The summer of 2011 has been very friendly to R-rated comedies, with “The Hangover Part II,” “Bridesmaids” and “Bad Teacher” all delivering well at the box office. And in the case of “Hangover” and “Teacher,” good reviews were not even necessary.
New release “Horrible Bosses,” which features one of the most impressive ensembles ever assembled for a comedy of the sort, hopes to continue that trend with a positive launch this weekend. Working in its favor will be warm reviews–the film is listed at an impressive “75% Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, while its Metacritic aggregate is respectable at 58.
Tracking for the film is similar to that of “Bad Teacher,” which was projected to land in the $20 millions and ended up surprising with $31 million in its inaugural weekend.
Kevin James’ debuting “Zookeeper,” meanwhile, is far from a critical favorite and responsible for only a “14% Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 35 aggregate on Metacritic. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” James’ similarly-skewed starring vehicle from 2009, opened to $31 million on a 33% Fresh score with a 39 at Metacritic.
Projections have “Zookeeper” crossing the $20 million barrier, which would help it comfortably avoid “bomb” status but likely fall below what was envisioned when the film was first put together. The forecasted total would also out-deliver Jim Carrey’s “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” another human-animal film released this summer.
