Weekend Box Office: Adam Sandler and friends un-cancel the apocalypse
Maybe Idris Elba bellowed too soon: Only in a world teetering on the edge of total, fiery annihilation could Adam Sandler dicking around with his comedian friends make more money than monsters fighting robots that are controlled by mind-melding soldiers and led by Stringer Bell from The Wire. Despite its mostly awesome configuration of geek-friendly elements, Pacific Rim had to settle for third place this weekend, bringing in a Manila-sized sum of $38.3 million. (Put in perspective, that's only a hair more than the last Transformers made in its first full day of release.) Confirming that the apocalypse remains firmly un-canceled, audiences said "Hey, why not? I like that sitcom with David Spade" to Grown Ups 2, handing over $42.5 million to the worst-reviewed movie of the summer. Did ticket buyers forget what it was like to sit through the first Grown Ups? Have giant, city-destroying monsters fallen out of vogue? Are the end times nigh? Re-cancel the apocalypse, Idris Elba!