Box Office Results

Well, no one will ever believe it, but I had Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Herbie switched in the first draft of my pics for the weekend. I should have gone with my first instinct, and I would have been 100% right. But that doesn't count for anything. So this one is for all the studios who put George's Star Wars script second in their to-read pile back in 1977. Ah, if only we could go back and change that one decision... In the end, the Smith's did a bit better ($16.8m) than I expected, and Herbie did a little worse ($12.8m). Also not surprising is the success of Land of the Dead on a theatre-average basis ($4,550) which also beats out the more widely distributed Herbie ($3,621). Thus proving that given the choice, people would rather see flesh-eating undead than Lindsay Lohan in a dead franchise.
(Ed. Note: Variety and, more importantly, everyone in my office who has seen it, have given Herbie positive reviews. It may be a perfectly good movie, but it seems to be another in a string of remakes, like "Bewitched", that represent material that audiences just don't care too see. Studios who continue to avoid being innovative and taking risks can expect to see this trend of disinterest continue. 18 weeks ought to be a wake-up call.)