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As is the case with so many things in life, great timing is critical for good luck and fortune. And for that, lead actor Mark Wahlberg may be thanking his lucky stars that the R-rated comedy Rock Star will be debuting after (on September 14th), and not before, the sure-fire summer blockbuster, Planet of the Apes.

Does a loosely-based, true story of a heavy-metal band lead singer with a shot at the big time have any real appeal? Does the promise of cameos by genuine and recognizable heavy-metal musicians help the box-office prospects for Rock Star? Will Wahlberg's starring role in Planet of the Apes provide any residual draw? Will co-star Jennifer Aniston's (of TV's Friends) reported girl-girl kissing scene deliver devotees of prurient interests?

Only time, and heavy MTV marketing, will tell. (Cal Hubbard/BOP)


Box Office Autopsy
For Mark Wahlberg haters out there, Rock Star was a huge success.

On the other hand, for Warner Bros., Rock Star was a disaster. The film opened in the first week of September to a very soft $6 million, and at that point WB knew how much of their $38 million dollar investment would be returned. Critics didn’t think it rocked; of the 121 reviews gathered at RottenTomatoes, only 60 were positive, resulting in a rotten rating of 50%. That, combined with confusing marketing from the studio, led this project to disaster.

9/11 didn’t help. Rock Star had a second weekend drop of 44%, held steady (-13%) over the next weekend due to a promotional tie-in with WB’s Hearts In Atlantis. It was the next weekend that killed Rock Star. The film dropped an unseen 78% in its fourth weekend, and was never heard from again. The film ended up grossing just short of $17 million overall, causing a production budget shortfall of $21 million. (John Hamann)

Vital statistics for Rock Star Main Cast Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston Supporting Cast Jason Flemyng, Timothy Olyphant, Timothy Spall Director Stephen Herek Screenwriter John Stockwell Distributor Warner Bros. Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://rockstarmovie.warnerbros.com/ Rating R Running Time 105 minutes Screen Count 2,525 Also see Trailer review by Calvin Trager Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Rock Star
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Planet of the Apes	7/27/01	68.53	73.14	3500	19581.00	20100.8	180.01	192.12	2.63
Perfect Storm, The	6/30/00	41.33	46.23	3407	12131.00	13053.8	182.60	204.27	4.42
Three Kings	10/1/99	15.85	18.88	2942	5387.00	6150.5	60.65	72.27	3.83
Almost Famous	9/22/00	6.93	7.75	1193	5809.00	6250.9	32.47	36.32	4.22
Boogie Nights	10/31/97	4.68	6.14	907	5160.00	6520.3	26.39	34.66	4.77
Detroit Rock City	8/13/99	2.01	2.39	1802	1115.00	1273.0	4.19	4.99	2.08