Box Office: Martial Arts Beat Marshall, Sarah

Jonah Hill and Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall courtesy Universal Pictures

I'll take my Pulitzer now for that headline.

The Forbidden Kingdom, a family-friendly martial-arts pic that marked the first-ever on-screen duel between Jet Li and Jackie Chan, topped the weekend box office with a $20.9 million opening. Placing second was Forgetting Sarah Marshall ($17.3 mil), starring Jason Segel, Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell.

Rounding out the weekend's top five were Prom Night ($9.1 mil), Al Pacino's critically lambasted 88 Minutes ($6.8 mil) and Nim's Island ($5.7 mil).

All told, the numbers marked the first time in over a month that receipts were up year-over-year. That said, movie attendance is still pacing 6.5 percent behind 2007. Hurry, Indiana Jones!

What's your take on the latest films to hit theaters? Did Forbidden Kingdom indeed kick butt? Was Sarah Marshall a memorable comedy? — MWM

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Posted by

The Movie News Team

Apr 21, 2008 8:25 AM

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Loved Sarah Marshall. Kristin Bell is the best. It was a funny, sweet movie.
Posted by spikelover Apr 21, 2008 11:41 AM Report Abuse

That's so weird that FK beat SM. I went to both this weekend. I went to FK Saturday night... 8pm show. There were 17 people in the theater. I went to SM Sunday night, 7:20 pm show, and the theater was FULL. People were having trouble finding seats. Incidentally, I thoroughly enjoyed both movies.
Posted by Potch Apr 21, 2008 11:46 AM Report Abuse

I have a feeling Forbidden Kingdom will drop big time, while Sarah Marshall will either stay at second(after Harold and Kumar) or go up to first thanks to word of mouth.
Posted by kbroxmysox Apr 21, 2008 12:18 PM Report Abuse

I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I don't go see many movies in the theaters but this one was definitely worth it! I thought it was especially funny when the were making fun of Sarah Marshall's film about killer cell phones because that was an actual film that Kristen Bell was in.
Posted by KMS7801 Apr 21, 2008 1:14 PM Report Abuse

I think you meant to say "all tolled" not "all told". Anyway, I'm glad. I'm no martial arts fan, but I'll be more than happy to see the Apatow dynasty of disgusting penis-obsessed and/or stoner movies crumble into nothingness.
Posted by NoirCat Apr 21, 2008 3:00 PM Report Abuse

Uh NoirCat, 17 million dollars in a film with no huge stars is a pretty big deal. At least knocked up had Katherine Heigal this one really had no names in it(Despite how great Kristen Bell and Jason Siegal are). From what I heard the studios are happy with the performance and I think next week will be very telling for it.
Posted by kbroxmysox Apr 21, 2008 4:31 PM Report Abuse

I liked Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I didn't love it. It was, in my opinion, slightly overrated. I just didn't laugh like I thought I would. I will say the cast was great! I cannot understand the jackie Chan appeal at all. While I wasn't in love with Sarah like I thought I would be, I have a feeling that it will have huge staying power and the Jackie Chan flick will fall quick.
Posted by Jam fan Apr 21, 2008 4:32 PM Report Abuse

No huge stars is right, uh, kbrox. Take out the crude humor and nudity and you've got yourself a TV-movie from the 80's. "See all your favorite prime-time stars together for the first time!!!" LMAO 17M is still pretty low for any Apatow flick and this is the third to underperform in a row. I'm just enjoying the trend of good taste returning.
Posted by NoirCat Apr 21, 2008 8:05 PM Report Abuse

I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Jason Segel's star is shining brighter than ever.
Posted by soleilani Apr 21, 2008 8:57 PM Report Abuse

FSM was absolutely awesome. Jason and Kristen were fabulous...hopefully this movie will have some staying power.
Posted by brynna87 Apr 22, 2008 12:27 AM Report Abuse

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