Will the Cox-Arquette Sex TMI Boost the 'Scream 4' Box Office?

David Arquette hasn't been able to keep his mouth shut about his marital woes since he and wife Courteney Cox separated last year. Now for the first time, we are seeing Courteney hop on the tour of TMI and don't think it has escaped our attention that the pair have a movie to promote.

Yes, coinciding ever so sweetly with Courteney's joint appearance with David on Howard Stern this week, where the actress revealed she hasn't had sex in forever and that her estranged husband gets an erection at inopportune moments, is today's release of "Scream 4".

Am I totally cynical for believing the pair's strategy for a box office boost is to air their dirty laundry in public? Celebrities have done more to get less.

"Well of course it's calculated," agrees Hollwood.com box office guru Paul Degarabedian. "The Arquettes very checkered (and very public) romantic past is perfect fodder for any movie marketing machine. Since both are in 'Scream 4' and the movie opens today, only the most na�ve observer would think that the timing is a coincidence. In the interest of boosting awareness (and hopefully box office) for the opening of a movie, pretty much anything goes and the Arquette-Coxs know this better than anyone."

Thank you Paul! It's good to know I'm not the only one seeing this charade for what it really is -- a stellar marketing campaign. It used to be that two co-stars would just have to hookup to give a movie a box office boost, now Courtney and David have pioneered the "breakup bump." We don't doubt that their marriage has been having some very real dramas, but we do know that celebs prefer to keep their personal lives personal unless there is an easy buck to be made. As longtime members of the 'Scream 4' franchise, both Cox and Arquette have some skin in the game to make bank if this movie does well.

But will the TMI actually boost the box office returns?

"None of this will matter for box office," says MovieLine's S.T. VanAirsdale. "The audience for 'Scream 4' was predetermined way before Cox and Arquette ever made their sordid publicity rounds. Fans of the franchise will attend, as will casual horror buffs here or there; everyone else will stay away or wait for the DVD. If this were a romantic comedy and the estranged stars were talking up their offscreen sexual dysfunction, then it might make a difference. But you just won't have that kind of mass-market crossover with what's ultimately a slasher film."

There you have it. The Cox-Arquette public displays of disaffection are all for naught. Still, I can't wait to see what they parade out for 'Scream 5.'

Coco Lee Lily Allen Christina Aguilera Katherine Heigl Jordana Brewster