Spy Succeeds at the Box Office While Entourage Falls Short

Even Ari Gold couldn't pull in a large crowd to the movies this past weekend—the highly-anticipated Entourage made only $10.4 million for its opening by Sunday. However, Melissa McCarthy and her entourage topped the box office with Spy pulling in $30 million.

All in all, it was a moderate weekend for movies anyway with Insidious: Chapter 3 earning $23 million for its debut weekend. However, fans came hurdling into the theater to continue to see San Andreas, the film earning $26.4 million in its second weekend (after opening with $54.5 million).

So why the low numbers for Entourage? It certainly wasn't a lack of press. Some seem to think that the movie faltered because the only people who made it to the theaters to support it were the show's original fans. That would explain the numbers. The show was on HBO, so only the channel's subscribers from 2004-2011 (plus the fans that might have seen it online or on DVD) could have gotten into the series. Also, some fans say that 4 years is a long time—the show ended so long ago that the buzz for it is gone. They've been there and done that, so they don't remember or care about the show anymore.

This makes us wonder if the show was even any good when it was on? Questionable. Its eighth season (eight seasons?!) has a 43% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although its first season wasn't rated by critics on the popular website, by season 3 it had a 83% approval rating. Not too shabby.

The fact that Entourage made it to eight seasons is a good sign...maybe. According to recent studies, these original series on channels such as HBO are more likely to get renewed than their FOX and CW counterparts because subscribers pay for the whole channel. Therefore, equal amounts of money can be given to each show even if one in particular fails to draw in a large crowd. This is why Power, a show produced by 50 Cent about a drug network-involved nightclub owner, recently got renewed for another season on Starz, despite not doing that well.

Perhaps people will feel a little pity for their HBO homeboys and give Entourage a little more business by next weekend.

-Matre' Grant