JERSEY BOYS Movie Off to Low Box Office Start; Tracking for 4th Place

Columnist Nikki Finke has the latest scoop on this weekend's box office, noting that Jersey Boys opened to only $5 million on Friday, and is looking at a $14.5 million box office for the weekend.

Earlier this week, Finke predicted that Warner Bros big screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys will bomb at the box office. Finke estimates that the film, opening in over 3,000 theaters tomorrow, will take in approximately $14 million over the weekend, placing it in no better than 4th place among the competition. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, was made for a cost of $40 million.

Finke further reports that it was the studio, and not director Eastwood, that pushed for a summer release. Among the problems which may plague the project is the fact that Eastwood turned the musical into more of a drama. In addition, early critiques claim that the movie is "slow, lacks a musical background, and didn't come alive until the last 15 minutes including credits."

Jersey Boys follows the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. It is about a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the Tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty. The show features all their hits including "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Oh What A Night," "Walk Like A Man," "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Working My Way Back To You."

JERSEY BOYS is the recipient of the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical. The Original Broadway Cast Recording, produced by Bob Gaudio, received the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). The Broadway production also won the 2006 Outer Critics Circle & Drama League Awards for Best Musical. The London production also won the 2009 UK People¹s Choice and What¹s on Stage Awards for Best New Musical. The Toronto production won three Dora Awards, including the Audience Choice Award for Outstanding Production. The Australian production is 2010 recipient of the Helpmann Award for Australia¹s Best Musical and seven Victorian Green Room Awards.

Photo: Keith Bernstein

Source: Nikkifinke.com