Home › Entertainment › Movies
Chuck and Larry' lead weekend ticket sales
SANDLER
STORY TOOLS 
More from MoviesLOS ANGELES (AP) — Two guys named Chuck and Larry edged out a teenager named Harry at the weekend box office.
Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" overcame bad reviews to debut ahead of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
Universal reported that "Chuck & Larry" took in $34.2 million, while Warner Bros. reported "Order of the Phoenix" at $32.5 million.
New Line's musical "Hairspray," featuring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Queen Latifah in an adaptation of the Broadway smash, opened a strong No. 3 with $27 million.
Hollywood had a solid weekend no matter which movie ends up No. 1.
The top 12 movies took in $147.6 million, up 3.5 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was No. 1 with $35.2 million.
"Chuck & Larry" stars Sandler as a firefighter who poses as a gay partner for a widower colleague (James) so his pal can maintain life insurance for his kids.
The movie followed the usual pattern for Sandler comedies: Critics trashed it but loyal fans turned up.
"The beauty of Adam Sandler is his fan base adores him, and he delivers on comedy," said Universal's head of distribution Nikki Rocco. "Adam is a star, and I can tell you we know we're on the way with another $100 million movie for Adam."
1. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," $34.2 million.
2. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $32.5 million.
3. "Hairspray," $27 million.
4. "Transformers," $20.5 million.
5. "Ratatouille," $10.9 million.
6. "Live Free or Die Hard," $7.1 million.
7. "License to Wed," $3.6 million.
8. "1408," MGM, $2.62 million.
9. "Evan Almighty," $2.55 million.
10. "Knocked Up," $2.3 million.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.