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March Box Office Preview

by Lee Tistaert

With a duo like this, one sure hopes the script is rock solid. The first time I heard about the premise of this film I thought it would be a hell of a fun flick. Then I saw a preview for it and despite some moviegoers claiming it was rather weak, my faith remains up there. However, I recently saw an updated trailer in my screening of Collateral Damage (that I can't seem to find online) and have to say it was better than the first trailer and it actually received a positive reaction from my crowd, whereas with the original preview both my Majestic and Count of Monte Cristo audiences pretty much shunned it.

Showtime is a basic parody of all the buddy-buddy action/comedy films that have opened over the years. That includes Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour and you name it. Those films achieved high credits at the box office and the long-term success of Showtime will primarily be based upon its reviews and its word of mouth. Now, I don't have an exact source to back this up but I remember hearing somewhere that Showtime was picking up Warner Brothers' worst test scores of all time which was to hint at critics panning the picture and most likely weak legs. Showtime's ad-campaign is a bit similar to that of Bowfinger's, with even the Eddie Murphy element in there as well. Both films' trailers were/are a bit silly but fun. Showtime has the one huge advantage of being the first straight comedy for adults since Shallow Hal, though the Farrelly brothers film did cross over to younger viewers as well. Good or bad film, Showtime should find victory over its debut on that aspect alone.

When Eddie Murphy's comedy, Bowfinger opened in 1999, the film earned $18.1 million in its debut for $6,675 per-screen in 2,706 theaters. What the picture had that benefited its performance was absolutely glowing reviews, which to some box office-goers influenced predictions in the high $20's to low $30's. Showtime should reach a theater count similar to Bowfinger's, as a launch in about 2750 venues is likely and an opening gross of roughly $18.0 million as well could be expected, followed by very questionable legs in the coming weeks.

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