‘Valentine’s Day’ Kills It at US Box Office

Julia Roberts is just one of the many stars who have agreed to contribute with a small part to the star-studded romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” and she reportedly got paid $3 million for her 6-minute appearance. With a domestic box office gross of $52.4 million over the holiday weekend, as the BBC informs, it would seem paying Roberts so much money was a good idea in the long run.

The film stars everyone who is anyone, from the aforementioned Roberts to Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift and Jamie Foxx, to name just a few. It’s directed by Garry Marshall, who also came out with the smashing hits “Pretty Woman” and “Runaway Bride,” both starring Roberts as well (and Richard Gere), and aims to show how different people react to Valentine’s Day, this now-international lovefest.

Early this weekend, estimates were saying the film would probably go beyond the $50 million threshold at the box office – and that it did. “The star-laden Valentine’s Day has topped the US box office, as the film cashed in on the romantic holiday. Starring Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway and Jamie Foxx, among many others, the movie took $52.4m (£33.4m) in its opening three days. Children’s fantasy Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opened in second place, ahead of The Wolfman,” the BBC writes of the films that came on top over the weekend.

“Blockbuster Avatar slipped to four, while last week’s number one, the romantic drama Dear John, fell to number five. ‘To have a movie titled Valentine’s Day on Valentine’s weekend was a no-brainer that absolutely worked,’ said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. The US also marks the Presidents Day national holiday on Monday, with final figures for the four-day holiday due out later,” the same media outlet further informs.

We were also telling you the other day that, as an odd fact, reports were saying that Julia Roberts got $3 million for a 6-minute part, which amounted to an extended cameo. This also meant the star got about $500,000 a minute, or $8,333 per second or a minimum of $11,952 for each word she uttered in front of the camera. Not too shabby for 3 days of work, which is how much time she spent on the set of “Valentine’s Day,” but overall a wise investment on the part of New Line Cinema.