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Bad Company stars Chris Rock and Sir Anthony Hopkins, and is directed by Joel Schumacher. Rock plays a bookie who is recruited by the CIA to step in on a project for his deceased twin brother, who was a Harvard-educated agent. Hopkins plays the crusty CIA operative who must teach Rock how to act like an agent.

The release date for this movie has been set for December 21, 2001, giving it the benefit of the holidays for its box office growth. Of course, the opening weekend may not be as profitable, given the bustle of the weekend before Christmas. In 2000, Miss Congeniality, Family Man and Cast Away all opened the weekend prior to Christmas, earning $13.85 million, $15.1 million and $39.85 million, respectively, on their opening weekend bow. How marketable the film will be is another question. The plot sounds somewhat promising, if not a little stale. Trading Places immediately comes to mind, and an even more analogous film could be Bowfinger ($19.24 million adjusted opening weekend take over an August 1999 weekend). In that comedy, Eddie Murphy plays a nebbish who acts like his action-star brother to help director Steve Martin get his big directorial break.

Chris Rock's last major film, Down to Earth, opened to $20.03 million over the President's Day weekend this past February. Perhaps the best Rock film to which Bad Company may be compared, however, is Lethal Weapon 4, the same type of action/comedy film this one promises to be. Lethal Weapon 4 took in an adjusted $39.43 million its opening weekend, but of course it was a follow-up in a very successful franchise and Rock was not THE star.

Which leads us to Sir Anthony Hopkins, starring in a comedy after years and years of dramas, with an occasional detour to eat some Fava beans. Hopkins' last comedic role was in 1991's Spotswood (AKA The Efficiency Expert). His track record in this type of role cannot be measured, given the dearth of data.

The same can be said for director Joel Schumacher. His last films, Flawless ($2.14 million adjusted opening) and Tigerland ($26,715 on five screens), were small pictures that did not have the marketing push the normal Jerry Bruckheimer-produced films do. His last comedy films (not counting Batman and Robin, which was funny for all the wrong reasons) were 1989's Cousins and 1983's DC Cab, starring Mr. T. Perhaps the best way to view this film is to look at another Bruckheimer production where two people who are very different are forced to work together under adverse conditions to save the day: The Rock. The Rock took in an adjusted $30.59 million in its opening weekend. Given the talent involved, and the production company pushing the film, this is more in the ballpark one would estimate this film to recoup. Keep an eye on the marketing, because if properly promoted, this film should enjoy a healthy run at the box office. (Calvin Trager/BOP)

September 20, 2001
According to Variety, Touchstone Pictures has decided to push Bad Company's release back due to content-related issues in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks on the US. No new date has been announced at this time. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

November 16, 2001
Bad Company has been given a choice June release date. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

June 7, 2002
Bad Company is being greeted by some of the worst movie reviews in recent memory as it enters theaters today. While negative reviews are in no way an impediment to opening weekend performance (we call this the Planet of the Apes Law), the stunning volume of negative votes is indicative of a movie that will likely have no legs whatsoever. Expect negative word of mouth to spread like an uncontrollable forest fire. This means we can expect Bad Company to be in and out of many theaters as soon as the two week exhibitor contracts have expired. (David Mumpower/BOP

Vital statistics for Bad Company Main Cast Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock Supporting Cast Gabriel Macht, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Adoni Maropis, John Slattery Director Joel Schumacher Screenwriter Jason Richman, Michael Browning Distributor Buena Vista Pictures Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://badcompany.movies.com/ Rating PG-13 Running Time 116 minutes Screen Count 2,944 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Bad Company
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Hannibal	2/9/01	58.00	61.90	3230	17958.00	18434.8	164.97	176.07	2.84
Batman and Robin	6/20/97	42.87	56.31	2934	14611.00	18462.7	107.33	140.99	2.50
Lethal Weapon 4	7/10/98	34.05	43.77	3117	10924.00	13509.4	130.44	167.70	3.83
Bowfinger	8/13/99	18.06	21.52	2706	6674.00	7619.9	66.37	79.09	3.67
Down to Earth	2/16/01	17.30	18.46	2521	6862.00	7044.2	64.17	68.48	3.20
Nurse Betty	9/8/00	7.15	7.99	1459	4901.00	5273.8	25.15	28.13	3.52
Flawless	11/24/99	1.77	2.10	478	3703.00	4227.8	4.45	5.30	2.21