As I predicted, along with a bunch of you guys on Twitter, cute trumped carnage this Memorial holiday weekend. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian took in $70 million over four days to seriously outgun Terminator: Salvation, which grossed $53.8 million over the same Friday to Monday frame. What happened? To quote star Christian Bale's tirade against the T4 director of photography on the set last summer: "what don't you fucking understand?" As I see it, Museum attracted family audiences with its wuss-friendly PG rating.
On the other hand, Terminator fans were put off that T4 also carried a relatively wussy rating, PG-13, the first in the franchise to not go out with a hardcore "R" on its hood. In fact, T4 director McG didn't wuss out. His first entry into the franchise stretched that PG-13 way past its usual limits. Maybe guys 25 and older — the target audience for T4 — were diverted by televised basketball playoffs this weekend. Or maybe the continued success of Star Trek, tickling $200 million in just three weeks, also siphoned off the core demographic. Or maybe it was the latest box-office gimmick: giant screens. T4 had no IMAX showings. Museum had several, including sellouts at DC's Smithsonian Museum itself, accounting for $5.4 million in take home.
Variety reports that Museum is Stiller's best ever opening in a live-action film. Significant fact? In terms of quality, not really. Listen, I've been hammered recently by a few blog readers for even doing this weekly box-office report. One reader asked: "What the hell does box office have to do with excellence? In truth, nothing. For me, box office is a fun game to play one day a week. It's a chance to see Hollywood marketing dollars at work and maybe even an opportunity to expose the crass manipulation that gets butts into seats. It might actually help explain why we decide our choice is between T4 or Museum when good movies minus a marketing budget (Tyson, The Girlfriend Experience, Summer Hours) are languishing under the radar.
So let's end today's blog with a test: Variety reports that Museum is the biggest opening in Ben Stiller's live-action career. Is Museum his best movie? Hell, it's not even a good movie. So let's fight the box-office gods by asking: Taken solely on quality, what Ben Stiller movie actually deserves to wear a crown? There's lots of Stiller hits: Tropic Thunder, There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents. But I'd go for the ones that made less money but stay with me (Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, Flirting With Disaster, Reality Bites, The Cable Guy). It's your turn to speak up. Do it.
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Bustray | June 3, 2009 5:51 PM
There's Something About Mary for sure. Definitely his funniest, as well as one of the funniest movies ever made.
BK | May 28, 2009 5:39 PM
The classic Ben Stiller is "The Ben Stiller Show"
Cable Guy is a close second
muzzy63 | May 28, 2009 4:44 PM
Mary, Thunder, and Parents are his film triumphs. But in my book, he's never been funnier than when he was spoofing Bono/U2 on his TV show. Almost 20 years old, but in the space of a few minutes, I laugh harder than any of his movies.
White Elephant | May 28, 2009 8:43 AM
So, you'd rather write about box office results than the Cannes Film Festival winners?
Balmain | May 28, 2009 7:59 AM
Stiller Top 5 List:
5) (tie) Mystery Men/Tropic Thunder
4) Flirting with Disaster
3) Meet the Parents
2) There's Something About Mary
1) Zero Effect
chris | May 28, 2009 2:07 AM
MoviefanAPC you should be beaten like Pesci in "Casino" for thinking TS was a "great film".
just stop.
The Spleen | May 28, 2009 12:23 AM
He was tolerable in Mystery Men and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Jeff Becraft | May 27, 2009 5:20 PM
"Flirting With Disaster" is a real favorite and a solid, respectable comedy that re-launched a few careers, notably George Segal. I personally think that "Envy" with Jack Black was panned way too hard; it's got some great scenes and lines in it. Stiller fans who haven't seen those two should definitely check them out.
Joe | May 27, 2009 3:04 PM
"Your Friends and Neighbors;" if only for the sex scene between Stiller and Catherine Keener (Keener asking him "is there a chance you'll shut the fuck up?" belongs in a time capsule)
mayshays | May 27, 2009 12:23 PM
The Judd Apatow-directed "Heavyweights." Stiller's Tony Perkis was sublime.
cvillekid | May 27, 2009 12:06 PM
Ben Stiller makes my flesh crawl. I'm not going to any movie he's in. I'd rather roll around naked in poison ivy.
abdulnasir | May 27, 2009 6:12 AM
i definetely thought zoolander was the shit ,it was hilarious in ways you just couldn't imagine. plus i think tropic thunder would be remembered more for robert downey jr's performance as osiris not so much ben stiller's role. that being said ben stiller has had an overall successful careerin Hollywood in both live action and animated movies.
Matthew Parrish | May 26, 2009 8:56 PM
The Royal Tenenbaums. Is there any question that this is, artistically speaking, the best project Stiller has been a part of? I mean, Dodgeball was hilarious but not transcendent.
One could make an argument for Tropic Thunder but it had too many flaws.
re: mr. minimac | May 26, 2009 8:45 PM
If you also like "dark" ben stiller, check out his role as a drug addict in "permanent midnight" with elizabeth hurley. crazy stuff.
My personal ben stiller avorites would have to be tropic thunder (simple jack) and his cameo in Anchorman. Viva la Mexican Ben Stiller!!!
Pacman | May 26, 2009 8:14 PM
Stiller is at his best playing characters and not the straight man. His neurotic father in TRT's is subtle and fantastic, but for good laugh out loud Stiller Derrick Zoelander and Gabe White (Dodgeball) are my faves characters." Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!"
no name | May 26, 2009 7:38 PM
Easy. His three best films/roles were as Tony Perkis in Heavy Weights, his role in There's Something About Mary and The Cable Guy which he directed.
TheDarkChrisKnight | May 26, 2009 7:35 PM
Gotta be Tropic Thunder. It was the best movie I saw last year (yes... better than The Dark Knight) and is easily the funniest movie I have seen in some time. The casting of Downey was perfect, and the side characters were awesome, from Cruise's Les Grossman to Bill Hader's assistant. It was the perfect summer comedy.
just a man | May 26, 2009 7:25 PM
i actually saw the new museum after seeing the first one more than enough times and it was very good. You just have to adjust to the fact that it's a family oriented movie
Anonymous | May 26, 2009 5:23 PM
HEll no best movie ever: Next of Kin...you see a baby-impish stiller trying to pull off a gangsta character, too funny
Twin Sons | May 26, 2009 4:42 PM
Stiller and Eli Roth were separated at birth.
J. Reilly | May 26, 2009 4:27 PM
Zoolander is so ridiculous that it can't be ignored. However if we're talking BEST movie I'd have to go with "The Royal Tenenbaums". That movie is almost perfect, from the cast and wonderfully neurotic set-design to the biting dialogue and the ever present pains of regret that haunt every character. It's quite possibly Gene Hackman's greatest role, and that's saying something. "You wanna talk some jive? Cole-train?"
MoviefanAPC | May 26, 2009 4:25 PM
Terminator Salvation was a great film. Perfect summer picture. I do not understand why it got bad reviews. If you like action films then you will love this. I think they did a excellent job and connected all the other movies in the series without closing the door on people who might not know the story line of the other films that well. Go check this movie out.
El Guapo | May 26, 2009 4:19 PM
I think I might be one of the few people on this planet that didn't like "Tropic Thunder". I haven't seen all his movies, but I would probably say that "Meet The Parents" is my favorite, w/ "There's Something About Mary" at a close 2nd. I agree that "The Cable Guy" is highly underrated and I love that flick. But if we're talking about the best movies Ben Stiller has been in then I couldn't go w/ "The Cable Guy" seeing as how it's more centered around Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick.
StiGuy | May 26, 2009 4:00 PM
Tropic Thunder and Something about marry, even though Chris Elliot was the highlight, still those are stillers funniest films thus far, by far.
stiller rocks | May 26, 2009 2:42 PM
THE CABLE GUY IS A CLASSIC. ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES, EXTREMELY UNDERRATED CULT MOVIE!
Mr.Minimac | May 26, 2009 2:35 PM
If you like your Stiller dark, don't forget about Neil LaBute's Your Friends & Neighbors. Maybe not his best but proof that he can play more than just a goofball.
PigDog | May 26, 2009 12:23 PM
I'd have to go with There's Something About Mary. That's the only Ben Stiller movie that I would consider a "classic".