Worst Openings at the Box Office for 2,500+ Theaters

MacGruber makes history!

It is #9 on the list of all-time "Worst Openings at the Box Office for 2,500+ Theaters." It was not only the worst of this year, but was the worst in that category since The Rocker opened in August of 2008. It was the all-time worst saturated release for Universal Studios, shattering a record nearly a decade old (held by Josie and the Pussycats!). To make matters worse, MacGruber would move up several notches on the chart if all the numbers were adjusted for inflation. I was too lazy to do the entire spreadsheet, but it may finish as "high" as #4 because it just missed in a head-to-head comparison for the #3 spot, selling about 515,000 tickets compared to 514,000 for Hoot.

MacGruber took in $4.1 million in some 2500 theaters, which was almost a perfect match for the legendary Affleck/JLo bomb, Gigli, which pulled in $3.7 million in about 2200 theaters in 2003. Actually, that comparison is a bit unfair - to Gigli, which actually pulled in about $4.9 million adjusted to today's ticket prices.

In other news, Shrek pulled up short of expectations with some $70 million. But seventy million clams ain't so bad they ownself. Here is the weekend list.