Boxoffice - October 2016

ELECTION-THEMED MOVIES
THREE ELECTION FILMS THAT EARNED $50–$99 MILLION, ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION
MAN OF THE YEAR
Robin Williams starred as the host of a late-night political satire show who runs for president, but the film
suffered from poor word of mouth, ranking only 21 percent on Rotten Tomatoes today. It earned only $37.3
million after its October 2006 release, and although it was intended to be timed shortly before the midterm
elections, it was also the furthest point from both the preceding and subsequent presidential elections. Williams
was a decade past his peak as a box office draw. The lead character was modeled on figures such as Jon Stewart,
Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher—the former two in particular being arguably at the height of their popularity
around 2006, shortly after Entertainment Weekly named Stewart and his cast (including Colbert) as their Entertainer
of the Year in 2004. But it’s important to remember that such shows, beloved as they were by the media
and other opinion leaders, were actually consistently near the bottom among late night shows by viewership. The
film also took a bizarre and disjointed turn into a half-thriller, half-romance in its second half, which put many
people off.
THE CAMPAIGN
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis played two men vying for a North Carolina congressional seat in this August
2012 comedy. The film was likely hurt by its poor reviews as well as its story line, which revolved around the
U.S. House of Representatives. The other films analyzed here all deal with a presidential election, but according
to a 2013 Washington Post article, only 35 percent of people can name their own member of Congress. Ferrell
and Galifianakis, both Obama supporters, deliberately projected a more nonpartisan image during the run-up
to and marketing for the film—Ferrell appeared in an Obama campaign ad only after the movie’s theatrical run
had ended, while Galifiankis’s legendary Between Two Ferns interview with Obama wasn’t until 2014—though
it’s difficult to ascertain whether that resulted in a more bipartisan audience. The film’s $86.9 million total was
decent but lower than that of some the stars’ comedies from the previous few years, including The Other Guys and
Step Brothers for Ferrell and The Hangover Part II and Due Date for Galifianakis.
(continued on page 40)
38 BoxOffice ® OCTOBER 2016