Summer Box Office Lessons: Grosses Dip, Dozen $100 Million Grossers, Wahlberg Rocks

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• Steve G | September 2, 2012 8:02 PMReply

  Was Mark Wahlberg really drawing audiences to TED? Wasn't it just as much the crass teddy bear (a concept easily conveyed in the poster and trailer) and it being 'the first motion picture from the creator of FAMILY GUY'? Sure, Wahlberg probably helped draw in a bigger crowd - I could imagine Adam Sandler in the role turning off a lot of people. But as the comic 'straight guy', it seems odd for Wahlberg to get the lion's share of credit for a hit comedy.

• Jill c Brooke | September 1, 2012 4:19 PMReply

  I wonder if the reason that American comedies that are hits in the US but don't sell overseas, is that the low-brow, men-behaving-like-spoiled-boys silliness isn't appreciated by other cultures that don't have the leisure to let entitlement get in the way of growing up?

• Amyiseverywhere | September 1, 2012 3:23 AMReply

  Excuse me, but you say Magic Mike was a top grosser and also there were very few films
  aimed at women this summer because there was nothing like Bridesmaids. Who do you think went to see a film about male strippers? And took all her girfriends with her? Probably on their hen night? Hasn't the success of Fifty Shades taught you anything? We aren't all about the wedding, guys, that's just a male fantasy anout the purity of woen.Weddings only came into existence so the church could legitimise, control and monitor SEX. A female writer of this piece would not have got this so wrong. Ha ha ha

• Tom Brueggemann | September 1, 2012 4:29 PM

  Amy -
  
  I think only 1 of the 12 top grossers of the summer aimed at adult women qualifies as proving that there were very few films geared for them. And last year both "The Help" and "Bridesmaids," both much bigger than "Magic Mike" (which indeed relied primarily on female interest) filled this niche better than what the studios presented this year.
  Again, this is all tied in with any film going in the summer having to justify a simultaneous worldwide release, and most of the rest of the world is even less interested than American audiences, at least according to what those who greenlight movies think. Last year's successes hopefully will result in a better balance by next year.
  I doubt many female writers on box office results would have brought the traditional reason for marriage into the discussion to be honest.