So “Happy Feet” grossed more than the new Bond movie the first weekend, giving us a perfect shot for pun-laden headlines. “Happy Feet Outdance Bond,” “Penguins Ice Bond,” “Happy Feet Stomps Bond,” “Superspy Defeated by Adorable Animated Orca Snacks,” and so on. In a tight, tuxedo-clad race, “Happy Feet” pulled in an estimated $42 million over “Casino Royale”‘s $40 million and the media is loving it. Ha! Big deal spy! Not so tough now, huh?
Which brings up a question for me. Why do we only care about the domestic gross? That’s all that was reported, with the occasional mention of how a movie is doing in Europe. Used to be that movies were released in a staggered schedule across the world, but that’s been tightened up since moviegoers with hidden video cameras started releasing their own homemade versions for free download and studios had to speed things up to get the official versions out before the pirated ones hit the streets. Now it’s not that unusual for big movies to debut everywhere the same weekend, and you know what?
Add in the worldwide gross, and this weekend Bond’s $82.8 million whupped “Happy Feet”‘s $42.3 million without even a backward glance. Take that, you little flippered freaks!
Just sayin’.
Bonds may come and go, but penguins are forever.