Dec 28 2008
Jennifer Anniston Trumps Brad Pitt At The Box Office
Former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston made a triumphant return to the big screen in the cute puppy flick “Marley and Me”, taking the holiday weekend honors of number one movie according to ticket sales.
“Marley and Me”, which also stars Owen Wilson, took in $37 million between Friday and Sunday, and a total of $51.7 million since opening on Christmas Day. It beat out such highly anticipated releases by industry heavyweights as “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” starring Brad Pitt, which finished third with $27 million, and the Tom Cruise World War Two drama, “Valkyrie”, which earned $21.5 million. “Bedtime Stories”, starring Adam Sandler finished second with $28.1 million.
“Marley and Me” is the first film project for Anniston since the 2006 release of “The Break Up”, and the ex-Mrs. Brad Pitt made the most of her new found exposure by exposing herself almost everywhere to publicize the film. The highlight of her publicity run was her controversial pose on the cover of GQ magazine in nothing but a necktie.
Despite the controversy, Anniston has proven that she can run with the big dogs. And I’d be willing to bet that she helped sell a few magazines in the process.
