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Kim Hollis: I think it's an okay result given the low investment and the fact that everything was deflated this weekend due to Irene. This is the kind of film that will have some endurance on video, and the theatrical release of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark will essentially play out like an extended commercial for when that time arrives.

Jason Lee: On one hand, anything del Toro does is going to have me very interested. On the other, this isn't simply a remake of an old horror film - it's a remake of a made-for-TV movie. Del Toro's participation aside, I think a lot of people simply questioned the quality of the film, given its inauspicious roots. I know I did.

Won't someone please think of the idiots?

Kim Hollis: Our Idiot Brother, presumably the one who scheduled a film for Hurricane Weekend, opened to $7 million. Why do you think Stupid Paul Rudd failed to appeal to mass consumers?

Samuel Hoelker: I'll place as much blame as I can on the weather, but I'll also blame the fact that advertisements made Paul Rudd seem to be more of an idiot than he actually was. Being nice and good-natured without being socially awkward (like Dinner for Schmucks) can only go so far.

Brett Beach: Well, I think this is actually Beatific/Jesus Paul Rudd, and not the sort of character people have come to expect from his latter-day roles in Role Models, I Love You Man, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Ten, etc. I am glad that he is stretching outside his comfort zone/comic archetype for something a little different, but I was never greatly enthused and never thought this would catch on in any way like the first four mentioned above. Plus, apparently the Weinstein Company bought a film that had some goodwill from Sundance and people liked, paid an outrageous fortune for it and then proceeded to tinker with it and product test the ending in order to bland it down so everybody can like it. I could be snide and say "well, no surprise, they've been doing that for 20 years re: Happy Texas, Shanghai Triad, Nightwatch, etc" but I'll go esoteric for the win and call this The Spitfire Grill syndrome.

Still, it's got Mrs. Ben Gibbard playing a woman who likes women, so I think somewhere down the line, I will be seeing it.
Reagen Sulewski: It's actually a pretty appropriate opening for what kind of film it is, which is way more You Can Count On Me than it is Role Models (though it's not nearly as good as the former). I think this continues the theme of the Weinstein Brothers, who have never really regained their mojo since leaving Miramax. Now, if the budget is really $5 million as reported, everyone's doing fine. I think the P&A have to have pushed that north of $25 million, but even that's not so bad with an opening weekend like this.

Edwin Davies: Paul Rudd has carved out a niche for himself by playing likable, relatable characters who get themselves into situations a little outside of their control. You can see this in Role Models, I Love You, Man, even Dinner With Schmucks, to an extent, and his natural charm helps carry those films. This film, from the trailers, seems to have him playing against type as far more guileless character than usual, which is a good thing for him to do, artistically, but as with any actor who tries to stretch the boundaries of what people of expect from them, you have expect some drop off as people who like Paul Rudd to be one thing are unwilling to see him try to be some other thing. (See also: Will Ferrell in films Melinda and Melinda and Everything Must Go.) Considering that this is the first film he has made since becoming a reasonably big name in which he doesn't play The Paul Rudd type, and given how cheap the film supposedly was, $7 million isn't bad, and I think this has to be considered the best result of any of the new releases, even though it is the one that opened lowest.

Kim Hollis: I don't suppose it's a disaster, but it just reminds me of any number of poorly received (by the public) late August/early September comedies. It pretty much follows a similar trajectory to The Switch, The Goods, Extract, Idiocracy or The Rocker. Honestly, it did better than some of those, so I guess it could have been worse. I don't think this significantly impacts Rudd in any meaningful way. The movie was a Sundance darling, so at least it has that feather in its cap.

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