While the world patiently waits for Vince Vaughn and one of the Wilson brothers to team up again (Luke or Owen, it doesn’t really matter to us either way), audiences in search of a full-fledged adult comedy will surely be flocking to the multiplexes next weekend to see The Hangover. Today’s Los Angeles Times features a piece on the modestly budgeted comedy from director Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip) that, if Warner Bros. can get the stars to align, could end up being a Wedding Crashers–size hit for the studio.
Warner Bros.’ first inkling that the film could become a breakout summer hit (versus a late August/Labor Day weekend dump) came earlier this year when the studio held a test screening of the film that was so incredibly well received that, according to Variety, the studio immediately green-lit a sequel. That said, Jeff Robinov, the president of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, denies that there are any deals in place to make The Hangover 2, but he does cop to an interest in possibly getting the gang back together to shoot a sequel in early 2010.
But now that the film has been successfully screened for audiences in around 80 test markets, director Todd Phillips knows the film’s success is ultimately out of his hands. “We’ve screened the film enough times to say with confidence that it plays really well. Whether that translates into a box-office success remains to be seen.†Translation? Don’t fuck up the marketing, Warner Bros., and everyone will walk away from this happy and rich.
’The Hangover’ isn’t any headache for Warner Bros. [LAT]