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We could just watch the actual campaign trail for similar laughs. Or is it tears?

Kim Hollis: The Campaign, the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis frenemy comedy, opened to $26.6 million. What are your thoughts on this result?

Jason Barney: This one might have staying power, if it can get a good enough bump from word-of-mouth. The opening probably could have been a little bit higher, as $26.6 million really isn't that impressive, but it isn't disaster status either. Again, we have to see how this plays out, but the timing just might work. With the political campaign starting to heat up, and with so many Americans believing politics is a joke anyway, The Campaign could catch on in a big way. Will Ferrell has done it before. Some of his SNL presidential impressions are classics, still talked about today. As people try to ignore the absurd charges and counter charges of the campaign season, this one might just entertain for the next month or so. People might want to tune out of the attacks and negative ads and get a good laugh at the expense of politicians.

Tim Briody: Political-themed movies almost never play well, but when you go right for the absurd (which Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis specialize in), it doesn't really matter what it's about or when it's released. The Campaign might actually have been helped by its release date as, depending on what state you live in, you may not be sick of campaign ads yet. Plus, there hadn't been a notable comedy since Ted (The Watch was doomed for months, so it doesn't count) and people were ready to laugh again.

Matthew Huntley: I think The Campaign should enjoy its moderate success while it lasts, because I can't see it sticking around very long, despite its topical subject matter. The movie is simply not that good and I found it flat, dull and campaigning (pun intended) itself with standard, antiquated humor. Other members of the audience seemed to share my opinion, as the exit reactions were pretty ho-hum and a lot of people had a "That's it?" look on their face.

Regardless, I think it will turn out to be a mid-level hit, seeing as how its budget was a modest $56 million and it's already grossed about half that, though I don't think it can count on much international help. If Warner Bros. can tie in the movie's relevance with the upcoming election, its legs could be better than most, but I wouldn't count on it. Again, it's just not that good.

Felix Quinonez: I'd say this was a pretty good performance and should turn up some profit. I can't picture this one having legs like "Ted" as I thought it looked pretty terrible and the "B-" cinemascore shows that people weren't too happy with it. But because of its modest budget, the studio should be happy with this opening.

Kim Hollis: I actually enjoyed The Campaign. It was scattershot but had a lot of laughs. I felt like my audience responded positively, too. I believe this debut is perfectly fine for a mid-size comedy like this one, and thanks to the combined strength of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, it can probably continue to play for awhile, particularly considering that people are receptive to any comedy that gets decent reviews and word-of-mouth (which this one has for the most part). The sillier the real political season gets, the more people will enjoy the goofy send-up of the real campaign.

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