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As an avid movie fan, I am very rarely caught off guard by box-office results, but since I’ve been looking forward to Magic Mike (because I’m one of those laaawbreakers) to an absurd degree, that’s exactly what happened this weekend. What is this Ted that you speak of? Oh right, it’s that movie for which Mila Kunis walked the red carpet last week. Silly me. The big winner this weekend was indeed Ted with an estimated $54.1 million in ticket sales even though it was a movie about a foul-mouthed stuffed bear who hangs out with Mark Wahlberg.
However, Magic Mike also did much better than expected even though it came in at second place. Basically, all of the dudes went and watched the teddy bear film while da ladies went for the stripper movie. Go figure.
Enough of the bear talk though. Let’s talk about the future of “male objectification” movies that will spring forth from the loins of Magic Mike, which actually fared very well on its $7 million budget to rake in an estimated $39.155 million, which — if the numbers are correct — will beat Soderbergh’s previous opening weekend record of $39.154 million for Ocean’s Twelve. That means that a male stripper movie would have beaten all of Soderbergh’s other pictures, including not only all of the Ocean’s films but also Erin Brockovich and Contagion (a.k.a., “The One With Goop’s Crazy Stroke-Face”). Not too shabby, Mr. Soderbergh:
After nearly two months of Summer movies targeted at younger audiences, this weekend served as a good reminder that adults like to go to the theater too. Seth MacFarlane’s Ted scored one of the best R-rated comedy debuts ever, while R-rated male stripper flick Magic Mike proved to be a very attractive option.
Ted scored a very impressive $54.1 million from 3,239 locations. That bests the first Hangover movie’s $44.98 million for highest debut ever for an original R-rated comedy. Among all R-rated movies it ranks eighth all-time, and it ranks third among comedies behind The Hangover Part II and Sex and the City.
Ted’s success is due primarily to the strength of its broadly-appealing, completely original premise: what’s not to like about a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear hanging out with Mark Wahlberg? It didn’t hurt that this felt like a logical transition to the big screen for “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, and previews maintained the general humor of that show while clearly bringing something new to the table.
According to Universal’s exit polling, Ted‘s audience skewed male (56 percent) and younger (52 percent were 30 years of age and under). They awarded the movie a very good “A-” CinemaScore, which implies that strong word-of-mouth should help Ted play well for at least the next month or so.
Magic Mike had to settle for second place behind Ted, though its estimated $39.16 million was a very impressive tally indeed. It’s the third Channing Tatum movie this year to open north of $36 million, and if estimates hold it will become director Steven Soderbergh’s highest opening ever ahead of Ocean’s Twelve ($39.15 million).
This is a great initial showing for the somewhat artsy male stripper movie, and credit belongs to Warner Bros. for selling the hell out of it. The aspirational plot, which can be a bit of a downer, was largely ignored in favor of glimpses at stripping scenes involving an assortment of outrageous outfits. Instead of portraying the dark, seedy side of the movie’s world, the ads focused on the fun and excitement (not to mention plenty of abs). Late in the game, as the movie was building steam, Warner Bros. ramped up the “event movie” signals to try and get large groups of women to ditch their boyfriends and head to the movies. As expected, the men didn’t really come along: the audience was 73 percent women, and 57 percent under the age of 35.
[From Box Office Mojo]
Did I watch Magic Mike over the weekend? Hell yes. As promised, there was plenty of male nudity to be found (Vulture has made a handy set of graphs to illustrate the point).
SPOILERS BELOW!
I’m not going to really go in-depth with an analysis of this movie because what I enjoyed about it was what the trailers promoted — filthy, filthy dancing by barely dressed men. Channing Tatum (or if you prefer, Charming Potato) nearly charmed my pants off, and I received a much needed, quick-and-dirty Matthew McConaughey fix. However, the marketing of this movie was rather deceptive in that it’s a fairly dramatic movie with some heavy themes on drug use and falling down the spiral, particularly in the case of Alex Pettyfer’s character, who is nicknamed “The Kid.” Honestly, all I wanted to see were some attractive (for once, unlike in reality) male strippers gyrating and taking their clothes off. And I got what I wanted, but I still left the movie feeling somewhat depressed at the end. So while Magic Mike delivers what it promises, it’s also a bit of a lady-boner killer too. Still, I think it’s great that the movie already obliterated its budget, which means that we’ll hopefully get more movies with attractive, nearly naked dudes on display. Overall, that’s a win.
Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto
Written by Bedhead
Posted in Alex Pettyfer, Channing Tatum, Mark Wahlberg, Matthew McConaughey, Mila Kunis
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I totally enjoyed the stripping.
The rest of it, meh…
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+1
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Channing Tatum deserves this success and almost 40 mil with a 7 mil budget is amazing.
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I’m seeing Magic Mike today. Woohoo!
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Oh my God, MM in that last photo with the cop top 0_o
Really want to see this! How did people find it?
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Edit- crop top. Stupid phone -_-
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lol
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Wait until you see the movie. he’s got on some short shorts to match!
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I saw it and was wanting more stripping, the rest of the movie was kind of slow, but it was worth it to see Matthew strip at the end and Channing’s dancing is incredible, can’t stand the actor that played the kid, all he did was stand around a look dumb plus he had no butt.
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You need to see a little more stripping?
Well guess what….
http://www.hitfix.com/news/matt-bomer-confident-magic-mike-dvd-will-include-full-length-dance-numbers
“Bomer adds, “I’m sure there will be a DVD release with some features that have some full length numbers on them.”
Oh yea. I am going to have to have one of those!
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I loved it! The story was good and the men yummy! It’s was fun and interesting. Channing Tatum is a charmer and Matthew McConaughey was perfect in his role. There was a long line at the movie theater when I got there, but thankfully, my friends saved me a place in line and we got good seats! My only concern was with the audience. I thought their howling and cheers were going to down out the dialog but they weren’t too crazy. It was fun!
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I just can’t believe how much success Channing Tatum is having this year. I don’t think many would have predicted his rise to A-list. He seems like such a lump, but apparently there is something there. I still don’t understand how The Vow made so much money though!
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I never really liked Channing until I saw 21 Jump street…He is really charming! I don’t even think he is particularly good looking (smokin body, of course) but after 21 Jump Street, I was in love!!
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I’m the same way. I didn’t get all the hoopla about him. But for me it was the movie with Rachel McAdams where she had amnesia. I saw all the hype after that movie. He is so charming and had a vunerability. It oozes through the screen.
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He was in a little teen comedy with Amanda Bynes called “She’s the Man” a while back, and I’m telling you, he saved that movie from being total crap. He gave the character a charm and vulnerability that really made you root for him, and you believed Amanda’s character would fall for him. It was one of his first roles, but he nailed it. I had such a crush!
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WE watched 21 Jump Street this weekend and I fell in love with charming potato. He’s charming and funny and surprisingly talented.
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I’m actually shocked it didn’t make more money. I saw it on Friday night, and it was so packed that the theater added additional showings because they kept selling out. It was PACKED and basically 99% women. Such a hilarious movie watching experience – everyone was hooting and hollering like it was a real strip club. Normally that would have annoyed me to no end, but it seemed appropriate.
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I’m actually shocked it didn’t make more money. I saw it on Friday night, and it was so packed that the theater added additional showings because they kept selling out. It was INSANE and basically 99% women. Such a hilarious movie watching experience – everyone was hooting and hollering like it was a real strip club. Normally that would have annoyed me to no end, but it seemed appropriate.
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This happened at the theater I went to as well! All of the early shows were sold out, so I got tickets to the late, late show really early. When we arrived (an hour early), there was already a line up around the building. Plus, they had decided on adding an additional later show – which also sold out.
And out of a sold out, large theater – I only counted 2 men in the entire audience.
I enjoyed the movie (especially Channing’s dance scenes!!!), but also left feeling a bit depressed at the end.
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Not sure I agree about Magic Mike being a lady boner killer. One of my FB friends posted that Magic Mike is turning out to be a great place for single guys to pick up chicks after the movie, she compared the line outside after to Girl Scouts with cookies outside a Weight Watchers meeting.
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Went and saw this with my gay guy friend. He was one of two guys in the theater and it was packed with hooting and hollering women. We has a great time. I really liked the movie. Proud of Channing. I’ve been a fan for a long time. I was amazed at how hot Matthew mcconaugheys body still is. He really went all out!
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I skipped reading the other comments because I don’t want to be spoiled– I just want to say that I totally squealed when I saw a Magic Mike poster in the cinema last week and I will be watching this Friday!
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Totally enjoyed the movie.
The scene where they ripped off their pants and didn’t show enough ass, but chose the American flag instead? All you heard was a collective “awwwwwwh”.
Definitely a movie where audience participation makes it that much more fun
And how are we NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PENIS PUMP SCENE?!?
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Hahaha the penis pump scene!!! It took everyone a minute to realize what they were seeing but that was definitely a rib-cracker fairly early into the movie. I can’t wait for the DVD extras.
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I reallllly enjoyed MM. I never got CT until this movie. The things he can do with his body….that should be illegal! I watched it with my mom and youngest sister, so it was slightly mortifying, but that’s ok! The chick who played The Kids sister can’t act for $h!t, though! Monotone, emotionless…she did nothing for me. However, Herman the Pig made me squeal like a little girl! All in all, I will buy this when it comes out, and ff to where CT dances to “Pony.” I’m getting a hot flash just thinking about it!!
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I know!! That had to have been the hottest dance of them all.. Will definitely buy it when it comes to DVD..
And I’m going to see Ted later this week
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You bet I’m gonna go watch it and then buy the DVD to play with the sound turned down and on continuous loop. lol.
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I saw Magic Mike and it was excellent. Definitely not just “the male stripper movie,” although yes, there’s tons of that.
Highly recommended. Channing Tatum has really won me over as an actor. First 21 Jump Street, now this. Go see it!
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I saw Magic Mike and it was excellent. Definitely not just “the male stripper movie,” although yes, there’s tons of that.
Highly recommended. Channing Tatum has really won me over as an actor. First 21 Jump Street, now this. Go see it!
I’m kinda shocked at the posters who said there “wasn’t enough stripping” in the movie. What? Lol! Did you really expect that the movie would be 2 hours of stripping, with no plot driving it? I mean a) even in the preview you can see the outline of the plot and b) it’s a Steven Soderbergh movie. Anyway, I thought there was *plenty* of stripping. I didn’t leave the theater wanting for more of it, ya know? I got my fill! (Oh yeah!)
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This movie was one of the most entertaining I’ve ever seen. I was laughing the whole time. I had no idea Channing was such an amazing dancer! And MM was awesome. Loved it. I’m going to see it again.
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I saw Magic Mike and enjoyed it. Glad there was a little more depth to it than just being a stripper movie. However, Cody Horn can’t act for crap.
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Her dad is an entertainment executive…totally explains.how she got the roll, no?
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I had a bad feeling they’d ruin a fun simply stripping movie by giving it some deep plot. I just want to objectify some men. Is that so wrong?
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Exactly. It’s a movie about men stripping-who needs a plot??
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It has a plot so we, too, can play that old “it’s for the articles” card men have always played (for reading Playboy).
Why are you watching “Magic Mike”? For the plot, honey. For the plot.
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Ha ha. I’m watching it for its deep commentary on world politics.
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I’m with you, LittleDeadGirl. I paid attention to each and every man they had on stage, hoping for more variety in the action. But they were all kinda stiff (and not in the good way), even the oh-so-edible Manganiello. And that big tree-sized dude “Tarzan?” My question to casting is, “Why?” Of all the beautiful specimens in Hollyweird that would’ve killed to be in the flick (dudes that can dance for real too), they had to stick that guy on stage? A waste of space.
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Not to be an art dork, but just given the basic premise of the movie, I probably wouldn’t pay to see it in the theater. It looks like a fun flick though-will definitely rent it at some point.
I’m hearing from friends who saw it that Channing’s moves are off-the-chain. I really like him-he seems like such a fun guy.
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It’s in my NF pending release queue with date “unknown” but should be soon enough (yay)? Would be nice if the dvd extras (full length numbers) are on the disc.
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Is it me or does this “Ted” sound an awful lot like FX’s series “Wilfred”?
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I thought the same. I LOVE Wilfred too. Elijah Wood is hilarious…something I never thought I would ever type.
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I wonder if Seth MacFarlane will (ever) be capable of coming up with something truly original.
He should date Lady Gaga.
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I disagree :p Between the two movies, I think that Ted actually looks like the better movie. No, it’s not entirely original if comparing it to Seth Macfarlane’s other work.
However, I do think that Ted looks hilarious which is why I would pay to see it rather than Magic Mike. I will wait for Magic Mike to come out on cable to watch it, if even then.
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Hell no. There’s no one in that movie I find remotely attractive…Channing’s alright I guess, but not really worth it for me. Ted all the way!
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Oh the things he does to a floor while dancing……I was jealous……more for me then!!!
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LOL. Enjoy!
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Boobs in a male stripper movie? No, thanks.
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I saw it twice. The first time I didn’t ctach much because every time Matt Bomer was on screen, I was watching him and not listening to the dialogue. The second time… same thing. Good thing I probably didn’t miss much.
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Now that you write there’s a plot I might finally go see it.
I know lady boners were going wild but the majority of the guys in it were kinda tasteless to me (except for Pettyfor/Prettyboy and Bomer) and them gyrating is NOT what I wanted to see.
For better or worse I’m a Ted kinda girl. Give me something silly, dirty, and a little unique without being too dumb.
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Some high/lowlights…
That’s all I’ll say about that.
1. CT is definitely a dancer! Whoa!
2. Other guys were background scenery.
3. The “plot” was a non plot plot.
4. The lead girl was incredibly annoying! Cannot act! Same facial expression for the entire movie.
5. There are 4 too many boobs in this but one good, ummm pump moment.
Overall I liked it. Entertaining for what it is.
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I wanted more stripping and wish the story line wasn’t so serious. It was good overall though, I just really wanted more to objectify. My theater was really fun though, everyone whistled and cat called at the appropriate times.
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Lol once the movie dived into the plot points I turned to my friend and went, “Who cares about their feelings?? Where did the stripping go?” The stripping “finale” totally made up for it, though. Overall I was pleased with everything except the stale dishrag of a girlfriend.
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Teddy bear is better. Magic Mike is the full Monty of hype and marketing – about $40/$50 million of it I am guessing.
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I have no desire to see either of those movies.
Ted looks stupid. And that stripping one might have been ok, but I don’t really find any of the guys in it attractive.
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I thoroughly enjoyed watching Magic Mike
…but I did wonder almost the entire time why “The Kid” didn’t shave his mangy beard off….and why the actress who played his sister insisted on making duck faces through the whole movie.(maybe it’s her natural face…but wow. Girl has a beak and a man-jaw)
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I think word of mouth and the whole “girls” experience will make this the sleeper hit of the summer. It will be filling theaters all summer long with repeat and new viewers. Huge success for Charming Tatums. Bravo.
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I was glad the movie had something to it other than just the dance/stripping stuff, not that I would have complained if it had less story! It had a real dark side. I kinda liked the older sister, I took her affect as the character being over it, it being just about everything.
At the end I reckon the rest of the dancers maybe got four lines of dialogue each, not that they were there for talking… the dance numbers were ok and sometimes too choppy… I hope the DVD does give us more there.
My fellow audience members did seem a little shocked/deflated by the dark side of the movie. One guy behind us was explaining a lot to his date and they ended up leaving 2/3 of the way through. The queues for the next session were loooooong.
Bravo to Channing Tatum. I think he has more than dance moves. I haven’t seen 21 Jump Street yet but he won me over on SNL. MM looked like he was having way too good a time
I think the audience got a bigger laugh out of the preview for Pitch Perfect which looks like a bitchy, funnier Glee on steroids.
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Yep. Girls night out, of course. I’ve been a fan of Matthew McC’s for a long time, so I was in seventh heaven. Man was he chiseled like a diamond. He puts dudes half his age to shame. The things I’d do to that man…
Anyhoo, yes, I too found the storyline to be a bit of a boner kill. And I can’t decide if I didn’t like that Alex dude himself or just his punk-ass character. He’s kinda skeezy.
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I saw it yesterday. I was pretty randy afterward. It kind of ruins regular guys that can’t dance, though. I’ve been comparing everyone to Magic Mike.
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