In case you haven't heard, Amy Schumer is having an amazing week. Actually, that's probably an understatement. From the multiple well-deserved Emmy nominations for I nside Amy Schumer (including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series) to the premiere of her movie Trainwreck, she must be on cloud nine right now. Continuing this trend, the numbers are in, and Trainwreck smashed box office expectations during its opening weekend. Honestly, though, how could anyone expect anything less from Amy Schumer? If you've seen even just a snippet of her comedy, you'd know the lady is on a whole other level of funny.
Experts predicted the film would rake in the mid-to-high teens, some guesstimating a little higher in the $18-20 million range. But guess what? The movie nearly doubled that amount — earning a solid $30.2 million, according to Forbes. That makes Trainwreck the second highest debut of a Judd Apatow-directed movie ever (only behind Knocked Up, which earned $30.69 million). Impressive? Absolutely! But surprising? Not so much.
Having seen the movie myself — in a theater so packed that my friend and I had no choice but to sit in the second-to-front row — I know firsthand why the movie succeeded. Filled with celebrity cameos galore (sup, Daniel Radcliffe?), it had endless jokes, plenty of wit, and just the right amount of raunch. Plus, Schumer and Bill Hader make a perfect pair. I can't even complain about having to crane my neck back to see the screen because the movie was downright hilarious. It even had sweet moments too. I actually cried twice, no shame!
So why were its box office predictions so low? For some reason incomprehensible to me, there aren't as high of hopes for female-centric comedies. Remember how shocked everybody was when Bridesmaids was a huge hit? I'm sure the same exact thing will happen with the inevitably awesome Ghostbusters all-female reboot — which has already received its share of unfounded criticism. Entertainment Weekly columnist Mark Harris's tweet summed up Trainwreck's box office success — and this ongoing conundrum — perfectly:
I'm about to say something that may come as a surprise to some people, but brace yourselves: it turns out that women can be funny. No, wait... Women are funny. Schumer's Trainwreck character exemplifies this idea. She isn't afraid to make jokes that typically spew out of the mouths of men. She's the total opposite of the usual female role in rom-coms (perfectly poised, waiting for a man to fall for her). Her take-charge, IDGAF attitude makes her a strong female lead, proving that women can carry a movie just as well as their male counterparts — if not better.
It's a shame that people don't have high expectations about female-driven comedies, but it's amazing to see those skeptics be proven wrong, just as Schumer did with her killer opening of Trainwreck. If you haven't seen the movie yet, seriously, what are you waiting for? Get yourself to the theater ASAP!
In case you don't believe me, here are a few celebrities who totally agree:
OK, LeBron James stars in the movie, so he may be a little biased... But you get the idea! See Trainwreck — you'll be happy you did.
Images: Getty Images; Giphy (3)
