Audiences make the ‘Smart’ choice

Mike Myers topliner “The Love Guru” suffered from bad karma in its box office bow, while Warner Bros.’ “Get Smart” had enough brains to easily win the weekend and possibly launch a film franchise for Warners and Village Roadshow.
“Get Smart,” starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, grossed an estimated $39.1 million from 3,911 runs, introducing a new generation to the spy spoof property created for television in the 1960s by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.

The race between the two comedies wasn’t even close. “Guru,” from Paramount and Spyglass, placed only No. 4 for the weekend, grossing an estimated $14 million from 3,012 runs. That’s a blow for Myers and partners Par and Spyglass.

Paramount had much better luck with DreamWorks Animation toon “Kung Fu Panda,” which essentially tied with Universal and Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk” for the No. 2 spot at the weekend box office.

- from Variety