THE JOKE'S ON YOU, WILL!

How could this happen? A summer comedy with no big stars does more than twice the weekend business of a new Will Ferrell movie, in fewer theaters! That's precisely what happened this weekend as The Hangover, starring non-marquee draws Bradley Cooper and a fourth-billed Heather Graham, took in $43 million at the North American weekend box office and a No. 2 placing (behind second-week champ Up), while Will's Land Of The Lost had to settle for a measly $19.5 million at No. 3. (Neither film has been released in Argentina, and I wasn't even aware that either existed until about an hour ago when I checked the weekend chart on Box Office Mojo).

Everybody knows that rave reviews, which The Hangover actually received, doesn't really bring bodies into theaters on opening weekend. So was it the film's clever above-the-title marketing tag: "FROM THE DIRECTOR OF 'OLD SCHOOL'"? Considering that Will Ferrell was actually in that movie (Old School), probably not. Stay tuned for Bradley Cooper, who, after He's Just Not That Into You, is batting 2 for 2 in '09, to be deemed the next next big thing. Or not -- the stars of his two follow-up films are the quietly fading Renée Zellweger and Sandra Bullock.

As for his first headlining hit, maybe we'll never know how a little comedy that could actually did and steamrolled over Will in the process. But if anyone has anyone ideas, I'm all ears.