A film that wasn’t expected to do well and whose name was being tarnished in the media proved everyone wrong and did pretty darn good it’s opening weekend; not only was it the number one film, beating out The Dilemma, starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, it also grossed an unexpectedly large amount of money- an estimated $34 million. If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m referring to The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, and Tom Wilkinson. Although it’s doing well in theaters, the film went through many obstacles prior to its release date; it was originally slated to be released June 26, 2010, than it was pushed to December 22, 2010 and it was finally released this past weekend, January 14, 2010.
The approximate budget for the film was about $90 million, so they still have approximately $60 million to go just to make up for what they put into the film, but this film just might turn a profit yet. With the movie-goer response coming in, which for the most part is fairly positive, it may spark your interest and you too may feel the pressure to see what the buzz is all about. According to Rotten Tomatoes.com, 65% of their viewing audience said the film was likeable; this is based on an average rating of 3.6 out of a possible 5 stars.
If you’re someone who prefers ratings from an actual film critic, then maybe Glenn Kenny’s opinion will help. He’s the chief film critic for MSN movies, former chief critic for Premiere magazine from 1998 to 2007, and he currently writes for several publications, websites and blogs. He gave the film three out of five stars. One useful bit of information that may save you some money… purchase a regular priced ticket and not the 3-D one. Per Kenny’s observation, “this film just wasn’t designed or shot for the process” and the 3-D format just takes away from the film.