Hollywood blames Halo 3 for bad results

Using this parallel comparison, many film executives are pointing their fingers at the latest videogame blockbuster as the reason for one of the weakest recent Hollywood box office weekend performances of the current millennium.

The movie industry expected The Heartbreak Kid, the film that reunites the Farrelly brother director duo with Ben Stiller, to make up to $25 million over the opening weekend. The Heartbreak Kid fell short by raking in only $14 million across North America.

While some of those who would have been interested in seeing The Heartbreak Kid chose to stay at home to play Halo 3, another reason for the movie’s disappointing opening may be due to the less than warm reception by critics. Less than one-third of movie critics gave The Heartbreak Kid an overall positive impression, according to statistics gathered by Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, the movie’s “R” rating may have also forced younger viewers to stay at home to play their “M” rated videogame.