JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER
Genre(s): Comedy
Directed By: John Schultz
Written By: Kathy Waugh, Megan McDonald
Domestic Distributor: Smokewood Entertainment (through Relativity)
Cast: Heather Graham, Jordana Beatty, Parris Mosteller
Financed by: Smokewood Entertainment
Domestic Gross: $15,013,650 Overseas Gross: $2,016,232
Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness' Smokewood Entertainment, were coming off the success of their previous project Precious in 2009 and followed that up with this miserable kids pic. The budget for Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer was $20 million and Smokewood fully financed this picture, which was based on a series of books that did poorly enough at the box office to not become a series of films. The Magness couple also financed the P&A spend through Relativity's distribution apparatus and the mini-major had no investment in Judy Moody. After Smokewood lost most of their investment into Judy Moody, they financed only one other production, a low budget indie called Crazy Kind of Love (2013), which was not theatrically released.
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer was dated for June 10, 2011 and the movie targeting very young girls bowed against Super 8. Reviews were awful and it tanked with $6,076,859 — placing #7 for the weekend led by Super 8. After the poor opening weekend, Relativity sold the TV rights to the Disney Channel, which was where this cheap property should have premiered. Judy Moody sank a huge 65.4% the following weekend to $2,103,465 and then promptly lost most of its theater count. The domestic run closed with only $15,013,650. Smokewood would see returned about $7.5M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — plus a distribution fee to Relativity.
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer was barely released outside of the US, pulling in just $2 million, which left Smokewood with most of their investment lost. Universal opened the film in 100 theaters in the UK to a terrible $53,621 with a $536 per screen average and closed with a dismal $222,209. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer premiered on television in Germany and Sweden.
Aaron G says:
I very faintly remember watching this on Sky Movies a few years after its release. Seemed to be the most cliched, Nickelodeon-like children's film imaginable. It was abysmal and barely made me laugh. I don't have much higher hopes for the book series, which I thankfully have not read (even though its "uber-awesome", according to the publisher).
What a disastrous movie. Should have followed the Fred the Movie method and just premiere on some cable children's TV channel.