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"Get Smart" Movie -- Your Mission, Should You Decide to Accept It...
Yesterday, I told you what I think of the new movie remake of the classic Get Smart spy spoof TV series. Now, because I'm really curious about how it will play with audiences, I'd like to know what YOU think...
So if you're going to see the movie, please report back and share your thoughts -- what you liked and disliked, what you were happy they included and sorry they excluded, whether you enjoyed the mix of comedy and action, and, perhaps most of all, what you thought of the casting and performances, from Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 on down to the cameos.
A few weeks ago, when I asked you guys and gals to predict the first-week box office for Sex and the City, I got a wonderful response -- and two readers named Chris, whose guesses were closest, ended up with tacky prizes from my basement floor. One got an ER first-aid kit, and the other got a Travel Channel AM/FM radio shaped like a mini-suitcase.
Who needs Million Dollar Password when you've got riches like these underfoot?
So let's play again. I've got enough junk on the floor to support another cheapo prize for whomever gets closest to the opening-weekend Get Smart grosses without going over. Last time, my (ahem) amazingly accurate prediction -- $55 million, against the actual $56.8 million -- was published in advance in my Broadcasting & Cable column. This time, I'll just go ahead and guess here and now, but I don't expect lightning to strike twice.
(Lightning already struck my house once, but that's another story.)
The same-day opening of the Mike Myers Love Guru movie makes it tougher to predict, but I'll go ahead and say $40 million for Get Smart. This one day, though, ignore what I say, and make your own guesses.
And remember -- once you see the movie, if you do, please come back and weigh in. I'll be reading all your reports... and loving it.
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Behind David in the picture is the first TV owned by his father, Virgil Bianculli, a 1946 Raytheon. (The TV, not his father. His father was a 1923 Italian.)
David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air, occasional substitute host for that show's Terry Gross, and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His most recent book is 2009's Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' and he's at work on another.
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Hope I'm not double posting, but I think I may be a robot because I had a hard time reading the obscured letters. Existential crisis!
In any case, I'll guess $38.5 million. And I've still got my fingers crossed that you have Veronica Mars swag lying around.
i think it will make $44 million. David, your web site is the first thing i go to every morning. Keep up the great work.
I'll say 33M.
I'm hoping I really like this. Will post once I do.
Robert
Although I don't plan on watching it myself, I'm going to be a little more optimistic and say that Steve Carell's growing star power will draw an audience. I'll guess $44.5 million.
would you believe....37 million?
Mike Myers will provide an option to this movie, but these 60's shows provide good numbers the first time around. I'm going to go in with 42 million.
Since Zohan managed to get 38.5 on its opening weekend, I'll go ahead and guess 47 million.
$46M
"That's the second best guess I've ever made."
My guess is $34 million. b-t-w, love your writings and recommendations every day
I think there might be too much competition from other movies this weekend. Also the get smart era people might want to wait out the crowds so 24 million will be my guess.
40.5 million
I'm thinking low. $27 million.
FAIR WARNING: ENTRIES FOR THIS SILLY "GET SMART" CONTEST WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL NOON SUNDAY E.T. -- MAY THE SMARTEST GUESSER WIN... David B.
Whatever Donald Trump spends daily on hair-care products....see: I still don't want your stupid prize.
I almost forgot to put in my two cents. I'm sorry but I was watching Faerie Tale Theatre with your daughter and I lost track of time. Does that count as a valid excuse? In any event, I guess 27.1 Million. Love the website!! (Which episode? Three Little Pigs with Billy Crystal? I showed her that when she was three years old, so be gentle. -- David B.)
42.5 mil
I saw the movie and liked it. The cameos of Hymie and Agent 13 both were funny. I thought the worst translated character was agent Larabee.
One cameo I was shocked not to see was Barbra Feldon who I think is still with us. I thought for sure with all the talk of Agent 99's mother she would appear.
I liked that Carrell did not do an impersonation of Don Adams. As the Chief says to Max (plot point), "You would have to be an innocent man or an idiot, and I don't think you are an idiot."
This Smart is a green agent who, while clumsy in a nerdy way, is not stupid. I think that makes for a much better movie than a dopey guy who just has everything work out for him by luck.
That being said the plot could have been a little more original.
Hey David,
I just looked at the early estimates and you were really close in your guess, if the Sunday night estimates hold....I'm not going to quote any numbers til they announce monday though, given what happened with Sex in the City!
C