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We're sure his character will be totally different in the Arrested Development movie! Oh, wait...

Kim Hollis: Youth in Revolt, a film that plays on the squeaky clean image of Michael Cera, opened to $6.9 million. Do you think this is an instance of poor marketing or do you believe Michael Cera isn't enough of a draw?

George Rose: All the above, and more. There was poor marketing, but who can blame them? This felt more like the kind of movie that launches the career of a newcomer, not one that does big opening weekend business. The story seems quirky but not one that can be marketed heavily. Cera is the only selling point here and he's hardly bankable. Superbad was a fluke for him, since Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen were the main draws. Juno wasn't sold on Cera either, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist didn't set the world on fire, and I'm pretty sure I can still smell the stink on Year One. As much as I enjoy his characters and worship all that is Arrested Development, Michael Cera cannot get me to pay $10 and he's not traditionally hot enough to stalk in the tabloids. I feel bad for saying that because he seems like a really cool guy, but he doesn't want A-list status anyway. He almost didn't sign onto the Arrested Development movie and he's said in interviews that he doesn't want to do this forever, or even for long. He doesn't want an audience and audiences don't seem to want him. This might finally give him the chance he wants to break free from Hollywood, or maybe it'll be what he needs to realize he wants to stay. If there's any chance for that his next project will need to earn at least a $15 million on opening weekend. The only one that should be happy about this $7 million debut is Amy Adams.





Michael Lynderey: Hey, Cera's no Amy Adams. Really, though, Youth in Revolt was a good film that came at a bad time. Michael Cera's prowess as leading man was probably harmed by Year One, and to a lesser extent, worn out some by Nick and Norah. Youth in Revolt came in as the third leg of the tour, and so I think there was a lot more suspicion and distrust of Cera, especially in a role that looked so familiar (even if the movie was much better than expected). If there's good word-of-mouth, and I think there will be, this one could work its way up to somewhere in the $20 millions. And if that's the case, Youth in Revolt will set Cera up nicely for his upcoming Scott Pilgrim.

Josh Spiegel: I think that Michael Cera's time to be a star is drastically waning. He will always be George Michael Bluth to me, and, truth be told, he looked freakishly young in the ads for this movie. I know it was delayed by a year, but still, I feel like Cera is getting younger, not older. He's a regular Benjamin Button. Anyway, I think some people might have been baffled by this movie, or not at all sold on Cera trying to play a bad boy. This one's also too quirky for mass audiences to respond to, perhaps.

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