So let me get this straight. A couple of months ago, The Green Hornet was that surefire flop that had switched release dates, been converted to 3D, and had survived an avalanche of bad press and rampantly negative speculation. A month ago, the tide started turning, due to some secret screenings for the hardcore nerd film bloggers and the realization that there wasn't anything of note coming out in the month of January. Two weeks ago, tracking started swinging upwards and the studio was optimistically discussing an opening weekend of around $35-40 million for the four day holiday weekend. So come Saturday morning, the picture has opened with $11.1 million on its first day, which puts it track to score around $30-35 million over three days and $35-40 million in four days. So, expectations met, mission accomplished, right? Ha!Yes, said debut is actually 'soft' and 'short on green' according to The Wrap, and Nikki Finke claims the film is 'surprisingly underperforming' because, I kid you not, that's what rival studios are telling her. I can't imagine that rival studios would have an interest in spreading negative word on Sony's first big picture of the year, can you? I mean, what could Warner Bros. possibly gain by creating the impression that Green Lantern... err, I mean Green Hornet was a box office flop? In most venues, when you meet positive expectations, that counts as a win. The Green Hornet was pegged at about $35-40 million for a four-day opening weekend, and that's pretty much where it's going to end up. That's 'par', which is usually a good thing. But not in the world of box office punditry, where only an out-of-left field surprise smash counts as a win.
Scott Mendelson
