Comedy is big box office business for the summer, and 2013 is no exception. The Wolf Pack kicks it off as they return for another installment in The Hangover part III, which premiered in the latter half of May. This time the action centers on the gang’s misadventures with criminals while trying to get Alan to a treatment facility. Since its premier Memorial Day weekend, the film has grossed $103 million and is firmly in the top 10.
Some smaller comedies (Tyler Perry Presents: Peeples, and The Kings of Summer, for example) aside, comedy doesn’t really hit a funny streak until the weekend of June the 7th, which saw the release of both The Internship and Much Ado About Nothing. Much Ado About Nothing, a secret project written, produced and directed by Joss Whedon, is based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Filmed in just 12 days while the director was working on The Avengers, the black and white film is drawing praise from critics in its super small release; The New York Times called it “sly and robust.” The Internship, the long awaited reteaming of the Wedding Crashers funnymen duo of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, proved to be an unworthy successor as movie-goers seemed to reject the overt product placement and PG-13 rating. Being one of the highest grossing comedies of all times, the film has some nods that Wedding Cr
ashers fans will dig, but poor reviews and a weak opening weekend spell almost certain doom.
Doom is a common theme for box office comedies this summer, as there are no less than three separate films dealing with the end of the world with laughter. It kicks off June 7 with Rapture-Palooza, which deals with friends Ben and Lindsay reestablishing their sandwich cart business in the post-Rapture wasteland, and their battles with the Anti-Christ. Its teeny limited release is sure to be crushed the following weekend with the release of the considerably higher profile This Is The End, the ensemble comedy directing debut of Seth Rogen and longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg. The film, starring Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride as themselves, shows the cast struggling in the face of the Apocalypse. Yet a third film from a group of common collaborators to deal with the end is The World’s End, the long awaited final chapter of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (or the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, so named for each installment containing violence and a different ice cream flavor). The film, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, premieres July 19.