We have a new champion - worst box office in 2500 or more theaters

We have a new champion - worst box office in 2500 or more theaters

When the bookkeepers finished counting the pennies, Won't Back Down emerged as the worst film of all time in 2500 or more theaters! (And oddly enough, as I mentioned earlier, it received an A- from the audiences tested by CinemaScore.)

That's quite an accomplishment because that record had seemed almost untouchable. The Rocker grossed $2.636M back in 2008 and no film had come close since. The nearest challenger was MacGruber, far behind at $4M.

To see the point illustrated even more dramatically, look at the estimated number of tickets sold, because there has been some inflation since 2008. The Rocker was standing at 367,000, and no subsequent film had been below 500,000, but Won't Back Down shattered the record by selling a mere 320,000.

It has been quite a year. Just a month ago Oogieloves set the record for the worst opening in 2000 or more theaters, and that record was even more impressive than this week's. In fact, it was far more impressive. Whereas Won't Back Down averaged about a thousand dollars per theater, Oogieloves grossed only about 200 simoleans per theater. (Many theaters used Oogieloves exclusively as an afternoon matinee, showing it only once or twice a day. If you could calculate the average gross per showing, the gap between the two films would be smaller.)

Strange fact of the day:

At various times, people have been talking about sequels to MacGruber and Oogieloves. In America we don't respect you if you come close. Did you lose the Super Bowl? Hell, you may be the second-best team in history, but you're a loser to us. On the other hand, if you fail big-time, we take you into our hearts.

Possibly excepting Mike Dukakis.