, and a Disney film are doing so well.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 13, 2006 8:54 PM
Comments

Why exactly would

news of another terror plot against airliners [. . .] dampen audience appetite for Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center."
anyway? Wouldn't one naturally assume that it would increase interest?

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at August 13, 2006 9:39 PM

Jim:

The left and the MSM are assuming that the Dems will win in November because the American public wants to return to the "Vacation from History". Hence the surprise that a large portion of the moviegoing public isn't covering its eyes and ears concerning 9/11.

Posted by: Jeff at August 14, 2006 8:01 AM

Jim in Chicago:

I read that the movie came in third place for the week and that's lower than the filmmakers anticipated. Most reviewers say the film is good, so naturally there's a desire to blame current events.

Posted by: Matt Murphy at August 15, 2006 1:02 AM
« THE ONE LEGITIMATE COMPLAINT ABOUT HIS NEOLOGISM--REDUNDANCY: | Main | SELF-INFLICTING: »