Nevermind that the studio all but admitted their movie sucked by refusing to screen it for the press, or that once the movie was released it was ripped by two out of three critics, nothing could stand in the way of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra making a huge wad of cash for an easy number one this weekend. With $56 million in the bank so far it's one of the top openings of the summer; but it's possible the film may find itself in the same boat as an increasing number of movies: struggling to make a profit.
The film's reported $175 million budget means G.I. Joe has a long way to go to put Paramount in the black. With summer's competition not yet over and the potential for international audiences not to have much interest in a mediocre action flick about fictional American special forces, the Joes could be in for a rough ride. And even if it makes a modest profit, it might not be enough to lure financial support for one, much less a chain of sequels. Get your new Joe action figures now. They're sure to be failed-film memorobilia in the not so distant future.
Speaking of films struggling to make bank, Funny People dropped a painful 65% from last weekend bringing its grand total to a miserable $40 million. That puts the movie just over the halfway mark to its $75 million budget, but with little response from international audiences so far it may be a futile struggle.
But not everyone is having a bad weekend. The increasingly popular 500 Days of Summer branched out into its widest release yet, just over 800 theatres, and saw its biggest weekend haul to date at $3.7 million, just enough to sneak into the top ten. As word of mouth spreads about the acclaimed indie film so does the profit margin.
Julie and Julia debuted this weekend as well. In second place with $20 million it made a respectable showing. Better, anyway, than the final newcomer, A Perfect Getaway. The horror flick made only $5.7 million for a seventh place bow.
For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below.
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra * | $56,200,000 - | Total: $56,200,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 4,007 |
| Julie & Julia * | $20,100,000 - | Total: $20,100,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,354 |
| G-Force | $9,804,000 - | Total: $86,116,000 | LW: 3 WR: 3 THTRS: 3,482 |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | $8,880,000 - | Total: $273,800,000 | LW: 2 WR: 4 THTRS: 3,455 |
| Funny People | $7,866,000 - | Total: $40,417,000 | LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,008 |
| The Ugly Truth | $7,000,000 - | Total: $69,088,000 | LW: 4 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,975 |
| A Perfect Getaway * | $5,765,000 - | Total: $5,765,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,159 |
| Aliens in the Attic | $4,000,000 - | Total: $16,293,000 | LW: 5 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,108 |
| Orphan | $3,730,000 - | Total: $34,822,000 | LW: 6 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,270 |
| (500) Days of Summer | $3,725,000 - | Total: $12,343,000 | LW: 12 WR: 4 THTRS: 817 |
