The numbers are in, and the new comedy Neighbors has done something quite impressive indeed. Raking in $51 million this weekend, it had the second highest grossing opening weekend for a non-sequel R-rated comedy of all time, just barely $3M short of Ted’s $54M debut.
The film arrived with not all that much fanfare, yet it still put up absolutely phenomenal numbers. The movie only cost $18M to make, so in its first weekend alone, it’s already a huge, smashing success.
But why? What about Neighbors was so appealing to moviegoers? Here’s a brief rundown of the various factors that lead to a perfect storm of box office receipts.
It Had Good Reviews
Here’s a shocking factor, Neighbors is actually a really good comedy. At least that’s what most critics believed, as the film scored an impressive 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. That may not seem terribly high, but certain genres of movies are hard pressed to wow critics, namely comedies, horror films and non-superhero science fiction movies. If you have say, a period biopic, it’s much more likely to score highly with critics than a slasher flick or an R-rated gross-out comedy.
That’s why Neighbors getting a 74% was pretty significant. Other comedies that audiences love have gotten far, far worse reviews, so when one comes along that’s getting high marks for a change, audiences may be curious to check it out. And in Neighbors’ case, the critics were right, and most found they liked the film. Positive word of mouth from both critics and fans helped the film find instant success over the course of the weekend.
It Had Weak Competition
A movie can be amazing, but if it’s up against steep competition, it can mean disaster at the box office. The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers were both great films that performed well, but if they were released on the same weekend, both would have suffered immensely.
Not so with Neighbors. Yes, it did have to do battle with the second week of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but that film is one of the worst reviewed superhero movies released in a while, currently at a middling 54% on RT. Nearly everyone who was dying to see the movie saw it opening weekend, and others may have been dissuaded from doing so this week due to poor word of mouth. The only other wide-released competition for Neighbors was Legends of Oz, a terrible CGI movie based on The Wizard of Oz which didn’t even crack a million in box office receipts despite wide release in over 2,000 theaters. These are great films to be going up against, even as we’re technically in blockbuster season.
It Attracted a Female Audience
Despite being an R-rated comedy, a genre which usually skews pretty heavily male, 53% of the audience was female for Neighbors. Why? Probably a combination of two factors.
First, there’s the fact that the movie prominently featured a female actress in one of the prime comedic roles. Even though it was Seth Rogen and Zac Efron on the posters for the most part, the trailer showed a lot of Rose Byrne in action. She’s not just a love interest, she’s a real character in the film and does gross-out comedy just as well as the guys (as the movies soon-to-be-infamous “milking” scene demonstrates).
The other factor is Zac Efron himself. It’s an understatement to say that the actor has a huge female fanbase from his days in High School Musical, one that has followed his transformation into movie star in romantic movies like The Lucky Ones. Whip up a trailer where Efron is shirtless nearly every time he’s onscreen, and that can’t be overlooked as a potential female draw either.
In short, there were many, many factors that went into making Neighbors a hit. Some of it may have been a bit of luck, but most was crafting an effective comedy that appealed to multiple demographics. It will likely be used as a film making and marketing case study for years. And naturally, expect a sequel (or two).
[Photo via Universal]
