Posted on 02/13/2006 11:28:17 AM PST by SirLinksalot
A new version of The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin has topped the North American box office chart.
The comedy made $21.7m (£12.4m) in its opening weekend, with Martin reprising Peter Sellers' 1963 role as the bungling Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Horror film Final Destination 3 was second with $20.1m (£11.5m), box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
It was followed by two more new films - animated movie Curious George at three and Harrison Ford thriller Firewall.
The Pink Panther, which co-stars singer Beyonce Knowles, topped the US chart despite poor reviews.
NORTH AMERICA BOX OFFICE
1. The Pink Panther
2. Final Destination 3
3. Curious George
4. Firewall
5. When a Stranger Calls
Source: Exhibitor Relations
It is a prequel to Peter Sellers' original movie of the same name, which spawned three sequels in the 1970s.
Another horror movie which topped last week's chart, When a Stranger Calls, fell to fifth place.
Outside North America, Steven Spielberg's thriller Munich lost its place at the top of the international box office chart to Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie, Hollywood Reporter said.
The French movie is the third in a series of comedies about a group of friends on holiday.
People cast as eye candy only are not required to act.
They're trying to get that age 14-23 male demographic to the movie.
Actually there are more positive ratings than negative ratings for this movie.
I think you're confusing ratings with reviews. Reviewers hated this movie. Normal people going to the movies liked it in general.
Can you see Steve playing the characters Sellers did in Dr. Stranglove? Not in a million years! Nobody is that sophiscated to pull it off like he did.
Martin was good in the first "Father of the Bride" which itself was a remake. He and Michael Caine were both hysterically funny in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" a movie that makes me laugh out loud no matter how often I watch it. Some of the scenes from Martin's Pink Panther had me laughing until there were tears in my eyes. Overall, it was not quite as good as Sellers' in "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" or "Return of the Pink Panther" but I thought it was better than Sellers' first Panther movie that starred David Niven as the elusive cat burglar and Robert Wagner as his son.
Totally agreed! Kevin Kline would be a PERFECT modern-day Clousseau. Steve Martin ... nah.
"I actually thought she did an OK job in the Austin Powers -Goldmember movie."
Please step away from whatever intoxicant you appear to be partaking in. :)
Dittoed and bumped, X!
Are you kidding? Steve is to comedy what Harrison Ford is to action movies. The guy ages like fine wine. He was hilarious in "Bringing down the House" with Queen Latifah and his movie previews that told audiences to turn down or put your cell phone on vibrate.
Given that Harrison Ford hasn't made a good action movie in some years, you may want to rethink that comparison.
Saw it this past weekend. I can't recall the last time a movie made me laugh so hard. It's probably helped by the fact that I never saw the originals, but it doesn't stop it from being a hilarious movie.
Rating: A-
If you have kids above the age of 7, take them to this movie. You might just have a good laugh yourself.
Well I have seen the oringals and I'm not even that big of a Steve Martin fan, but I love his version of Inspector Closeau in this movie. My mother and I saw it on Sunday and we were in hysterics several times.
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