Anger Management
Release Date:
April 11, 2003
Ever since his early days as Stud Boy on MTV's Remote Control, Adam Sandler has been making people laugh. Sure, it's not a brand of humor that works for everyone, but it has been enough to make him a box-office draw worthy of a $20 million-per-film paycheck. Despite the misstep of 2000's Little Nicky, he remains one of the more in-demand name actors in Hollywood, with four different films currently scheduled for theatrical release over the course of a year. He'll follow up Mr. Deeds, Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love and the animated 8 Crazy Nights with what looks to be a tent-pole release for Revolution Studios and Columbia/Sony: Anger Management.
Sandler's character is named Dave Buznik, a timid, mild-mannered businessman who is wrongly sentenced to an anger management program. There, he meets an ultra-aggressive instructor who certainly does not practice what he preaches, and may be the one guy who can make Dave actually lose control.
In what has to be considered a casting coup, the part of anger management instructor Buddy Rydell will be played by none other than three-time Academy Award® winner Jack Nicholson. He was truly the dream choice for Sandler and Revolution's Joe Roth, who waited well over a month for the veteran actor to read and consider the script before he finally agreed to a deal. The comedy should offer the two men plenty of opportunities to play off their apparent conflicting personalities, a prospect that on paper looks extremely intriguing and promising.
Two lovely ladies of cinema will also be featured in the film. Recent Oscar® nominee Marisa Tomei will play Sandler's love interest, while Heather Graham appears as a woman named Kendra who Buznik encounters when he is out with his psycho instructor. O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s John Turturro, who also has a part in Sandler's Mr. Deeds, has a supporting role.
Veteran comedy director Peter Segal (Nutty Professor II, Tommy Boy) had a $56 million budget to play with, thanks to both Sandler and Nicholson agreeing to salaries lower than their normal asking price. Filming began in April of 2002 from a script by David Dorfman, and took place in Los Angeles, Boston and New York City.
Anger Management has all the ingredients of a comedy hit, and thanks to the presence of Nicholson, has an additional element most Sandler films cannot boast: multi-generational demographics. Here's hoping the chemistry between the two makes for a hilarious combination. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for Anger Management |
| Main Cast |
Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei |
| Supporting Cast |
Luis Guzman, Jonathan Loughran, Kurt Fuller, Krista Allen, January Jones, John Turturro, Lynne Thigpen, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Nealon, Heather Graham |
| Director |
Peter Segal |
| Screenwriter |
David Dorfman |
| Distributor |
Sony/Revolution Studios |
| Trailer |
Click Here for Trailer
|
| Official Site |
http://www.sonypictures.com/angermanagement |
| Rating |
PG-13 |
| Running Time |
106 minutes |
| Screen Count |
3,551 |
|
Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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Comparison films for Anger Management |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
| Big Daddy |
6/25/99 | 41.54 |
49.50 |
3027 |
13723.00 |
15668.0 |
163.48 |
194.81 |
3.94 |
| Waterboy, The |
11/6/98 | 39.41 |
50.66 |
2664 |
14794.00 |
18295.4 |
161.49 |
207.62 |
4.10 |
| Mr. Deeds |
6/28/02 | 37.16 |
38.63 |
3231 |
11501.00 |
11501.0 |
126.20 |
131.21 |
3.40 |
| Rush Hour |
9/18/98 | 33.00 |
42.42 |
2638 |
12509.00 |
15469.6 |
141.17 |
181.50 |
4.28 |
| Meet the Parents |
10/6/00 | 28.62 |
32.01 |
2614 |
10949.00 |
11781.9 |
166.23 |
185.96 |
5.81 |
| Wedding Singer, The |
2/13/98 | 19.10 |
24.55 |
2821 |
6771.00 |
8373.5 |
80.25 |
103.17 |
3.66 |
| Analyze This |
3/5/99 | 18.38 |
21.90 |
2518 |
7299.00 |
8333.5 |
106.69 |
127.14 |
5.80 |
| Little Nicky |
11/10/00 | 16.06 |
17.96 |
2910 |
5519.00 |
5938.8 |
39.44 |
44.12 |
2.46 |
| Happy Gilmore * |
2/16/96 | 8.51 |
11.61 |
2022 |
4209.00 |
5523.1 |
38.62 |
52.68 |
4.54 |
| Billy Madison |
2/10/95 | 6.64 |
9.20 |
1834 |
3621.00 |
4828.0 |
25.46 |
35.29 |
3.83 |
| Bulletproof |
9/6/96 | 6.01 |
8.19 |
2240 |
2683.00 |
3520.7 |
21.20 |
28.92 |
3.53 |
| Punch-Drunk Love |
11/1/02 | 4.00 |
4.15 |
1252 |
3197.00 |
3197.0 |
17.79 |
18.49 |
2.73 |
|
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