Melissa McCarthy Is ‘The Boss’ At The Box Office Despite The Movie Receiving Awful Reviews
Melissa McCarthy is the new Boss at the box office.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, McCarthy’s new star vehicle, The Boss, powered to an estimated $23.5 million opening weekend despite receiving generally negative reviews by critics across the board. The opening figure means it barely squeezed ahead of Ben Affleck’s Batman v Superman at the box office, which just fell short of retaining the top slot, earning $23.4 million and bringing its total after three weeks to $296.7 million, reports Variety.
Co-written by McCarthy and directed by her husband Ben Falcone, The Boss also stars Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles and tells the story of Michelle Darnell, a titan of industry who runs into old foes after her release from prison and having been convicted of insider trading. The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews on its release, with review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes giving it an 18 percent fresh rating.
While viewers enjoyed Melissa McCarthy’s performance, who has already given moviegoers treats like Bridesmaids and gender-reversing comedy Spy, critics said The Boss is a “baggy mess of inconsistent gags” which even McCarthy’s sublime comic timing cannot prevent from crashing. Reviewing the film, Vox wrote that the story of The Bossfeels like “five drafts of five different scripts awkwardly pasted together.”
Despite all the bad reviews, McCarthy’s effortless performance has meant that The Boss has still been able to rope in audiences during its opening weekend. However, Falcone and McCarthy would be naive to expect the same response as the weekend wraps up. A rough word of mouth, coupled with terrible reviews, could go a long way in ensuring that the The Boss does not keep up its top spot at the box office.
The Boss is McCarthy’s third number one opening following 2013’s Identity Thief and last summer’s Spy. According to ComScore, the initial response to the movie has seen female viewers flock to the theaters, with 67 percent of the audience comprising of women. It appears Universal Pictures, which is responsible for the distribution of the movie, was already acutely aware of The Boss’ bumbling script, but nonetheless decided to bank on McCarthy’s star power for pulling it through.
Nicholas Carpou, Universal’s domestic distribution president, said it is no surprise that The Boss is doing so well with female audiences.
“We love the fact that Melissa is a genuine movie star, people love her comedies and she opens at number one. She is absolutely a bankable movie star. The Boss is a female-driven, R-rated raunchy comedy that delivers, and there hasn’t been one for a while.”
Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations, said that Melissa McCarthy’s hot streak means that studios can depend on her even when the movie is failing at the box office.
“She has a hot streak going like no other comedian, male or female, working today,” he said. “You have to consider the lineage of Eddie Murphy in the ’80s, Jim Carrey in the ’90s and Adam Sandler in the aughts. She is their heir apparent.”
There is little doubting that fact. Melissa McCarthy has established herself as a genuine comedian who is not only a bankable star at the box office, but someone who elicit laughs from theater-going audiences. However, it would be better if her talents are not so readily wasted, as it appears to have been the case in The Boss. Focusing on better scripts will not only do her fans a world of good, but will also help keep McCarthy on top.
[Image via Universal Pictures]
