Eddie Murphy’s “Norbit” Becomes Hollywood’s Top Film
Posted February 11, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There’s something about Eddie Murphy that seems to resonate with a wide swath of moviegoers. Maybe it’s the fact that he always seems to play at least two or three characters.
The three roles he took in his latest vehicle “Norbit” certainly formed a connection with audiences, as the comedy easily rose to number one at the box office with a $33.7 million debut.
The film had almost no competition, blowing past a poor opening from thriller prequel “Hannibal Rising,” which came in second with $13.35 million.
“Norbit” is Murphy’s first starring role since 2003’s “The Haunted Mansion,” but the attention the actor’s received for “Dreamgirls,” has been considerable. Murphy’s widely expected to win the supporting-actor Academy Award for his work in the film.
“He wasn’t that visible on marquees in huge hits for a while, then suddenly every time you turn around, it’s `Wow, what a surprise. Eddie is great,”‘ said DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy.
“Norbit” enjoyed the biggest opening for any film in 2007, but it wasn’t able to lift Hollywood out of a slump that’s seen revenues fall for six straight weekends.
The top 12 movies took in $91.3 million, down 10.5 per cent from the same weekend in 2006, when “The Pink Panther” and “Final Destination 3” both debuted in the $20 million range.
“Norbit,” joins a long line of 14 top openings for Murphy, and the film surpassed expectations with most projecting it would pull in roughly $25 million in its opening weekend.
That it was trashed by critics didn’t help those negative prognostications, but the popularity of Murphy’s multi-character history, which features such films as “Coming to America ” and “The Nutty Professor,” proved irresistible. Murphy plays mild-mannered Norbit, his grossly overweight and overbearing wife and a Chinese orphanage owner who raised him.
Meanwhile “Dreamgirls,” remained in the top 10 with $3.1 million, lifting its total to $97.1 million, and Murphy will have another hit on his hands in May when animated sequel “Shrek the Third,” hits the big screen.
“It really doesn’t get much better than this for an actor at this point in your career,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“This is a guy whose career has spanned over two decades, and he’s still as viable a box-office star as anyone out there.”
Here are the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Media By Numbers LLC.
1. “Norbit,” $33.7 million.
2. “Hannibal Rising,” $13.35 million.
3. “Because I Said So,” $9 million.
4. “The Messengers,” $7.2 million.
5. “Night at the Museum,” $5.75 million.
6. “Epic Movie,” $4.45 million.
7. “Smokin’ Aces,” $3.8 million.
8. “Pan’s Labyrinth,” $3.55 million.
9. “Dreamgirls,” $3.1 million.
10. “The Queen,” $2.5 million.
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