Monday Morning Mixer: Always the 'Best Man,' never the 'Thor'

Posted Monday, November 18, 2013 at 2:49 PM Central
Last updated Monday, November 18, 2013 at 2:52 PM Central

by John Couture

In a weekend that saw Lady Gaga hosting Saturday Night Live, I was quite shocked that there wasn't more to report than there is. While it's true that she and R. Kelly basically had sex with their clothes on on the SNL stage, that was pretty much all of the bad star behavior for the weekend.

They must be saving all of their gaudy behavior for the holidays. Speaking of holidays, you know that someone at Universal is living right when a sequel that comes out fourteen years after the original is burning up the box office. But does The Best Man Holiday have enough ammunition to take down Mighty Thor?

Well, to answer that one, grab a cup of Joe and enjoy this week's MMM (or MAM).

Box Office 411

And the answer would be no, but it still did really, really well.

Thor: The Dark World held onto its top spot at the box office with $38.5 million. So far, the Asgardian God has taken in an impressive $147 million through 10 days, which is roughly $28 million more than its predecessor in the same time frame. Of course, the original Thor didn't have to deal with a pesky female archer in week three, so it will be interesting to see if those numbers hold up.

I think Catching Fire will bite into its audience a bit, but there should be plenty of business to go around. With that said, I'm still thinking that Thor: The Dark World will make it to $250 million, further cementing 85 more Marvel movies in the next three years.

If you think always being a bridesmaid is bad luck, try tripling your predecessor's opening box office number and still being in second place. I have to admit that I was extremely skeptical when they announced a sequel to The Best Man, but it just goes to show, what do I know?

Of course, it helps that the entire cast is returning and since the original film, they have all pretty much exploded to the point that it's now an all-star ensemble film. Either way, The Best Man Holiday's $30.6 million is nothing to sniff at. Right now, it's looking like a $125 million is within its sights. Not bad for an original film that only brought in a total of $33 million.

Quick Hitters

So, I was at a bit of a dead end when it came to quick hitters and then suddenly, Variety came to my rescue. At least I think I call it a rescue.

They are reporting that a sequel to It's a Wonderful Life is in the works. The film, titled "It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story" will follow George Bailey's grand son (also named George Bailey) and an angel's visit that will show him that the world would be better off with the younger Bailey having been born.

Basically, it's Scrooge without the ghosts.

If that was all, I might be able to let it go, but alas the story is a bonafide cornucopia of quotable goodness. Apparently, they are hoping to round out their cast with cast members from the 1947 original film. Karolyn Grimes is already on board, but she's not exactly reprising her original character, or is she? Grimes will play an angel who shows young George Bailey just what a putz he really is.

You probably don't remember, but Grimes played young Zuzu Bailey in the original film and uttered the film's most iconic line, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings." I suppose there would be some symbolic parallelism to Zuzu getting her wings as it were. Jimmy Hawkins and Carol Coombs, who played two other Bailey kids, are also in talks to return.

It should be noted that none of these kids have acted since the 1950s for Carol and Karolyn and the 1960s for Jimmy, but it's not like they could call upon the original leads, now could they? Oh, but it gets better.

Standing in for Bedford Falls (if they are even going to set the film there) will be Louisiana and its temperate climate (and film tax breaks). As my colleague Tim joked, "Every time a bum passes out on Bourbon Street, an angel gets its wings!"

I mean Variety has to be Punkin' us, right?

You know, I had other things that I was going to say, but after that. I sort of don't know what else to say. So, give us a few examples of better sequel names. I'm thinking something along the lines of "It's a Wonderful Afterlife."

Have a great week, mix well!