‘Ted 2’ Bombs, Are R-Rated Comedies Dead?
R-rated comedies have been bankable box office hits for the last few years, but the flop of Melissa McCarthy’s Spy had some industry analysts worried about the future of the sometimes-raunchy comedies at the box office. Now with the news that Ted 2, Seth McFarlane’s follow-up to the 2012 film about a talking stuffed bear, underperformed on its opening weekend, some are announcing the death of R-rated comedy.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Ted 2 had stiffer competition than some R-rated comedies in recent memory. Ted 2 had to contend with not only Pixar’s well received Inside Out, but with Jurassic World, a film with impressive hold over, even for a summer blockbuster. Jurassic World has proven so successful, that it is expected to set a record for the fastest film to $500 million, a title formerly held by Marvel’s The Avengers. So Ted 2 can be forgiven for not toppling the juggernaut ball of dinosaur nostalgia that is Jurassic World. Also, Ted 2 isn’t exactly a flop, with a budget of only $85 million, it could still break even. The problem is, analysts predicted that Ted 2 would take $45 million it’s opening weekend, but it only grossed $33 million.
That discrepancy is exactly why analysts are worried. Variety goes so far as to wonder if the perceived failure of Spy and Ted 2 means the end of R-rated comedy. According to Variety, an R-rating had been considered a requirement for a modern comedy to succeed. Films had to push the envelope and be innovative in their race for the grossest, most shocking bits and sight gags. This dirty joke arms race yielded big box office for Bridesmaids, Neighbors, and the king of R-rated comedies, The Hangover. So why did Ted 2 and Spy fail?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t clear. Spy has a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, yet isn’t among the top ten highest grossing films of 2015. Among the highest grossing films of 2015 so far, only Inside Out and Mad Max: Fury Road were rated better. And despite being a slow burn, Spy has already broken even domestically.
Ted 2 may simply be the victim of bigger, flashier tent pole films. Then again, as analyst Jeff Bock notes: “The novelty wore off. They didn’t up the ante enough to create another must-see film.”
That spells trouble for the hypothetical Ted 3.
In the end, it’s too soon to call the disappointments of Spy and Ted 2 the beginning of the end of R-rated comedy. Analysts will have to wait for the release of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck and Vacation, the reboot of the National Lampoon’s Vacation series. Both films hit theaters in July.
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