TOTO: Myers' 'Love' comes cheap

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By Christian Toto

Mike Myers had little to laugh about over the weekend. The man who gave us the "Shrek" and "Austin Powers" franchises sought approval for his latest comic creation, a deluded self-help master, in "The Love Guru."

Instead, audiences gave the "Saturday Night Live" alum some tough love. "Guru" came in a disappointing fourth, earning $14 million in its head-to-head battle with Steve Carell's "Get Smart." That big-screen adaptation of the 1960s comedy hauled in $39.2 million for a first-place finish.

"Get Smart" did have one built-in edge over its comedy competitor. It got exposure on nearly 4,000 screens, while "The Love Guru" rolled out on a few more than 3,000.

Critics can't be blamed for the wretched debut of "The Love Guru" because many summer movies can withstand bad reviews. That didn't stop critics from doing all they could to warn audiences away from Mr. Myers' latest. (The film scored a 15 percent approval rating on the film review aggregating site www.rottentomatoes.com.)

It's clear Mr. Myers' new character didn't strike a chord with movie fans despite extensive marketing and the star's appearance in character as the Guru Pitka on this season's "American Idol" finale.

It wasn't as if Mr. Carell was a box-office lock going in. His last film, "Dan in Real Life," earned just $11 million in its first week en route to a $47 final tally, according to www.boxofficemojo.com. "Evan Almighty," his 2007 summer comedy, brought in $31 million its opening weekend, a relatively low figure given the movie's family-friendly content.

Mr. Myers' box-office track record, until this weekend, was staggeringly successful. The "Austin Powers" trilogy raked in more than $470 million combined, while his "Shrek" films have brought in north of $1 billion.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Media by Numbers, says the Myers-Carell box-office duel ultimately proved to be misleading.

"Even if they didn't go head to head, their grosses would have been pretty much in line with what they earned," Mr. Dergarabedian says.

"Get Smart" features a slick spy spoof with production values that rival those of any Bond adventure, Mr. Dergarabedian says. It didn't hurt to have Dwayne Johnson, recently front and center on Entertainment Weekly magazine, in the cast.

"The Love Guru" serves up a more esoteric tale, built around its star's interests: self-help wisdom and hockey.

"The passions of Mike Myers don't necessarily reflect the passions of the average moviegoer," Mr. Dergarabedian says.

Brandon Gray, movie analyst and founder of www.boxofficemojo.com, says "The Love Guru" was destined to fail because it sent mixed messages to the public.

"It's a sex comedy, but the trailer made it seem like a pale imitation of 'Austin Powers,'" Mr. Gray says.

Marketing for "Get Smart" told audiences to expect an action-packed spy comedy, but audiences weren't sure what they would see with Mr. Myers' latest.

"The Love Guru" "looked like a farce in the worst sense," he says.

As for last week's battle royal, box office for "The Hulk" dropped by roughly 60 percent in its second week, which Mr. Dergarabedian says is about average for a summer movie. "The Happening" tumbled 67 percent.

"Word of mouth is reflected directly in the second-weekend grosses," he says.