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ZZ Top will not be singing about this film, we suspect

Kim Hollis: Do you expect Funny People to have the usual legs for an Apatow film?

Josh Spiegel: It's hard to say at this point. The movie does have the advantage of not going up against many other big-ticket comedies in the coming weeks, as movies like The Hangover have already come and gone. That may do well for its legs; it's also worth noting that the movie had a pretty respectable per-theater average compared with the others in the top ten. Again, though, if the movie's word-of-mouth isn't great, the legs may not be worth writing home about. I certainly hope the movie ends up with great legs, but it may not pan out that way.

David Mumpower: The short answer here is no. The two films from Apatow himself, not counting the ones from his disciples, have had final multipliers (overall domestic receipts divided by opening weekend total) of 4.84 and 5.11. Sandler's last five comedies were 4.01 for Bedtime Stories, 2.60 for You Don't Mess with the Zohan, 3.50 for I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, 3.43 for Click and 3.32 for The Longest Yard. His titles are much more frontloaded as a rule since he appeals to a younger crowd. The best case scenario here is that the college kids showed up opening weekend while the older Apatow fans will wait until afterward. The realistic scenario is that it just doesn't have any demand and goes away quicker than normal.

Tim Briody: I expect somewhere around a 60% drop next weekend.

Daron Aldridge: Apatow is probably just going to have to settle for going two for three. Tim, I am hopeful that your 60% plummet estimate for next weekend is exaggerated but I'm also not sold on Funny People's longevity.





Sean Collier: Word-of-mouth drove Knocked Up and The 40 Year-Old Virgin; not enough moviegoers saw Funny People, and the reaction has been lukewarm. I don't see how legs are going to grow here.

Kim Hollis: It's definitely not going to have the staying power of those earlier films, which both had buzz much in the vein of The Hangover. While a lot of people seem happy with Funny People, it's not really what a lot of folks were expecting from Apatow.

C'mon, people. It was Ashley freakin' Tisdale!

Kim Hollis: Aliens in the Attic, the silly children's comedy from Fox, opened to $8 million with a per location average of $2,578. Should Fox be pleased with this result?

Josh Spiegel: In that the movie would have done even worse had it gone straight to DVD, sure, Fox execs should be doing cartwheels around the office. On the other hand...no, this result is just not that good. Maybe the folks at Fox can take heart that the gross could have been lower.

David Mumpower: The comparison film I had been using for this release had been Small Soldiers, a largely forgotten DreamWorks release from 11 years ago. The titles share that similar premise of kids locked in mortal combat with silly creatures whom they can later buy at Toys R Us. That title earned $55.1 million back in July of 1998 and even if we don't adjust for inflation, it's clear that Aliens in the Attic is no Small Soldiers. In fact, it's going to get smoked by Robert Rodriguez's upcoming release, Shorts, which has similar themes. I have no idea why Rodriguez is so much better at these sorts of films than anyone else, but he is. Aliens in the Attic is a miss, and it also dispels the notion that Ashley Tisdale can keep doing these silly kiddie films for an indefinite period. She's 24 now and it's probably time for her to take on more adult roles.

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