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Shalimar Sahota: It's a good enough opening, even if it is a touch lower than where I expected it to finish. Kinda agree with Matthew that when it comes to most of Sandler's comedies, he doesn't have to stretch his acting ability. He just plays himself, so audiences know exactly what they're getting. I believe that the film will see a strong Monday, just because it's Valentine's Day, though I can't understand why some people think to themselves, "Oh, it's Valentine's Day. Let's go see an awful film because it just so happens to be slightly romantic."

Reagen Sulewski: Personally, I find this result a little troubling as far as Sandler goes. Yes, $30 million is strong enough on its own, but it's also towards the lower end of Sandler's opening weekend since he hit the big time. And this is after adding a big female lead and making a huge promotional push of Brooklyn Decker's Boobs. You don't do that with the anticipation of getting 75% of your average opening. Sandler's fanbase still can't be in the "girls are icky" stage, can they?

I suppose it's possible a good portion of his fans were waiting for Valentine's Day proper, and the final grosses will have the final say, but to me this is underperforming.

Brett Beach: From the trailers, I noted that Adam Sandler now appears to be at the stage of his career where is the receiver, instead of the giver, of the crotch smash. That marks a slight shifting trend in his mainstream comedies. After Grown-Ups and now this, I also wonder if he has a secret bet to see how generic he can have a title be and not lose any customers.

While I might initially chalk this up as a little underwhelming for a Valentine's Day weekend romantic comedy, I counter that with a) It should have a great night tonight and give a four day total on the closer end to $40 million; b) as Kim notes this is his 10th film to open north of $30 million (and no sequels on that list, just several remakes) and that kind of consistency over 15 years shouldn't be undersold; c)the holds on this will be great and take him over the $100 million threshold yet again.

As for why, it's been stated here already, but he gives the fans what they want and expect in these roles and he has never been too afflicted with the mantel of Hollywood Superstar to undercut his ability to seem like the average Joe Schmo. Plus, his ever so subtle nods to adulthood in these roles and the occasional dramatic role count for some kind of maturity that perhaps also resonate with the audience.

David Mumpower: I am a longstanding fan of Sandler dating all the way back to his being a bit player on MTV's Remote Control. I have always admired him for being genuine. A perfect example of this is when he did a guest appearance on a struggling television show called Undeclared, which was canceled soon afterward. Coming off of The Waterboy and Big Daddy, he had nothing to gain from this yet he wanted to show loyalty to a friend, who happened to be the creator of the show, Judd Apatow. That act of kindness has been rewarded as Apatow jumped ship from television into movies, an area where he's found far more popularity. Sandler is exactly what he seems like, an everyman nice guy who people like. In fact, his character in Mr. Deeds is probably not that far from the truth about who he is. That's why Sandler has so many people who want to work with him again as well as why his vanilla brand of sophomoric humor continues to appeal to an aging fanbase.

Reagen et al are absolutely correct that this performance is on the low end of the spectrum. Just Go With It doesn't have any of the depressing aspects of Funny People; this should have been a return to form. Instead, it's the worst of the ten $30+ million openers. I believe that consumers recognized the transparent desperation of selling Brooklyn Decker's bikini body as a movie. There didn't seem to be any teeth to this premise otherwise. If not for the Sandler name brand attached, I doubt this would have done any better than Ron Howard's disappointing comedy, The Dilemma.

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