All the young dudes are helping Seth Rogen's raunchy comedy "This is the End" show surprising staying power. It has played well all week, holding better than any other film in the market.
The R-rated comedy from Sony took in $3.4 million on Monday, just a 44 percent drop from Sunday, when it capped a $33 million five-day debut. It added $3.3 million Tuesday — off just 2 percent from Monday — and took in nearly $3 million Wednesday.
All that adds up to a $42.7 million seven-day total, and means "This is the End" will head into the weekend with more than $45 million in domestic grosses – not bad for a movie that cost $32 million to make.
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It's clear who's driving the success: the opening audiences were 60 percent male and 48 percent under the age of 25. And it's also clear what's driving it, according to Exhibitor Relations vice-president and senior analyst Jeff Bock,
"Word of mouth is making all the difference here," Bock said "There really does seem to be some real buzz. The critics aren't hurting; it has an 85 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes."
The plot of "This is the End" revolves around James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Michael Cera playing obnoxious versions of themselves and dealing with the end of the world — at a party. Rihanna, Emma Watson and Mindy Kaling make cameos.
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The success of "This is the End" sets up a fun showdown with Sofia Coppola’s "The Bling Ring," a crime comedy from A24 which expands into 620 theaters Friday and targets the same demographic.
"That gives the hipsters and teens some options this weekend," Bock said.
Emma Watson stars in "Bling Ring," along with Taissa Farmiga, Leslie Mann and Kirsten Dunst. It’s based on the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch — aka the Bling Ring — a group of teenagers who pulled off a series of brazen heists of celebrity homes.