News > Halo 3 Pwnt The Heartbreak Kid

Written by John Lichman

Worst attempt at damage control or THE worst attempt EVER at damage control?

It only made $14 million, but had an expected $20-25 million haul. It was a part of what could be seen as the worst weekend ticket sales ($80 million) on Oct. 5, which AdAge states is 27 percent lower than the same weekend the previous year. 

But what caused it?

Halo 3.

A spokesman for Paramount, which owns Dreamworks, the studio that released the Ben Stiller movie, declined to discuss whether "Halo" had caused the "Kid" boondoggle. But privately, insiders at the studio suspect the blame might lie in part with "Halo 3," and are working to determine if there was a correlation.

That's because, in a twist of fate, Mr. Stiller is producing an adaptation of the bestselling book "The Ruins," which Paramount will open the first weekend of April 2008 – right in the middle of "Grand Theft Auto 4's" expected release.

Mr. Hickey said that doesn't bode well: "This past weekend will replicate itself next year."

Or worse. He said one could roughly complete "Halo 3" in roughly 20 hours played straight through, but by comparison "Grand Theft Auto 4" is estimated to take more than 100 hours to play. That means it could keep players occupied and out of the theaters even longer. 

Oh noes! Ben Stiller's gonna get pwnt again! 

(via HuffPo)