Friday Box Office: Semi-Pro Flops

March 1st, 2008

The surprise of the weekend is that the Will Ferrell comedy Semi-Pro flopped in theaters this weekend. With a lack of competition, the basketball film still made it into the #1 spot, but will end up with $15-$20 million less than other comparable Will Ferrell movies.

Semi-Pro made only $5.4 million at the Friday box office, compared to the $12.3 million Blades of Glory earned last year. That means that, according to Box Office Prophets, Semi-Pro will end up with about $15 million for the weekend, compared to Blades of Glory’s $33 million. Ouch.

Honestly, I’m pretty surprised. Semi-Pro looked pretty funny, and had great previews to draw people in. Reviews were surprisingly decent, too; at least more than good enough for a Will Ferrell movie. The Superbowl ads alone were worth the price of admission, so I’m amazed this one didn’t appeal to people more. Is Ferrell’s star power fading? People might be getting tired of the same old formula over and over again, but, then again, I wouldn’t rule the ex-SNL star out yet. This may just be one of those weird flukes.

The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman as two scheming sisters trying to produce a male heir for King Henry VIII, will earn approximately $8.1 million this weekend, not bad considering that the movie is a period piece and only opened on 1,166 theater. Penelope, about a pig-faced Christina Ricci, earned $1 million on weekend, which means it’s pretty much dead on arrival. Considering I have yet to see a preview for the film, I’m not surprised.

No Country for Old Men also earned a million dollars as it pushed back up to 2,000 screens, riding it’s post Best Picture Oscar win. I would have contributed to that amount had I not received it on DVD last night.