It might not have been the sort of high profile super-hero action movie opening Sony might have been hoping for, but The Green Hornet's number one debut is certainly something for Seth Rogen to smile about. It marks the actor's biggest headline opening ever.
Just edging out Superbad's $33 million bow in, Green Hornet banked a solid $34 million replacing the raunch comedy as Rogen's top weekend pull (excluding ensemble animated movies). But it's a weak showing for a movie debuting on a four day holiday weekend. Perhaps audiences prefer chunky Rogen to the more muscular masked version?
In a very distant second place was Ron Howard's comedy The Dilemma. Despite a diverse cast that boasts something for everyone (Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah), it couldn't break past $20 million, settling for a $17 million opening.
Overall the box office saw another weak weekend, falling behind by almost $200 million from the same day last year. That's nearly a 30% decrease. The end of 2010 showed a sharp decrease in movie attendance and the start of 2011 is following suit. 2012 the end of the world? For Hollywood, the apocolypse may be coming a year early.
For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below.
