Monday Morning Mixer: 'Pain & Gain' mostly a pain

Posted Monday, April 29, 2013 at 4:16 PM Central

by John Couture

Well, all streaks were made to be broken.

After a few weeks in a row of actually getting the MMM out in the morning, I know that this one will be late. I mean it's 11:25 now, and there's a bunch to write about, so I'm guessing this will be more in the MAM category.

This was an odd and interesting week in Hollywood. Despite a Michael Bay film opening at the box office, the real attention was not in Hollywood, but in the rest of the world. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a major Hollywood film will open up in foreign markets before the United States.

This was the case with Iron Man 3. It's like the rest of the world got an exclusive sneak peek and if their reaction is any indication, Iron Man 3 is primed for some serious business when it opens in the United States this coming weekend.

But first things first, sit back and relax and enjoy today's MMM (MAM).

Box Office 411

There was some gain, but mostly pain with Pain & Gain's $20 million opening. While the start was a bit low by Michael Bay's standards, it was pretty much on pace with what Mark Wahlberg's action flicks have been performing lately.

The mix of action and comedy reminds me a bit of the similar film Reindeer Games, the Ben Affleck-starrer which grossed a total of $29 million. Of course, I don't see Marky Mark directing any Best Picture-winning films any time soon. Then again, when Reindeer Games came out, I could have said the same thing about Affleck and yet here we are.

The problem with Pain & Gain is that with Iron Man 3's opening this weekend, it's going to die a quick box office death. I have a hard time believing it will make $60 million and it might even stop just shy of $50 million if Iron Man 3 is going to explode like I think it will this weekend.

Of course, the biggest bomb of the weekend is reserved for The Big Wedding. It opened wide and only mustered $7.5 million, good enough for fourth place.

With a cast to die for including Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl and Robin Williams, you have to wonder if this signals the death of large, ensemble cast comedies, Katherine Heigl movies, wedding films or all of the above. Yeah, I'm not that lucky.

In more positive news, Mud opened up in limited fashion to $2.2 million. It's a film that we've raved about some on the site and it's nice to see Matthew McConaughey continue his string of successes with more serious fare.

Daniel Day-Lewis lands his next presidential role

We all know that Daniel Day-Lewis is a method actor, but I think he takes it to the next level for his new role in the Steven Spielberg film Obama. I just hope he doesn't get typecast as only being able to play U.S. Presidents.

As I'm sure you all figured out, this video was created for Saturday night's White House Correspondents Dinner, which is an annual event where the President invites members of the press (and others) to a nice event at the White House. It's basically a little way to blow off some steam and have some fun.

The event has been held annually (more or less) since 1920 and has a long history of attracting celebrities, especially those with Hollywood ties. You can read more about the Correspondents Dinner here.

Final Fast & Furious 6 trailer features more Michelle Rodriguez

Apparently, there's a fine line between dead and presumed dead in the Fast & Furious universe. If it means more Michelle Rodriguez, then we're all for it.

As my colleague Tim pointed out, there's nothing quite that girl-on-girl fight between Rodriguez and Gina Carano. I can't really argue with that, but I'm much more interested in how they are going to resolve the leaping issue on the bridge that ends the trailer on a cliffhanger.

Given that The Fast and the Furious 7 is already green lit and set for a July 11, 2014 release, I'm sure they'll figure something out, but it's still pretty badass. As much as I'm not a fan of these films, I do have to admit that they continue to be as successful as they are because they deliver what their audience wants to see.

As long as they don't screw it up, I can see The Fast and the Furious franchise living a long life at the box office.

I think I'll end this here, before it drags into Tuesday. Until next week, mix well!