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Did Kick-Ass, you know...live up to its title?

Kim Hollis: Kick-Ass, a Lionsgate comic book adaptation featuring Nicolas Cage, opened to $19.8 million. For a film with a $28 million budget, I think we all agree this is a satisfactory result. Should the film have done better in your estimation?

Josh Spiegel: I think this result is just about in line with my expectations. Anyone who was seriously disappointed about a movie whose only recognizable and bankable actor is Nicolas Cage (in a supporting role), is rated R for violence and language, is based on a graphic novel, and hasn't been widely marketed is a bit off in their guesstimates. I like the movie (though I come from a background of little to no graphic novel reading), but the movie is something akin to a somewhat lighter, satiric version of a superhero movie than Watchmen was. That movie had a huge budget and only got over $100 million overall domestically. Kick-Ass won't make that much, but was budgeted lower, and Lionsgate picked it up post-filming. It's a win all around.

Tim Briody: I'd never heard of Kick-Ass until the movie release was approaching. Nicolas Cage is far from a sure thing and it's a pretty hard R. Making two-thirds of its production cost (itself a minor miracle) opening weekend is a home run.

Matthew Huntley: The studio should be content with its $19 million opening weekend, but they're probably nervous about the road ahead due to the fanboy effect and the mixed reactions from audiences. The movie is enjoyable, yes, but also uneven. That kind of word-of-mouth will likely have most people holding off until Blu-ray/DVD to see it. It will take a while before Kick-Ass shows a healthy profit, especially when you take into account its marketing and promotions costs, but its opening weekend suggests it will get there soon rather than later.





Michael Lynderey: Oh, I'd disagree for sure on us having to have lower expectations for this. In the last year or so, we've seen genre movie after genre movie with potentially meager credentials break out into some very solid box office, especially when backed by glowing reviews - I'm thinking of titles like Inglourious Basterds and especially District 9, a film that didn't even have Nicolas Cage to its name. That said, it may be a little early to draw a verdict on Kick-Ass. If it has some respectable legs, and it just might, it can still end up as a win, if not quite an $100 million earner.

Shalimar Sahota: Given the buzz, and generally positive reviews, I was really hoping it would break out with a $30 million+ opening. This is still a good result, and even with the R-rating, the reviews and word-of-mouth should hopefully allow it to stick around for a while. Hell, it's working for How to Train Your Dragon. Unless of course it just doesn't find an audience (like Matthew Vaughn's well reviewed Stardust), and the film eventually drops out of the top ten next week.

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