When friends told Katie Watson they were going to see "Reign Over Me," a movie featuring Adam Sandler as a grief-stricken New Yorker still suffering from the trauma of Sept. 11.
April 16, 2007 (Press Release) --
"I was like, 'Hmm, Adam Sandler plus 9/11 -- I'm not sure he's the right person to bring that to life,' " says Watson, a faculty member at Northwestern Medical School. "Let's just say it wasn't the kind of clarion call that drives me to the theater."
Watson wasn't alone in staying away. Despite mixed-to-positive critical response, Sandler's "Reign Over Me" has earned just over $17 million -- a stark difference from his comic blockbusters "50 First Dates" ($120 million), "Anger Management" ($135 million) and "The Waterboy" ($161 million). But "Reign Over Me" may end up doing no worse than the actor's other dramas, including "Spanglish" ($42 million) and "Punch-Drunk Love" ($17 million).
Sandler's misery has plenty of company. Except in rare cases like Jim Carrey's "The Truman Show," which raked in $125 million in 1997, major Hollywood comedians trying their hand at serious movies find themselves largely deserted by their fan bases.
Carrey's recent "The Number 23," a psychological drama, grossed just $35 million -- a major comedown for the star of "Bruce Almighty" ($242 million), "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" ($260 million) and "Liar Liar" ($181 million). By comparison, box-office results for his forays into drama -- including "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Man on the Moon," each of which grossed $34 million -- were barely blips on Hollywood's radar.
The phenomenon can't be explained by a general preference for comedy over drama, the latter having served Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and other stars well.
Nor is it just comedians' lousy taste in dramatic roles. "The Number 23" was almost universally panned, but "Eternal Sunshine" and "Punch-Drunk Love" earned Carrey and Sandler some of the most glowing reviews of their careers. Critics swooned over Will Ferrell in "Stranger Than Fiction" and Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation," but those films earned $40 million and $44 million, respectively, nowhere close to their stars' usual box-office stratosphere.
"Comic actors create a brand where the movies they make are all about them -- they are the special effect of the movie," says Brandon Gray, president of boxofficemojo.com, which reports box-office results. "If they're branded for comedy, it's difficult for audiences to believe in them in a dramatic role."
Source: http://www.msn.com
Watson wasn't alone in staying away. Despite mixed-to-positive critical response, Sandler's "Reign Over Me" has earned just over $17 million -- a stark difference from his comic blockbusters "50 First Dates" ($120 million), "Anger Management" ($135 million) and "The Waterboy" ($161 million). But "Reign Over Me" may end up doing no worse than the actor's other dramas, including "Spanglish" ($42 million) and "Punch-Drunk Love" ($17 million).
Sandler's misery has plenty of company. Except in rare cases like Jim Carrey's "The Truman Show," which raked in $125 million in 1997, major Hollywood comedians trying their hand at serious movies find themselves largely deserted by their fan bases.
Carrey's recent "The Number 23," a psychological drama, grossed just $35 million -- a major comedown for the star of "Bruce Almighty" ($242 million), "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" ($260 million) and "Liar Liar" ($181 million). By comparison, box-office results for his forays into drama -- including "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Man on the Moon," each of which grossed $34 million -- were barely blips on Hollywood's radar.
The phenomenon can't be explained by a general preference for comedy over drama, the latter having served Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and other stars well.
Nor is it just comedians' lousy taste in dramatic roles. "The Number 23" was almost universally panned, but "Eternal Sunshine" and "Punch-Drunk Love" earned Carrey and Sandler some of the most glowing reviews of their careers. Critics swooned over Will Ferrell in "Stranger Than Fiction" and Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation," but those films earned $40 million and $44 million, respectively, nowhere close to their stars' usual box-office stratosphere.
"Comic actors create a brand where the movies they make are all about them -- they are the special effect of the movie," says Brandon Gray, president of boxofficemojo.com, which reports box-office results. "If they're branded for comedy, it's difficult for audiences to believe in them in a dramatic role."
Source: http://www.msn.com
Email
Print
SPAM
LEAVE A COMMENT
