LOS ANGELES—Movie audiences accepted a proposal from Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, who scored the summer's first big romantic comedy hit.
Bullock and Reynolds' The Proposal took in $34.1
million to open as the weekend's No. 1 movie, according to studio estimates
Sunday. The Disney flick delivered the biggest opening ever for Bullock, nearly
double that of her previous best of $17.6 million for the 2007 paranormal
thriller Premonition.
Bullock stars as Margaret, a ruthless publishing executive
who coerces Andrew, her put-upon assistant (Reynolds) into a fake marriage so
she can avoid deportation back to her native Canada. He agrees to
participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The
unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the
always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water
situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an
immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to
stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences.
"I think the market was ready for a really fun, broad
romantic comedy," said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture
group.
The Proposal took over the top spot from the
Warner Bros. bachelor-party comedy The Hangover, which slipped to
second place with $26.9 million. A surprise smash hit, The Hangover
raised its total to $152.9 million.
Disney's animated adventure Up was No. 3 with
$21.3 million, lifting its total to $224.1 million and following Paramount's Star Trek as the second movie of 2009 to cross the $200 million
mark.
Debuting in the fourth spot with $20.2 million was Sony's
caveman comedy Year One, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as
Neanderthals on a road trip after they are banished from their village.
"June is officially comedy month at the theaters.
Comedy is really ruling things," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office
analyst for Hollywood.com.
(Opening soon across the Philippines, The Proposal is
distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.)