‘Bridesmaids’ Tops ‘Knocked Up’ and ‘Talladega’ as Apatow’s Biggest Hit

Friday, July 1, 2011
By Rick Duran
The Girls of Summer: Bridemaids

The Girls of Summer: Bridemaids

Just like Midnight in Paris is about to be Woody Allen’s biggest box office hit, Judd Apatow has reached his own personal milestone. In its 7th week of release, Bridesmaids has topped Knocked Up’s $148.7 million and Talladega Nights‘ $148.2 million to become the biggest hit from producer Judd Apatow. Almost two months after its debut, the film dubbed “The Female Hangover” has shown steady box office longevity not seen for a comedy since… well, The Hangover.

Apatow and director Paul Feig are already quiet drafting an off-color romantic comedy for Bridesmaids‘ scenestealers Melissa McCarthy and Jon Hamm. The next film plans for Bridesmaids headliner Kristen Wiig have yet to be announced, though she is expected to return for her seventh season on Saturday Night Live this September.

Apatow Productions’ next release will be October’s Wanderlust with Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston and her rumored lover Justin Theroux. Production is currently underway on the Apatow-produced Five Year Engagement with Jason Segel, while Judd begins filming the Knocked Up spin-off possibly titled This is Forty with Rudd and Leslie Mann.

A look at the Top 10 highest grossing films from Apatow Productions:

1. Bridesmaids
bridesmaids-poster		 Director: Paul Feig,
(Universal Pictures, 2011)		 $149,374,365*
*Still in active release
2. Knocked Up
knockedup-poster		 Director: Judd Apatow
(Universal Pictures, 2007)		 $148,768,917
3. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
talladeganights-poster		 Director: Adam McKay
(Sony Pictures, 2006)		 $148,213,377
4. Superbad
 superbad-poster		 Director: Greg Mottola (Sony Pictures, 2007) $121,463,226
5. The 40 Year-Old Virgin
40yearoldvirgin-poster
Director: Judd Apatow (Universal Pictures, 2005)		 $109,449,237
6. Step Brothers
 stepbrothers-poster		 Director: Adam McKay
(Sony Pictures, 2008)		 $100,468,793
7. Pineapple Express
pineappleexpress-poster		 Director: David Gordon Green
(Sony Pictures, 2008)		 $87,341,380
8. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
anchorman-poster		 Director: Adam McKay
(DreamWorks, 2004)		 $85,288,303
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
 forgettingsarahmarshall-poster		 Director: Nicholas Stoller
(Universal Pictures, 2008)		 $63,172,463
10. Get Him to the Greek
get-him-greek-poster		 Director: Nicholas Stoller
(Universal Pictures, 2010)		 $60,974,475

This entry was posted on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Bridesmaids, Judd Apatow, Kristen Wiig. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

8 Responses to “‘Bridesmaids’ Tops ‘Knocked Up’ and ‘Talladega’ as Apatow’s Biggest Hit”

  1. Kevin Crossman
    July 1, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    Thanks for posting this Rick. I know you were working on this several days in advance.

    Congrats to Apatow, Wiig, Feig, et. al.

    #11650
  2. Rick Duran
    July 1, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    Yeah, I thought it would cross that mark by Tuesday or Wednesday. Kinda jumped the gun a little early

    #11651
  3. James Denton
    July 2, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    I didn’t think the movie was that funny, it was good just not that funny. The other Apatow movies are funnier and better in my opinion. Oh and it’s nothing like the Hangover, it just makes a mockery of it.

    #11672
  4. Adam
    July 4, 2011 at 2:39 am

    It’s been out fornearly 2 months & is still in the Top 10 at the Box Office. That is amazing!! I think that it is a very funny movie: 10/10.

    #11692
  5. Chris
    July 5, 2011 at 7:42 am

    I loved Bridesmaids, but I agree with James that there are way funnier Apatow films.

    #11712
  6. Paul
    July 5, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Ranking those in funniness

    1. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
    2. Superbad
    3. 40-Year Old Virgin
    4. Get Him to the Greek
    5. Pineapple Express
    6. Knocked Up
    7. Anchorman
    8. Step Brothers
    9. Talladega Nights
    10. Bridesmaids (haven’t seen)

    I’d probably throw Year One at the end of that list at 10.

    #11724
  7. Chris
    July 5, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    I personally find Knocked Up, Superbad, and 40 Year-Old Virgin to be Apatow’s best films, but in the funniest order…

    1. Anchorman
    2. Step Brothers
    3. 40 Year Old Virgin
    4. Superbad
    5. Bridesmaids
    6. Pineapple Express
    7. Knocked Up
    8. Forgetting Sarah Marshal
    9. Get Him to the Greek
    10. Funny People
    12. Talladega Nights
    13. Walk Hard
    14. Kicking & Screaming
    15. Year One
    16. Drillbit Taylor

    Looking forward to 5-Year Engagement, This is Forty, and Wanderlust

    #11727
  8. Kevin Crossman
    July 6, 2011 at 6:53 am

    Anchorman
    Forgetting Sarah Marshal
    Knocked Up
    Walk Hard
    Step Brothers
    40 Year Old Virgin
    Superbad
    Get Him to the Greek
    Pineapple Express
    Funny People
    Talladega Nights
    Kicking & Screaming
    Year One
    Bridesmaids
    Drillbit Taylor

    My list above. I have a real fondness for Kicking and Year One, though I know that they’re not great films. PERHAPS Bridesmaids would move up on repeat viewing. Paul and Chris, shame on you for not ranking Walk Hard higher. :-)

    #11739

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