"Halo 3" Blamed For Stiller Film's Poor Box Office Receipts

Advertising Age:

The joystick has brought Ben Stiller nothing but sorrow.

Industry expectations for "The Heartbreak Kid," the date movie that re-teamed him with the Farrelly brothers (the duo who made him a megastar in "There's Something About Mary"), called for a $20 million to $25 million opening for the film. Instead, "Kid," which cost north of $60 million to make, managed only $14 million in the U.S. and Canada -- heartbreaking, indeed.

But there's more. Total industry ticket sales were only $80 million for the Oct. 5 weekend the film opened, a whopping 27% below the same weekend the year before, according to research firm Media by Numbers. That's the industry's worst performance for an October weekend since 1999. Overall, domestic receipts are down 6% from last fall.

Blame the Master Chief.

Read the whole story: Advertising Age

Comments

[broadsword]

Right...the problem isn't that he's not really all that funny. That's a negative for a guy who does comedy.

[factotem]

Or it could be that Stiller has worn out his welcome. For God's sake Ben stop playing such schleps.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

...or, maybe the movie sucks.

[Oldtimer]

People are tired of Stiller. He keeps playing the same prat-fall comedies. It's bad enough
that he keeps trying to repeat the success of
Something ABout Mary but moviegoers know deep dpwn anyway that Stiller never would get the girl if he wasn't a spoiled benificiary of Hollywood nepotism. The guy never was funny to
begin with. His parent were.

[mckinley]

Even IF video games are taking over traditional film entertainment territory and disposable income, so what?

They are all produced and distributed by the same gonglomerates.

And should we also feel sorry for horseshoe smithies and typewriter salesmen?
.

[gallstones]

Slooow news day HuffPo?

[thelonegunman]

how about it bombed because it sucked? why, oh why? is Ben Stiller allowed to be in film anymore?

[Macready]

Ben Stiller isn't someone I would pay money to see -- dont' understand his appeal

[jake106]

It is because Halo 3 kicks ass AND has a better script/storyline than 95% of the movies that have come out in the last ten years.

Oh...and because Ben Stiller is a worthless douche.

[OneVoiceInACrowd]

Whatever cry baby- I recommend more Halo, there you can cry with all the other sissy girls.

[bullypulpit]

This is right up there with Education Secretary Bill Bennett wanting to discipline Bart Simpson as far as truly dumbass statements.

Blame Halo! Could not possibly be the public's ennui regarding remakes of movies that were pretty lame in the first place. In the Altaman classic The Player, Griffin Mill says to Larry Levy, sarcastically, "Now if we can do away with the writers we'd have something." How prophetic. How pathetic. So much bullshit exuding from the Hollywood corporate copraphagic minds.

I'll play Halo 3 more than enough times to get my money's worth. I cannot say the same for 99% of the movies coming out. Even on DVD, rented from Netflix.

[TJS]

Perhaps Mr. Stiller, the son of two well-known commedians who rode the nepotism gravy train to moderate success, does not have talent, charisma, or the savvy to pick good roles. Perhaps he was just extremely lucky in the past and his mediocrity is catching up to him.

[YHWH]

The problem is that malin akerman
-she is cancer
-after being sullied by lisa kudrow and the comeback the b has the hollywood eqiv of the aids

[Greendawg]

I saw the movie. I want my two hours back. If they issued a new flavor of Jelly Belly it would have overwhelmed this treacle.

[conservativeoriginalist]

Outside of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, and to a lesser extent Dodgeball, his movies suck, and the only reason those two are decent is because of Robert DeNiro. Stiller reprises the same abused, timid guy role over and over, just like Adam Sandler's regurgitation of the angry man-child in every movie. Take a hint from Jim Carrey; try some serious, substantial roles, and maybe you could get some respect as an actor instead of being another fad-of-the-week comedian.

[moneyrunt]

It couldn't just be that people are tired of shelling out ten bucks for trash, could it?

[mrcontinental]

Plus there is so much variety with the mega cineplexes all over the place now. I'll take a good drama or action flick first over a Ben Stiller comedy any day.

[rainey]

Not only trash but the SAME tired old trash he's done every single time out.

He's a nasty abusive person and it's time it catches up with him.