BURBANK, CA—Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures' new comedy The Hangover took the top spot at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, surprising industry analysts. The film earned an impressive $44,979,000 in its opening weekend, making it the third-highest opening of an R-rated comedy ever. For Warner Bros., it is also the sixth film to open at number one in 2009 to date.
Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, stated, "Coming into
this weekend, we knew we had across-the-board great reviews, extremely strong
word of mouth, and a marketing campaign that I would simply call amazing.
As importantly, we had a movie that delivered. Congratulations to
everyone involved in the making of The Hangover, including the entire cast
and crew and the producers. And special congratulations to Todd Phillips,
who has been a great collaborative partner and an important member of the
Warner Bros. family."
Sue Kroll, President of Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures, added,
"From our earliest screenings, we knew The Hangover was something
special. Todd made a brilliantly funny movie and we wanted to craft a
very strategic and creative marketing campaign to match. Aggressively
utilizing both the mainstream media and the internet, we set out to make this
an all-audience film.
"We found unique ways to introduce the concept and
the characters, leaving no chicken or tiger unturned. The wealth of
material—not to mention a director and cast who worked tirelessly to support
the film—gave us so many avenues to explore in putting together an
all-encompassing and pervasive campaign. By the time we opened, we had
not only created awareness but a definite must-see vibe surrounding the
film. Jeff, Dan and I are also proud that The Hangover—added to such
comedy hits as Get Smart, Yes Man, Four Christmases, He's Just Not That
Into You, Sex and the City and 17 Again—once again emphasizes our growing
success in the comedy arena."
Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, added,
"We are obviously thrilled with the box office results for The Hangover,
which came into this weekend against some very strong competition. The
film did not have the benefit of instantly recognizable star names and it was
not in the category of a big action blockbuster. But Todd Phillips does
comedy like no one else and we knew The Hangover was that rare gem of a
comedy that plays to audiences of virtually every demographic. And it
did.
"Based on this weekend's overwhelmingly positive audience response,
we anticipate that the excitement will continue to build through the summer as
moviegoers turn out to get The Hangover."
SYNOPSIS. The Hangover is a new comedy about a bachelor party gone horribly wrong.
Two days before his wedding, Doug (Justin Bartha) and his three buddies
(Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) drive to Las Vegas for a
blow-out night they'll never forget. But when the three groomsmen wake up
the next morning with pounding headaches, they can't remember a thing.
Their posh hotel suite is beyond trashed and the groom is nowhere to be
found. With no clue about what happened and little time to spare, the
trio must attempt to retrace their bad decisions from the night before in order
to figure out where things went wrong and hopefully get Doug back to L.A. in
time for his wedding. However, the more they begin to uncover, the more
they realize just how much trouble they're really in.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Green
Hat Films Production of a Todd Phillips Movie: The Hangover, starring Bradley
Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey
Tambor. The film is directed by Phillips from a screenplay by Jon Lucas
& Scott Moore. Todd Phillips and Dan Goldberg produced, with Thomas
Tull, Jon Jashni, William Fay, Scott Budnick, Chris Bender and J.C. Spink
serving as executive producers.