Pitt and Jolie’s killer chemistry adds up to $51m opening
Other new big releases, The Honeymooners, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and High Tension, opened weakly, contributing to Hollywood’s 16th-straight weekend of declining revenues compared to last year.
Mr and Mrs Smith debuted amid a tabloid frenzy about whether Pitt and Jolie are an item. Pitt and his wife, Jennifer Aniston, separated in January after more than four years of marriage. Aniston filed for divorce in March. In the movie, Pitt and Jolie play a husband and wife who discover they are rival assassins. In real life, they have declined to confirm or deny if they are involved. “I think it was a mixture of movie and hype,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “The combined interest in the movie itself and the personal lives of these two stars conspired to create a pretty strong opening weekend.”
