Movies

    Harry Potter gets whooped by a bunch of hamsters

    Stephen SchleicherBy 13 Comments1 Min Read

    I am really surprised by the news that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince got trounced in its second week by G-Force the family centric CGI hamster action flick.  Potter dropped a surprising 61-percent from it’s opening weekend, bringing in $30 million over the Friday and Saturday time-period.  While I would love to have the $30 million in my pocket, it’s more impressive that Potter brought in $221 million over the past two weeks.

    Disney’s G-Force opened with $32 million, so my guess is, if everyone hadn’t been at Comic-Con this past weekend, Potter would have held the top spot.

    Did anyone see G-Force this weekend?

    via THR

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    Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...

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    13 Comments

    2. Dr. Bolty on

      BAwhuh?

      Gigantic franchise beloved by all age groups…got trounced by pooping hamsters?

      *shrug* Sometimes, the world makes no sense.

      Reply
    3. Salieri on

      Guinea Pigs, in fact.

      I suppose rodents are generally more favourable to kids than adolescent grimdarkness..

      Reply
    5. CMonocle on

      I have been having a hard time understanding the excitement for G-Force too. I thought it would perform about as well as Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Go figure.

      Reply
    6. Ricco on

      I think it’s the 3D tech people went to see, I hope I’m wrong or it’ll be the 80s all over again… Remember Jaws 3D or Friday the 13th 3D? Not what I’de call good memories.

      Reply
    7. Gaumer on

      HP opens in Imax with extras this weekend and that should help them out

      Actually, I dont think anyone involved with Harry Potter is unable to pay the rent so…good for those hamsters

      Reply
    8. lifeisaglitch on

      @Gaumer

      NO BAAAAD, this means more Hamster/chimpmunk/rat movies…Indianna Jones Cameos..Crazy ass golf movies… CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER!

      Reply
    9. Generik on

      @ Ricco

      I actually remember being about 6 when Jaws 3D came out and I laughed through the entire movie while my 4 year old neighbor was crying and huddling on the floor. I have great memories of that one :-D

      Reply
    10. Chris B on

      Actually, I can tell you exactly why Harry Potter got trounced.

      I have been scouring the movie listings for the past 2 months for movies I can take my toddler to. Not a single G-rated movie has come out (with the exception of a documentary at the local Imax). Even the new Ice Age 3 is PG.

      G-Force is not G rated (it’s PG), but the characters and presentation appear juvenile. It’s the same reason Ice Age is still in the top 10 after 4 weeks. Ice Age debuted just shy of Transformers.

      NO ONE is hitting the young child demo right now (8 and under). And, in the middle of the summer, that’s something of a surprise. This is the same reason Home Alone struck it rich. Look at its opening weekend. It was the only Christmas-themed kids movie that opened in a weekend near Christmas.

      As a result, it did huge business when ticket sales generally aren’t booming.

      Reply
    11. Rooney on

      You just can’t mess with Bruckheimer even with guinea pigs involved. Who knows maybe it got the crossover Galifianakis fans to show up. And I might get beat down for this, but as just a passive viewer of the Potter franchise this new installment was rather slow.

      But the real shocker of the weekend for me was the Ugly Truth. That movie looked awful with even worse reviews yet it scored 27mil. Get out your notepads and start scribbling down bad romcom ideas. That’s the real lesson here.

      Reply
    12. Brian on

      I think a lot of this has to do with box office ticket prices. At my local theatre I pay $10.50 for a ticket. If it weren’t for the fact that i’m a huge potter fan, i mostly likely wouldn’t have gone to see it. infact, i wait for most movies to go to RedBox to see it (sad though that the Unborn isn’t being carried there … guess i won’t be watching that movie at all).

      G Force will get the money because parents will always shell money out for their kids and always want to take them to a “summer movie”.

      Reply
    13. Salieri on

      Eh, count yourself lucky the Unborn isn’t there – it was a brand-name stinker.

      When I get into Hollywood, I’m gonna start a new series of ‘Un’ movies called the Unwatchable Trilogy.

      * THE UNATTACHED – A high school jock discovers he can pick up more tail by simply murdering his girlfriends, until he finds a plucky blonde senior is out for vengeance…OR DOES HE?

      * THE UNMADE – A neurotic filmscript editor discovers messages from the souls of unrested Hollywood actors and Directors in unused dialogue, until he finds a sparky blonde actress wants to help them find peace…OR DOES HE?!

      * THE UNINTERESTING – A typical middle-aged Father, Widower and former inspiring bodybuilder returns from a holiday Argentina with his winsome blonde girlfriend, only to find that his son is a nerd. He does not believe it is a comedy…OR DOES HE?!?

      * THE UNBELIEVABLE – Post-Mortem documentary on the tragic life and death of the maker of the previous three films. OR DOES HE?!?!!!?!?

      It will be do awesome.

      Reply

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