LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Adam Sandler's faux gay comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" charmed $34.8 million from moviegoers its first weekend in theaters to nudge the latest "Harry Potter" film from the top of the box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
"Chuck and Larry," starring Sandler and Kevin James as heterosexual Brooklyn firefighters who pose as a gay couple to qualify for domestic-partner benefits, underscored Sandler's box-office clout, although it fell short of some of his past film openings.
"Anger Management," "Big Daddy" and "Click" - all starring Sandler -- each grossed more than $40 million in the first weekend, according to ticket sales tracker Media By Numbers. Still, executives at Universal Pictures, distributor for "Chuck and Larry," said they were happy with its opening performance.
"Adam has a huge, broad fan base. Everything seemed to click," said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution for Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth film based on J.K. Rowling's blockbuster book series about the bespectacled British boy wizard, slipped to No. 2 in its second weekend at the North American box office with ticket sales of $32.2 million as Rowling's eagerly awaited seventh and final novel was released in bookstores.
0 comments:
Post a Comment