Jennifer Aniston had her first number one movie in a while! I don’t know when she’s last had a number one debut… Marley & Me, maybe? No, probably He’s Just Not That Into You. So… it’s been a little while. (Just so I’m fair to the Jenloonies, it’s been an even longer time since Angelina has had a number one movie too, it’s just that her movies make more money in their total run.) It’s especially good news for Aniston because many box-office watchers thought that Justin Bieber’s docu-whatever Never Say Never was going to be a resounding champion. In the end, only about $500,000 separated Just Go With It and Never Say Never.
What does this say about Aniston’s draw specifically? Well, it shows that people still actively want to see her in a movie, and that her contributions towards selling and promoting a movie are still a net plus. It means that she can still make bank, especially when she’s paired with a leading man that everyone loves, like Adam Sandler. It means that no matter the horrible reviews, Aniston still has a significant fan base. Although, as Gawker suggests, the film might have done so well because of irresistible 1990s-nostalia with the pairing of Sandler and Aniston. Plus, Brooklyn Decker in a bikini, splashed over every trailer probably didn’t hurt either.
Also – what does it say about Justin Bieber’s popularity that enough of his fans couldn’t get out to support Never Say Never enough to beat one of the most poorly-reviewed films of the year thus far? Oh, the movie was 3D. And it didn’t play on as many screens. That makes sense. A little bit. And if it helps Bieber out a little bit, in a few years, he’s going to be Aniston’s birthday present to herself. I say… probably her 48th birthday. We’ll get a report about Aniston “having an intimate dinner” with her new young cub, The Bieb.
Rounding out the top five this weekend: Gnomeo and Juliet at number three, making $25.5 million for its debut (yay!), The Eagle at number four with $8.6 million, and The King’s Speech at number five with $7.4 million. Sigh… I wish everyone that went to see Just Go With It and Never Say Never had gone to see The King’s Speech. It seriously is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
Photos courtesy of Fame.
just fuck it played on more screens then the bieber movie
Even though I’m not a Jen fan, I was thinking last evening after watching Iron Man 2 that Aniston would have been pretty good as Pepper. I don’t understand why she isn’t offered or doesn’t pursue (?) roles other than the standard rom-coms of late.
I don’t think it was Jennifer Aniston that brought in viewers. It is was her fan base, her other movies would’ve brought in more viewers. My husband is dying to see this movie and the only things he can tell you is 1) It’s Adam Sandler 2) Brooklyn in a bikini.
How much did the Aniston and Bieber films make?
I just love Adam Sandler. I would LOVE to see him play a psycho bad guy in a movie! I think he would 1) Be great! 2) Finally be able to shed the comedy-movie-only thing.
I saw him on a talk show once, and he said that he was mercilessly taunted in school. He cheekily looked at the camera and said, “For all of you out there who bullied me, I have only this to say: I’m a millionaire!”. lol I’ve been his ever since. 🙂
@EllenP, right then they would have not had to use boxes and lifts on RDJ. I pointed out to my mega-nerd comic fiance that Gwyneth is 6ft while RDJ is like 5’6 the visual tricks they used to even them out. now he is obsessed with it and points out every angle where you can tell RDJ is a smaller man and G towers him.
As I said friday ,(1)Adam Sandler’s comedies always perform well, (2) The movie played in 400 more theaters(3) Most of Biebers tickets were bought by kids(reduced fare).Stacy- Sandlers movie made $31M Bieber,$30.4M I think.
I think that happened because of Adam Sandler, not her. And in He’s just not that into you there are also some bigger stars than her.
I just don’t like her, that’s the case 😀
If it flops it’s her fault. If it does well it’s because of Adam Sandler. Isn’t this how these JA threads work?
One sign that says the apocalypse is not upon us.
What does this say about Aniston’s draw specifically?
Nothing. It says Adam Sandler’s movies still make bank.
When she’s the biggest movie star in a movie like the Switch, Management, Love Happens, Derailed, or Rumor Has It, they don’t do well.
Put her in an ensemble piece about a best selling novel or with a successful funny leading man who does well on his own and the movie will be fine.
I watched the movie and it is not bad. I am not really into rom com but my friends wanted to go and I went along.
But I went to see it not because she was in it, but despite her being in it. She should send a lot of flowers to him today, because he is the one to credit for the movie being #1. But it is not like she was bad, she was OK, doing exactly like the other roles she has, I guess. Besides, she looked gorgeous.
Just a thought – his fans can’t drive, so they needed to either catch a ride or have a parent willing to sit through it with them. Might be a contributing factor to the less than completely AWESOME turn out people were betting on.
@EllenP: She does what she is comfortable doing. It’s interesting that many people say The Good Girl was one of her best roles, and yet that was nine years ago and she hasn’t done anything comparable since. So she is able to step off the rom-com treadmill when she wants to, but for some reason, she just doesn’t want to.
You’re giving her too much credit. Clearly, people go see it because of Adam Sandler. Sandler can make the crappiest movies and still score #1 at the box office. Grown Ups, anyone? That being said, Aniston still has a viable movie career. Ugh.
Watch the tv commerical previews for this movie. Jen Aniston is barely shown. The chick coming out of the surf in her bikini gets more time in the commercial then Jennifer Aniston. That tells me the people going to watch this movie are doing so because they feel it’s mostly an Adam Sandler movie. Not because they’re dying to see Jennifer Aniston.
I find it ironic that because it did well, had nothing to do with Jennifer, but if had done badly, it would have been all her fault..ridiculous haters.
Who was expecting Bieber to come first? All predictions I read put him in a distant number 2 with about 17mil gross. Besides Sandler’s opened at 4900 screens and Bieber’s at 3500, that’s a huge difference that even 3D prices can’t cover.
i like it and sent the kids to see the jb movie . so the movie did good so its as who everyone went to see. so if a movie that brings in people its always someone else but if it fails it ja fault . give her a break .
I dunno, numbers dot com tell a different story on the figures. Rather sad that middle age stars cannot tell the truth because of kid’s success. Check those numbers again, plus production costs, promotion of Aniston.all.the.time.everywhere, theater counts. Something was off with Aniston on premiere night and Sandler knew it.
I know I’m probably gonna hate it, but I’m still watching Just Go With It tomorrow, so there ya go.
So happy that King’s Speech is hanging on strong in the box office. The movie deserves it, it’s all kinds of awesome.
I’d rather get a root canal sans anesthesia than watch either of these two movies, but I’m not at all surprised they topped the box office. Crapfests usually do.
Who is number one? Jennipoo Aniston is!
the only thing i get out of this article is that people waste their money on frivolous things…
Ok, Im not a fan, and dont really like JA, but Im glad she finally has a hit, she def. needed something to go good in her life. But please Jen, quit while you are ahead, go away somewhere, find a non actor man, be happy and dont ever come back. Thanks
JA and AS better watch their backs. Once the Beliebers get over their king not winning his Grammy, they’ll start tweeting their death threats to THEM. Beware the wrath of the TWEENS!
@Waq:
You’re completely wrong about that. Firstly, she wasn’t the biggest star in any of the movies you listed.
It was Bateman in Switch, Clive in Derailed and she was barely there in Love happens… just bcoz these movies bombed, Aniston somehow becomes the “biggest” star and is blamed… but should any of her movies do well… it’s ALWAYS bcoz of other cast members.
I’m sorry but that sounds very hypocritical and unconvincing!
Truth is Aniston is never a lead in any of her movies… if you don’t want to give her credit for a hit then FINE… but don’t blame her for the flops either!
Aww, everyone must be feeling the Valentine’s day love. Less than 30 posts and not were all “bitch should die”.
I guess we will be seeing a lot more of Jennifer. Bwahahahahaah.
Saw the movie. Thought it was really funny. Liked all the cast. I think it was a combination of all characters including Dave and Nicole and the kids that made this movie. I recommend this movie to all. Loved Jennifer she always looks good, beautiful.
I have to disagree with Kaiser’s entire writeup. If Jennifer was such a huge boxoffice draw why is it that all of her films where she is the lead bomb or do mediocre business? Sandler’s fans made the film a success. I think that Jennifer is the big name in 2 movies coming out this year. If they do as well than she can be a boxoffice draw.
A lot movies with horrible reviews are successful. It’s ridiculous to say that coming behind JGWI means something. Also Justin’s movie is music/concrt documentry. They never do great business. The Hannah Montana concert movie did just $1 million more and this was during Miley’s peak. Justin did as well as expected. Also coming in at #1 doesn’t mean a lot. I don’t think anybody can say Leigton Meester is a boxoffice draw just because she had a #1 movie. Especially since it opened with $15 million. I look deeper than surface when it comes to things.
This is a huge hit for Aniston but Sandler has proved he can do way better at least domestically so in the end she didn’t bring much to the table. The real test for Aniston is if she can add anything internationally because Sandler has almost no foriegn box office draw and he usually coasts soley on his domestic numbers. That being said I’m actually just a bit happy for her. At least all the shameless promotion was worth it this time. Now we only have two more obnoxious promotional tours to grit our teeth through. I also expect to see more craptastic romcoms coming out on Valentines Day for years to come.
Awww, this must have made the Aniston uber fans/Loonistons day, good for them and her. Just what she needed, a number 1 movie.
As for Sandler and his movies, well its a sad comment on what the general public will turn out to watch isn’t it. This movie was massively panned by critics and it really does look damn awful and is apparently not very funny (I won’t ever see it, in fact I haven’t seen a Sandler film in years).
Maybe this will get nominated for lots of Razzies next year? So it may win something 😉 😆 .
Yes Camille, we are ecstatic. Why are you here? Are you trying to ruin my high?
sandler’s movies suck. aniston’s movies suck. jolie’s movies suck. julia roberts’ movies suck. depp’s movies suck. 99% of movies suck. they all suck. all of them.
hollywood is overgrown with mediocrities and most of them are insanely overexposed and overpaid. they all suck, and they can suck it. so there.
happy freaking valentine’s day.
My teenaged daughter and her boyfriend went to see JGWI today as a Valentine’s date. When I asked her if she enjoyed it, she started chuckling as she thought of the film and then said “Yes”. When I asked her boyfriend if he did, he actually had a burst of LOL and also said yes. Not sure they were laughing at the same bits in their memories, but they both really enjoyed it. It ended up finishing a million ahead the Bieb, now that the final figures are in. Also, there were a highter percentage of female viewers than Sandler usually pulls in, that has been credited to Aniston’s draw.
@Melanie: I’m here, because I can 😀 . And sorry about ruining your high- carry on, enjoy! 😀
@mln76: I agree.
Surprise, surprise. More incessant griping by the same people who seem obsessed with the box office result of any movie associated with Aniston. Wow who cares.
@Melanie: 😆
@Roma – LMAO!
Was ” Just Go with It” a success I would say not, Panned by the critics, the media blitz, interviews on every morning and evening show, Oprah,Ellen, magazine covers for JA, and Brookly Decker partially nude, world wind media blitz and still barely edging out a documentary from a young unknown. Shows Aniston desperation the movie was put out at a time of low competition, Aniston must have almost peed in her pants from the Beiber unslaught. Her career is at stake and still is after this week stronger competiton is going to knock it out of the ball park where it belongs.
I knew it would do well, although I wasn’t sure it would beat the Beiber since most of his fans are crazy.
I love Adam Sandler. No one liked Grown Ups? Seriously? I thought it was a cute movie with a good story about getting off our asses and spending time outside and with family. Plus, Salma Hayek looked smokin’.
I will def. be Netflixing JGWI. However, I am not a fan of Aniston’s. I Netflixed the Bounty Hunter and I hated it. I laughed twice at jokes from supporting characters. But I also hated Butler in it too, just to be fair. They both looked bloated and greasy in it. And you can tell Jennifer smokes from the creases around her lips when she makes her confused/annoyed/aggravated face. (They’re all one in the same.)
It was a good move for Aniston to attach herself to a movie that was sure to do well at the box office.
Let’s see, she’s 42 now. I predict she has another 3 to 4 years in the romcom business.
First off, critics never like rom coms, on the whole…i love when they say ‘does nothing for the genre’…but i have yet to see one of the critics say this about an action movie…you know, action movies are just entertainment, same with rom coms. they don’t suck in and of themselves-we just shouldnt expect high art, for the most part. and we certainly shouldn’t judge a single movie on whether or not it ‘uplifts the genre’…jesus.
so that is number one thing. reviews are normally crappy to mediocre at best for romantic comedies, unless they are indie based and with a drama element to them…..
[i personally LOVE rom coms….and i do think some are great, and many suck. same with action, however….but rom coms have a place in our human psyche…..most critics i’ve noticed, are men…hmmm…so yea, rom coms are beneath them, but f_ck, some computer simulated action flick is the freakin’ bomb-and it’s fine for them to have their fantasies…]
Second, JA is usually in an ensemble or co-lead.
When she was in the lead, Rumor has it, was solid! she was quite good alongside great actors.
She was equally solid alongside great actors in friends with money, too.
Marley and me, however-she was awful. and that did well at the box office. Truly, she was BAD in this film. Yet again, this film was not a rom com and was also, coincidentally, a torturously long and hideous movie. dramedy=so contrived, too.
so, her performance is not to be equated with box office performance.
two different things.
And, I think overall, ppl like a good cheesy movie where they will laugh a little, not be manipulated too much emotionally, and not have to think too hard. Escapism-this is what theater originally was designed for=entertainment.
She does her job well on that front.
And I agree-i wish she would branch out a little. I think she’s truly a funny actress-she has good comedic timing. And she would transitoin well into a comic hero adaptation, I agree. aka-potts.
omg-i cannot believe how many brain cells and minutes of my life i just devoted to this post. I don’t even care about JA.
I will say this: she is laughing all the way to the bank….
If not as the actual lead in a rom-com, Aniston may still get more than a decade out of this genre if she lets herself be cast as the lead’s mother, older sister, aunt or something! You go, girl! 🙂 Typecasting is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you can still make it at the box office. 😀
The people I know that want to see it is because of Sandler. He’s the funny man and then you plug in the female role. But Aniston is ideal for these roles, since she does them well and that’s her niche. Teenagers don’t even know who Aniston is basically, but they know who Sandler is.
The Rotten Tomatoes *audience* reviews, put Just Go With It as the most highly rated opener for the weekend (78% gave positive ratings of ~23,000 users): http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/just_go_with_it_2010/), and 3rd most highly audience reviewed of the top ten films showing, only behind The King’s Speech (95% positive) and True Grit (88% positive).
I haven’t seen Just Go With It, but was curious what audiences said and thought other people might be too 🙂
G O O D!! Time for babykiddyface Justin Bieber and his stupid looking hair helmet to go away.
Oh for gosh sakes. Is Aniston’s PR team working overtime on this thread?
I saw the movie, it absolutely stinks. Coming onto this website to put a celebrity in a “better light” will not work here. We see right through PR pushes.
about 20000 of those RT ratings were fixed before movie has opened and are “want to see it” ratings, not “liked it”. That’s a misleading thing about community rating on RT, they don’t start anew, they just switch “headline” on those numbers and keep counting.
@originl kate: I co-sign!! current movies sucked so bad I am starting to lose hope. Bring me back Clint eastwood and Al pacino any day and I will restore my faith
I wish everyone that went to see Just Go With It and Never Say Never had gone to see The King’s Speech. It seriously is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
@ Kaiser:
If I say I plan to watch The King’s Speech (which I actually do) is there any chance I get to see my Holy Dong Trinity* on the next HGF post?
*Benicio Del Toro, Tahar Rahim and Paul Bettany.
Look out Jen! Those Beiber tween twats will be after you!!
am I the only one here that is not an Adam Sandler fan…after I paid 8 dollars to see his eight crazy nights at the box office I vowed never to pay a dime to see his wacko quacko movies…. I am of the Ben Stiller fan club and not of the Adam Sandler one… and i cant help but look at the picture of Adam and think how much of a crush he must have on JA and how he knows she would never go for his type… the only way he has to her is throwing her a movie to star in…
She is a good actress and her movies are not bombs. She actually has a successful career, compared to MANY (if not most) actresses in HW. Angelina is a good actress too, but comparing them is stupid. They are totally different people in different kinds of movies. It depends on what you like. I like some movies each of them has done and dislike others, so team nobody.
The whole thing about Jen’s movies being flops is a myth that AJ fans pull out of their asses and popeater did a good piece on Jen’s career a while ago. The reason Angelina’s movies sometimes do better overall is that she is in a genre that attracts male viewers and those movies generally make more money at the box office, whether or not Angelina is in them. When you compare Jen’s movies to other movies in the same category, her movies consistenly perform very well, with a few exceptions. The only reason they are even compared is Brad, which is old and tired at this point. As far as the comments, people on both sides think their preference is “better” than someone else’s. So it goes round and round.
I too like RomComs. Over the weekend I took my bed and watched TV all day. I watched part The Break Up, 20 minutes of Fight Club and about 5 minutes of Mr. and Mrs. Smith which makes me freaking ill. I hate men and women fighting, even “tough” women like AJ. The Break Up was good, People! I don’t understand the scorn for that movie.
The Break Up was a sh*t movie, wasn’t funny at all. Both leads were horrible in it.
Office Space was a good movie. Ron Livingston is totally underrated.
I like Ben Stiller too. I’ve never watched 8 Crazy Nights, and never had the desire to. But I love Sandler’s movies like 50 First Dates, Mr. Deeds, and of course Big Daddy. 🙂
The Breakup wasn’t funny. It was sad. I don’t think people like to watch it because they’ve been there, in the last stages of the relationship.
Plus, just like in Marley and Me, Jennifer Aniston’s character was shrill and a nag. And Vince was a lazy slob.
It was the only new movie that remotely resembled a date movie- the launch was just in time for Valentine’s Day.