Friday Box Office Analysis (3/5)

Director Todd Phillips is well on his way to travelling the footsteps of Rush Hour helmer, Brett Ratner, as after the success of Old School, Starsky & Hutch delivered with great results on opening night. Backed with a strong cast including the re-teaming of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, along with Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn, and a cameo by Will Ferrell, the buddy-buddy flick is on its way to turning in $27 - 29 million for the weekend.

Grossing $9.8 million on Friday, Starsky & Hutch averaged $3,067 per-screen in 3,185 theaters, unusually high for a movie that held a round of sneak previews. The last film to open as strongly after having sneaks was Steve Martin?s comedy, Bringing Down the House, which grossed an equivocal $9.8 million and $3,513 per-screen on opening day.

The figure was in line with Rush Hour ($10.0 million - $3,791 per-screen), with that genre flick having teamed up Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan after Tucker?s cult following through the comedy, Friday. Starsky & Hutch was riding off relevant steam, as Todd Phillips is starting to become a bankable name as a director, and Ferrell?s performance in Old School received rave reactions from audiences, with Starsky?s trailer having promised a similar goofy performance.

Rush Hour attracted various ethnic demographics, which assisted in its Saturday boost of 34% and a Sunday performance as high as Friday. The chances of Starsky following a similar pattern may not be great, as there is probably a rush factor to some degree. The film nevertheless proved the power of Stiller/Wilson as a duo (after Meet the Parents and Zoolander) and the gross stands as Wilson?s largest debut as a leading actor, which is impressive for the genre since moviegoers had gotten tired of him doing buddy-buddy retreads after I Spy. DreamWorks had created the illusion that Phillips was involved with the movie Eurotrip in its marketing and crowds didn?t buy into it, but here fans had enough faith that he would hand Wilson a good comedy.

Leading his own vehicle after the Lord of the Rings franchise came to an end, Viggo Mortensen retrieved solid results despite his questionable appeal as a marquee name, as Hidalgo debuted with $5.9 million. Averaging $1,921 per-screen in 3,063 theaters, the movie performed in line with Disney?s formula flick, Miracle ($6.0 million - $2,308 per-screen), as well as The Rock?s action/comedy, The Rundown ($6.0 million - $1,915 per-screen). A Saturday increase between 17 and 35% is likely for Hidalgo, which puts it on track for a weekend gross of $17 - 18 million.