Monday, February 11, 2008

Matthew McConaughey Finds 'Fool's Gold' -- But No Shirt -- At Box Office



'The Hottie and the Nottie' decidedly not hot.








The Box-Office Top Five
#1 "Fool's Gold" ($22 million)
#2 "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" ($17.1 million)
#3 "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" ($10.5 million)
#4 "The Eye" ($6.6 million)
#5 "Juno" ($5.7 million)
Consider this: Whether it's Clark Gable, Rock Hudson or even Tom Hanks, the greatest romantic-comedy leads of all time have had one thing that separates them from the current champ, one thing in their arsenal that makes them more serious, more believable and more serviceable to the plot of any movie than Matthew McConaughey. And that one thing was a shirt.
Then again, look where a lack of one has gotten him now.
McConaughey's latest, "Fool's Gold," proved to be anything but, pulling in $22 million over the weekend to come in at #1 at the box office. The story of two shirtless lovers who reunite to chase treasure in the Caribbean is the fourth consecutive McConaughey-led romantic comedy to top the box office, after "The Wedding Planner," "Failure to Launch" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." That last film, also starring Kate Hudson, topped the charts with $23.8 million exactly five years ago.
Even though it was only the eighth biggest opening of star Martin Lawrence's career, "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" was solid, scoring $17.1 million in its opening frame for a second-place finish. Disney's biggest princess, meanwhile, took a nosedive off the stage. Ticket sales for "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" dropped 66 percent over the weekend compared to the flick's flick's historic opening act. The 3-D film's current tally stands at $53.4 million.
The biggest story of the weekend, however, was the total abysmal failure of "The Hottie and the Nottie," Paris Hilton's latest opus and one of the biggest moments of celebrity Schadenfreude in history. The comedy earned only $25,000 from 111 theaters over the three-day weekend, meaning that, based on an average ticket price of $10, only 23 people saw the film in each theater. Not per show, or even per day, but 23 people over the entire weekend. Twenty-three. Two-three. If you have more than 23 friends, congratulations! You are now more popular than Paris Hilton.
Among other new releases, "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show" also tanked, scoring just $500,000 for a 24th-place finish. "In Bruges" starring Colin Farrell, meanwhile, earned almost as much in 1/34 the number of theaters. The comic caper can now be called a legitimate art-house hit.
Upcoming Releases
A romantic comedy, a sci-fi thriller and a children's fantasy adventure enter a steel cage. One film will walk out the box-office champion. Will it be "Rowdy" Ryan Reynolds and "Definitely, Maybe"? "Slinging" Sam Jackson and "Jumper"? Or "Fighting" Freddie Highmore and "The Spiderwick Chronicles"?
Check out everything we've got on "Fool's Gold," "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" and "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more -- updated around the clock -- visit MTVMoviesBlog.



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