Semi-Pro a little off the mark at the box office
March 3, 2008 12:07 pmDespite some great promotion that included a Super Bowl boost and a Sports Illustrated swim suit spread, Semi-Pro has fallen well short in is opening weekend at the box office, at least when compared to other Will Ferrell sports movies.
Jackie Moon and his Flint Tropics only managed an estimated $15.3 million in the opening weekend for Semi-Pro, falling well short of Ferrell's previous sports movies; Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights and even Kicking and Screaming, which netted more than $20 million in its opening weekend. Talladega opened at a whopping $47 million and Blades skated to $33 million in its opening, both more than doubling Semi Pro.
Semi-Pro was the top winner for this past weekend's movies at the box ofifice, but again, no where near where most thought it would be. So, the question is why? Well, we really think its the R rating. Let's face it, all of Ferrell's other sports movies had wide appeal to young male teens and tweens, and while Semi-Pro might appeal to that same audience, they weren't able to see the movie in theaters.
So, now we certainly have to abandon our theory that Semi-Pro will be the all-time box office leader for basketball movies and surpass Space Jam, which brought in $27.5 million in its first weekend in Nov. 1996 and eventually scored more than $90 million. We'll keep tracking to see where Semi-Pro lands on the hoop movie list.
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