Will Ferrell has done it again, he has taken a film straight to the top of the box office charts. However, this time something was a little bit different. What was different, you ask? Well, the box office total, that is. You see, Semi-Pro was expected to open north of $25 million, and it barely squeaked past $15 million. Now, if you saw the movie you know the reason why. I suspect that word of mouth will not be kind to this stinker. The best part of the trip was the trailer for Ferrell's next film, Step Brothers, which reunites the sometimes funnyman with his Talladega Nights co-star John C. Reilly.
Behind Semi-Pro's lackluster open, two more new releases lay scattered across the top ten landscape. The first is The Other Boleyn Girl, the period costume drama that takes a look at the life and times of Henry VIII, his attempts to sire a male heir, and the soap opera that surrounds them. It opened in fourth place, but will likely make a quick slide. While many are attracted to the sexual politics, the film is rather dry and visually dull.
Slip down to ninth place and you will find the romantic fable Penelope, starring Christina Ricci. Here is a film that sat on a shelf for two years and proves to be an entertaining fairy tale that is not perfect, but is strong enough to enchant an audience and hold them under its spell.
There was one other film that made an appearance in the top ten that was not there last week. Getting a bit of a bump from its four Oscar wins (and an increase of nearly 1000 theaters showing it), No Country for Old Men jumped from twelfth to eighth place. It is a fantastic film and if you haven't seen it what are you waiting for?
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