"Mamma Mia" on track to become Meryl's biggest hit ever...
All of the attention the past three weelks has been on the historic box office performance of "The Dark Knight" with features Heath Ledger's last completed performance. And rightfully so -expecially after the movie managed its third weekend in a row in first place and will pass the $400 million mark in record time.
What has not gotten much ink is the success of the musical "Mamma Mia" starring Meryl Streep. In its third weekend in theaters grossed $13 million and finished in fourth place. It was just a 25 percent drop from last weekend which indicates strong staying power. In 17 days, "Mamma" has grossed $87.9 million.
Meryl has been a movie star for 30 years but her biggest box office hit came just two years ago with the summer release "The Devil Wears Prada" which took in $124.7 million. Amazingly, the only other two films Meryl has appeared in to have grossed more than $100 million are 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer" and 2004's "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Coming close was the classic 1985 film "Out of Africa" ($87 million) which woulf have outgrossed them all at today's ticket prices.
I'm most excited about the success of "Mamma" because it will encourage Hollywood to make more musicals.
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Greg Hernandez authored Out In Hollywood for the Daily News from June 2006 to February 2009. He can now be found at Greg In Hollywood: www.greginhollywood.com
i'm happy that meryl streep is finally doing movies crowds really want to see, first with "the devil wears prada" and now "mamma mia". i miss her though in the strong dramatic roles she first built her career on. she is my all time favorite actress.
i hope "mamma mia" reminds hollywood that indeed, there is a niche audience out there, made of older women who are interested in seeing a reflection of themselves, or their past, or their present, in a light and entertaining fashion rather than in drab, about-to-die tones.