Compared to romantically affluent East Asian couples and prehistoric sharks, The Happytime Murders fell short in its opening weekend at the domestic box office.
The raunch comedy blending R-rated police procedural with puppets barely earned $10 million this past weekend. This places the new film in third place at the domestic box office behind Crazy Rich Asians, which earned over $25 million in its second weekend, and The Meg, which earned over $13 million in its third.
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With a reported production budget of $40 million, the film was intended to be The Jim Henson Company’s first major foray into more mature material directed by Brian Henson, son of the eponymous puppet production company’s founder.
The film similarly failed to win over critics, currently boasting a meager 23% approval rating on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Underwhelming both audiences and critics alike, while its potential to recoup its production budget and marketing costs are in doubt, it seems The Jim Henson Company may be better suited to return to family-friendly fare for the foreseeable future.
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In theaters now, director Brian Henson’s The Happytime Murders stars Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, and Elizabeth Banks.
(via Box Office Mojo)