‘Ted’ and ‘Magic Mike’ Open Big at Midnight
It looks like the comedy season is in full effect. Universal’s Ted and Lionsgates’ Magic Mike are slated to make big bucks for the box office if their midnight openings are any indication.
Both films that open this Friday, both did immensely well at the Thursday midnight showing. The Seth MacFarlane directed R rated raunchy comedy Ted grossed a whopping 2.6 million on Thursday playing on 1,090 screens across North America. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane as a wise cracking, lewd, teddy bear and companion to Wahlberg’s character.
Film insiders have said that Ted has a shot at topping the box office at number one, topping the Pixar favorite Brave, with a $35 – 40 million range, pulling in a large demographic of male viewers, which holds strong for MacFarlane’s Family Guy viewership. According to Hollywood Reporter, Ted’s estimate was financed by Media Rights Capital for $50 million.
Soderbergh’s R-rated stripper film Magic Mike, which stars Channing Tatum, and a slew of other topless men, earned $2.1 million dollars in midnight showing while playing in 1,100 screens across North America. The film is said to be loosely based on Tatum’s experience as a male stripper before he made it big as an actor. Of course, there has been a backlash with claims made by Channing Tatum’s former colleagues saying Magic Mike was stolen from the pages of their lives, but those claims have been denied.
Warner Brothers financed Magic Mike for a meek $7 million.
Who do you think will top at the box office Magic Mike or Ted?
