Going into this weekend there was no real doubt that any of the new releases would be able to unseat Oz The Great And Powerful, the mammoth Disney release still making tons of money all over the globe. What's surprised everyone, though, is which movie came in second place. Besting the splashy studio comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, the Halle Berry-led thriller The Call made $6.2 million on Friday, good enough for a (distant) second place behind Oz.
The loser, then, is Burt Wonderstone, which according to the numbers at Deadline made a dismal $3.7 million on Friday, good enough for an $11.1 million weekend and third place, just ahead of Warner Bros. other recent bomb Jack the Giant Slayer. Compare Burt's projected $11 million opening to what stars Steve Carell and Jim Carrey have racked up recently-- $14 million for the much less commercial Hope Springs, $19 million for Crazy, Stupid, Love, $25 million for Date Night, or $18 million for Yes Man way back in 2008. It's unclear just what hobbled Wonderstone, but with a reported C+ CinemaScore, even word of mouth won't help it climb back up.
Believe it or not, our reviews actually supported picking The Call-- Kristy called it "a damn good time if you like your thrillers ragged, rough and unpredictable," while Sean wrote that Burt Wonderstone is "a decent comedy about dueling magicians that-- ironically-- says interesting things about pushing the envelope to entertain the audience… then stops short of pushing the envelope itself." If you've opted, like many others, to check out Oz the Great And Powerful instead this weekend, make sure to read our To 3D or not to 3D, which explains just why it's worth buying that extra ticket.
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