Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis and the publicity machine behind Sony's 'Friends With Benefits' desperately want you to believe the co-stars might be a couple with their none-too-subtle and staged game of grope-a-dope at the MTV Awards.That doesn't make me optimistic for this flick.
Hollywood marketing machines believe they can generate buzz by having co stars pretend to couple up prior to a film's release. It generates buzz (case in point, we are talking about Mila and Justin and the movie 6 weeks before its July 22 release) and often translates into big bucks at the box office. It also often signals a last ditch attempt at free marketing for a film that isn't very good.
When a a faux couple is trotted out to gin up press it typically means a bad movie is on the horizon.
Let's take a look at the record.
1. Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler in 'The Bounty Hunter' -- Aniston and Butler's absolutely unbelievable fauxmance leading up to the release of this rom-com snooze-fest proved to be a boon at the box office, making the film #3 on it's opening weekend and grossing $136 million at the worldwide box office. But critics agreed it was a helluva stinker.
3. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in 'The Last Song' -- Tweens love nothing more than a fauxmance which allowed Miley's big girl debut to gross $89 million worldwide on a budget of just under $20 million.
4. Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart in 'Love Happens' -- Admittedly Aniston didn't trot this fauxmance out as aggressive as she did those with Butler and Vaughn for this tear-jerking and again critically panned romance, which could be why it only grossed $36 million at the worldwide box office.
5. Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey in 'Sahara' -- Rumors of the Cruz McConaughey coupling actually brought "Sahara" to number one at the box office for its opening weekend despite bad reviews including "a mediocrity wrapped inside a banality, toasted in a nice, fresh cliche."
6. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling in 'Murder by Numbers' -- Who doesn't love a May-December romance, particularly one involving America's sweetheart Sandy Bullock? Audience apparently. This flick barely made a profit at the worldwide box office with a gross of $56 million and made only $31 million domestically.
Buyer beware, the fauxmance bump is not always a sure thing.
Source: http://www.popeater.com/2011/06/08/fake-romances-box-office-friends-with-benefits/
Genelle Frenoy Leonor Varela Claudette Ortiz Fergie Gina Carano
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