FRIDAY BOX-OFFICE: 22 Jump Street Surprises in First

[MovieBob]

FRIDAY BOX-OFFICE: 22 Jump Street Surprises in First

Another big upset for an R-rated comedy for summer 2014.

The first big box-office story this summer was when would-be juggernaut The Amazing Spider-Man 2 got curb-stomped in only its second weekend by R-rated comedy Neighbors. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134398-Friday-Box-Office-Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Drops-Big-in-Second-Weekend] Now it looks like a similar upset is in the offing for this weekend, with 22 Jump Street predicted to edge out the family blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon 2 for first place - though this time both films are performing above expectations.

If numbers hold, Jump Street could climb as high as $62 million for the weekend - almost double the opening gross of the original. While Dragon is also outperforming its predecessor, it was widely expected to own the top spot given the higher prices for 3D screenings and broader demographic of children, teens and families. Barring a significant mid-weekend shift, Jump Street's victory is another feather in the cap for writer/director team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, still riding the equally-unexpected success of The Lego Movie earlier this year.

If Jump Street continues to have legs, it sets up a potentially interesting dynamic for the immediate future. The major studios effectively scheduled a "break" for next weekend owing to the release of Think Like a Man Too - the original was a surprise #1 hit in 2012 and predominantly Black-cast romantic comedies have had an infrequent tendency to surge unexpectedly in recent years - and an expected strong holdover for Dragon. A second big-ticket comedy in the mix further complicates that calculation.


Source: Deadline [http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/box-office-22-jump-st-how-to-train-your-dragon-to-open-big/]

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[Albino Boo]

Its not a surprise both 22 jump street and bad neighbours opened on a Thursday not a Friday. Both films had an extra day screenings to take the money in.

 

[Albino Boo]

Oops double post, please delete

 

[StriderShinryu]

Checked out 22 on Thursday night as I was a big fan of the first one (which surprised me greatly). I don't know if I'd call 22 as good as 21 was but it was still pretty damn funny. Seeing the scenes with Maya's room mate in them (the blonde that fights with Jonah Hill's character in the trailer) alone made the movie worth seeing on their own. She is absolutely hilarious and steals every moment she gets.

 

[tdylan]

Forgive me if I come across as an ass, but this "who won the friday box office" thing just goes over my head. It used to be that "who took number one opening weekend" was the measuring stick. Have we really moved into "who took friday?" I don't know how to phrase it...has the margin of success become so narrow that it'd down to "who made the most money on friday?"

I know this is how things go, standards change. Home Alone was king of the box office back in the day for weeks on end, if memory serves. I understand it's a new day and age. Some movies would open on a wednesday night in order to pad out their "opening weekend numbers." We all know the con they were pulling, but we turned a blind eye to it. It reminds me of athletes that cheat, but still get rewarded. The most recent example in my mind is Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat flopping to make it appear that he had been fouled. The foul call arguably lead to his team winning the game.

Spoiler: Flop goes the weasel

Sure, he might be fined $5000 for flopping, but the game was over. His team had won. So it was worth it.

The same with movies opening on a wednesday, but claiming the weekend box office victory over films that opened the friday of that same week. But whatever, that's the game. Still, are we going to one day be measuring success by "which movie took in the most money during its first showing?"

 

[DJ_DEnM]

I know this is how things go, standards change. Home Alone was king of the box office back in the day for weeks on end, if memory serves. I understand it's a new day and age. Some movies would open on a wednesday night in order to pad out their "opening weekend numbers." We all know the con they were pulling, but we turned a blind eye to it. It reminds me of athletes that cheat, but still get rewarded. The most recent example in my mind is Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat flopping to make it appear that he had been fouled. The foul call arguably lead to his team winning the game.

Spoiler: Flop goes the weasel

Sure, he might be fined $5000 for flopping, but the game was over. His team had won. So it was worth it.

Wait, you can get fined in basketball for a foul? Like, actual money? That sounds lame as shit.


OT: I'm not surprised. After watching 22 Jump Street, I knew it was gonna be amazing. I thought it was much funnier than the first. So incredibly self aware. It's basically a parody of 21 Jump Street, and I loved every minute of it, even through the credits.

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

I was pleasantly surprised by the first film and thought this also had plenty of funny moments, but if there's one complaint I have with 22 Jump Street it's that they really overdo the "Look how self-aware we are of the fact that it's basically the same thing!" moments.

 

[tdylan]

Wait, you can get fined in basketball for a foul? Like, actual money? That sounds lame as shit.

I think player can be fined for flagrant fouls, but this is "fines for flopping" or "getting fined for pretending that you were fouled when you were not."

I was pleasantly surprised by the first film and thought this also had plenty of funny moments, but if there's one complaint I have with 22 Jump Street it's that they really overdo the "Look how self-aware we are of the fact that it's basically the same thing!" moments.

I didn't mind the first one, but I don't recall ever laughing out loud at it. Granted, I'm sure much of that has to do with my wife forcing me to watch it, because she's a huge "fan" of Channing Tatum, and she was binge watching every movie with him in it. Yes, even "The Eagle." She kept going on and on about how I have to watch it, because it was so funny. I think we all know what that kind of "hype leads to." Also, my stance was "woman! If you're infatuated with Channing's Tatum, be infatuated with his Tatum. Be be so by yourself."

It wasn't bad, but it's obvious self awareness struck me as "the kind of thing you can get away with once." I liken it to "The Cabin In The Woods 2." I enjoyed cabin in the woods, but I feel one day I'm going to come to Escapist, and see an article talking about a sequel in the works, even though the very point (imo) of movies like it, and 21 Jump Street, are that the gags work best the first time. The first time around it's "We're taking the piss out of the genre. Go with it." Anything after that and you're simply retreading ground you've already covered.

That said, I do like Scary Movie, and Scary Movie 2, as the first was focused on the "teen horror, realistic killer tropes," and the second on the "supernatural tropes." So for me, those worked. 22 Jump street looks like "the same shit we did in the first one. Only more."

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I saw 22 Jump Street and Edge of Tomorrow the past 2 days and I can say that it's a well deserved first place.

By far the most funniest comedy I have ever seen this year.