He's a world-famous funnyman who commands $20 million a movie. So what does Eddie Murphy get you at the multiplex? In the case of his new PG-rated comedy "Imagine That," some prepubescent girls -- and not too much else.
The year has been brutal for any number of prominent movie stars, as new works from Russell Crowe ("State of Play"), Julia Roberts ("Duplicity"), Will Ferrell ("Land of the Lost") and Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx ("The Soloist") struggled to sell tickets. The prognosis looks equally tough for Murphy's latest effort, a father-daughter fantasy story that may labor to gross $10 million when it opens in theaters this weekend.
Just two years ago, Murphy's fat-suit comedy "Norbit" opened to sturdy sales, with a $34.2-million premiere and a total domestic gross of $95.7 million. But last summer's alien spaceship story "Meet Dave" was an unadulterated disaster -- "complete concept rejection," as some in the business dubbed it -- with opening sales of $5.3 million and an overall gross of $11.8 million.
The discrepancy highlights the sharp divide in the 48-year-old actor's filmography: His broadest, highest-concept comedies ("Norbit," "Daddy Day Care," "Doctor Dolittle," "Nutty Professor") generate steady returns while his comparatively less homogenized titles ("I Spy," "Showtime," "The Adventures of Pluto Nash") don't.
"Imagine That," which was formerly titled "Nowhereland," focuses on a work-obsessed money manager (Murphy) who gains remarkable insights into the stock market from his 7-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi), who takes her cues from some imaginary friends.
Audience tracking surveys show that Paramount is likely to do even worse with "Imagine That" than Universal did a week ago with its flop "Land of the Lost," which grossed $18.8 million. The four major audience research services -- IAG, OTX, NRG and MarketCast -- predicted that Murphy's movie would gross between $6 million (OTX's number) and $12 million (NRG's estimate).
While the film's early reviews have been mixed, "Imagine That's" real problem lies in its apparent narrow appeal among moviegoers -- and the continuing popularity of several recent releases. The film's long-term prospects hinge on young girls, the one segment of the audience that is showing the most (although it is still scant) interest in Murphy's movie.
