Curious Case of Kevin James; Charli XCX’s ‘Moment’ Missed
Plus: All those awful, awful Super Bowl ads
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Once upon a time, when Hollywood studios dared to release a variety of movies during the 2000s and 2010s — including dramas, romantic comedies, outright comedies and family films — Kevin James was a reliable presence at the box office.
But before his new release, Solo Mio, landed in second place at the weekend box office, it had been years since James was at the front of a theatrical movie, Sean McNulty notes.
“The last studio release he was in was Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which I didn’t even remember existed. That was 2015,” Sean says on this week’s Monday Morning Quarterbacks. “Before that, it was Grown Ups 2 in 2013. It’s been 11 years since he led any theatrical movie campaign. It’s just interesting. Times change.”
James’ Solo Mio landed in second place during a very sleepy weekend at the box office, as studios largely avoided going up against the Super Bowl. The romantic comedy from faith-based Angel Studios opened with just over $7 million in ticket sales — roughly the same number Amazon MGM’s Melania doc debuted with last weekend, albeit at a significantly higher cost. (The budget for Solo Mio is a reported $4 million; Melania cost upward of $40 million plus an additional $35 million or so on marketing.) The documentary from Brett Ratner about First Lady Melania Trump dipped 67 percent in its second weekend, finishing in 10th place.
“Amazon said it’s great,” Christopher Rosen says, noting how Kevin Wilson, the studio’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, sent out a statement of support for the hagiography, touting its “strong” theatrical performance. “They’re very happy with it, they love it.”
Also on today’s episode of Monday Morning Quarterbacks: Where the new Jason Statham movie went wrong and why Charli XCX’s The Moment didn’t meet the moment. Plus, Sean and Chris recap the underwhelming slate of Super Bowl commercials, which largely focused on AI, sports gambling and weight-loss drugs. “It just had a dystopian vibe,” Chris says.