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Julie & Julia will soon be a soft-core porn title

Kim Hollis: Julie & Julia, a movie adaptation of a popular blog and a Julia Child biography, opened to $20.0 million. Should Sony be pleased with this result?

Josh Spiegel: Yes, and no. On the one hand, I expect Julie and Julia to have pretty strong legs; frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this movie got close to $100 million when all is said and done. Also, the international grosses, specifically in Europe, should be pretty solid once the movie rolls out there. However, with the crazy amount of marketing (I genuinely think I saw more ads for this movie than for G.I. Joe), and the presence of Meryl Streep in a role that seems tailor-made for an Oscar nod, and a role as one of the earliest television icons, I wonder if Sony was hoping for something closer to a $30 million opening. Of course, they may have also hoped G.I. Joe didn't do so well; still, this number isn't bad at all. Just not great.

Scott Lumley: Considering this is a very unique movie opening in August with little violence, not much sex and based on Julia Child, I think this has to be considered a phenomenal result. I also think that this film has a shot at $100 million and should show some great legs. If there's one thing I know, it's Food Network fans, and they'll all be showing up to catch this one eventually.

Max Braden: Streep's two best box office openings (where she would be considered part of the draw) were Mamma Mia! and The Devil Wears Prada, both opening at $27 million. Streep usually opens at half this level if not in platform release. Julia Child may be a household name, but this is a biopic with no male demographic. $20 million is a very good opening for this project.





Tim Briody: If the first blog turned into a movie can open to $20 million, the lolcat movie is just going to be golden.

Sean Collier: And I'm sure that Box Office Prophets: The Motion Picture can pull in at least a $15 million opening.

Reagen Sulewski: You've got to judge based on expectations here. This is a female-focused movie with no particular romantic plot that's about food. $20 million might as well be Transformers money here. The comparisons to Prada and Mamma Mia! fall flat to me, since one was a very broad comedy based on an extremely popular book (the one this is based on doesn't qualify to me, sorry) and the latter was based on an inexplicably popular musical. A few years ago, this opens to single digits.

David Mumpower: I completely agree with Reagen that this is rarefied air to a certain degree. Meryl Streep and opening weekend box office were once terms used as antonyms. Even so, I do feel that this one was being marketing in a manner befitting a de facto sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, which is why $20 million sounds about right to me rather than a success or a failure. This is the level I had expected, albeit a touch on the low end. Legs will go a long way in determining my overall opinion of this title. What it has done so far is largely as predicted.

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