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Jason Barney: Almost everything involved at this point smells of "whoops.” First, the points about a franchise sequel vs a reboot are well taken. It is not like the first one set the world on fire and perhaps 20th Century Fox was trying to build something...but the math just doesn't pan out either. I actually think films released in late August CAN make money, the numbers just have to work. Generally, end of summer films just aren't going to get the widespread support movies get at other points in the year. Family vacations are wrapping up. Schools are opening. That said, cheap, well marketed, flash in the pan films could make money....but $35 million for Hitman: Agent 47 is just way too much. Even if it sticks around in the top 10 for a few weeks because of lack of competition, I don't think this has enough support to be profitable.

Kim Hollis: American Ultra, the pothead CIA killing machine movie featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, earned $5.5 million this weekend. What do you think of this result?

Ryan Kyle: Maybe this is the final nail in the coffin of people believing that Kristen Stewart can open up a film that doesn't have the "Twilight" prefix to the title. Starring Stewart and Eisenberg as the two most unlikely looking CIA agents ever (I think that's what they are in the most confusing yet prevalent marketing campaign of the month), Ultra is an acquisition for Lionsgate and the budget is a light $12 million, so there isn't much skin in the game for anyone. I'd call this a loser of a result given that $5.5 million in 2,778 theaters is pretty terrible, with a PTA below $2,000, so it shouldn't be sticking around very long to have the chance to find an audience. I'd be surprised if this can finish with much more than $11 million.

Ben Gruchow: The trailers for American Ultra were misleading, but they weren't as rancid as the movie's posters - which basically made it look like a movie about two stoners who stumble into being assassins. The movie itself is better than the promotional materials give it credit for, to a degree that sort of surprised me. There's more at play in the movie's weird little head than I would've guessed, even if what's there is still undisciplined and messy and unbelievable.

It's, in all likelihood, the very best movie opening this weekend, so it's only appropriate that it makes the least amount of money. That's actually not incomprehensible to me; as said, and as Ryan pointed out, the marketing campaign seemed terrifically confused as to what type of movie they were actually selling. Sinister 2 and Agent 47: Le Clerq Strikes Back may be asinine, but they're more easily sellable.

Afterword: Ryan, I find that you're right about Kristen Stewart's only big headlining openers being the "Twilight" movies. This irritates me to no end, because since the last of that blasted series evaporated from the public conscience, she's gone back to proving that she does actually have some measure of talent and charisma.

Felix Quinonez: It's pretty bad considering the supposed star power of its leads. But on the other hand, its budget was $12 million, so it won't be a huge loss for anyone involved.

Matthew Huntley: Given the material, the time of year, and the limited box-office potential of its leads when they choose less high-profile roles, this isn't terribly surprising. The movie wasn't very heavily marketed, either, so I'd say its numbers are fairly decent, given the circumstances. They'll be enough to put the movie on the map for DVD/Blu-ray/VOD, where it'll probably do better business.

Edwin Davies: I thought that the ads for American Ultra were pretty decent in terms of getting the idea across and presenting a distinct viewpoint, but there wasn't enough in there to make me actually go see it. (In fact I went to watch Jesse Eisenberg's other current release, The End of the Tour, which is great.) There was just something about it which screamed "I will rent this from Redbox at some point!" The timing probably wasn't great either, since the ads emphasized the action at a point where audiences have probably had their fill of it. That left the comedy, which was probably a bit too odd for a lot of people.

Jason Barney: With a $12 million budget, this is the definition of a late summer movie that might not fail. Don't get me wrong, opening sixth place during a late August weekend is NOT good, but the road to profitability for American Ultra is a lot easier than something like Hitman: Agent 47 or The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

While it won't be around for long, this project seems much smarter than other options out there.

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