Monday Morning Quarterback Part I
By BOP Staff
June 9, 2015
Kim Hollis: Spy, Melissa McCarthy's latest comedy collaboration with director Paul Feig, debuted with $29.1 million this weekend. What do you think of this result?
Edwin Davies: I think this is fine, and well within McCarthy's wheelhouse as a solo performer. The stellar reviews and word-of-mouth had me hoping that the film would open closer to The Heat's $39.1 million, but then again that film had the advantage of co-starring Sandra Bullock and having a stronger trailer. The ads for Spy, while amusing, lacked a killer moment to really crystallize it as a must-see.
While it's not as high as the film perhaps deserved, it's worth noting that McCarthy's audience tends not rush out on opening weekend. The Heat, despite opening to a pretty high number, still went on to earn nearly four times its opening weekend, as did Tammy, which went from being written off as a flop in its first weekend to being a solid earner by the end of its run. If Spy follows that pattern, it could still earn more than $100 million, which is a decent result for a film that cost $65 million. Also worth noting is the film's international performance. It has so far earned $56.5 million, and its status as an action comedy means that it should easily eclipse the $70.3 million The Heat earned, and maybe even Bridesmaids' $119.3 million. When all is said and done, I'd expect for this to be another solid result for Melissa McCarthy and Paul Feig.
Felix Quinonez: It's good and it will certainly make money, but it seems like it could have been bigger. I get the feeling like they dropped the ball on the marketing. The trailers looked horrible (to me), and even the glowing reviews haven't changed my mind about how bad it looks.
Ryan Kyle: I feel like this is an okay result in my book. Having extremely glowing reviews, a cast that appeals to males just as much as females, and an action-y plot, this should have opened up closer to $40 million. If I was betting on it, I would have even guessed a $50 million opening was in store given this year's box office surprises (remember when San Andreas was only tracking for $35 million last weekend?). I'm not sure what happened here besides a marketing campaign that just didn't connect with audiences. The film only had a $65 million budget, so a $29 million opening weekend in a genre that tends to be leggy is a fine result, but I feel as if there is a lot of money left on the table here.
Kim Hollis: This result is pretty solid, considering that she had a couple of outright unpleasant films in Identity Thief and Tammy recently. People don’t forget. The marketing for Spy didn’t do much to sell it as something different or better than either of those films, so I would hazard a guess that reviews actually propelled this one forward some.
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