That's My Boy: Where Adam Sandler's Flop Went Wrong

Adam Sandler has long been the big joke in Hollywood. Critics continue to bash every single film he releases (even when he went serious recently with Funny People, the response was sour), but with a loyal audience that continues to swarm theaters with every Sandler release, Sony continues to finance Sandler and his filmmaking ventures (if they can be called that). However, this past weekend came something of a shocker in the US with the release of That's My Boy. While Sony was probably waiting to hear that Top 3 finish for the weekend, Sony was shocked to hear that the film finished in 5th place, making only $13 million. This marks That's My Boy as Sandler's worst opening weekend since Reign Over Me in 2007, another movie where he attempted to go serious. Now, while Sony will gloss over this fact and continue to finance Sandler, one can't help but wonder what went wrong. Girls? Check. Crude humor? Check. Sandler portraying some dude people are suppose to like but despise? Double-check. In the end, it was a combination of two deadly factors that shot down this film's chance for success.

1. The Rating

Lets take a look back at Jack and Jill (that one flick that stormed the Razzies and holds a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Despite the awful reviews it received and early fans hating on it, the film opened up at #2 in the box office with around $25 million. Keep in mind that the film was rated PG, and that That's My Boy was rated R. See the difference? While Sandler's films usually open up with the PG-13 rating which would secure his Top 3 spot in the weekend, what hurt his chances this time around was his film being slapped with the R rating. This drove away many of his fans in the teen demographic who could no longer see the film EXCEPT with adult supervision. And especially with the content in this film, it would be pretty awkward seeing this with your folks. This left any adult over 18 years of age that decided to, in their right mind, choose this film over Rock of Ages, The Avengers, Prometheus and any other film playing in theaters right now. This is where the second factor comes in that killed this Sandler flick. Click "next" below to read part 2...