Why Didn't You See 'A Million Ways to Die' This Weekend?

Kevin Polowy
·Senior Correspondent, Yahoo Entertainment

Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West brought in only $17.1 million in the U.S. in its opening weekend. That’s roughly one-third of what MacFarlane’s first big-screen effort, Ted, opened with two years ago before going on to rack up an astounding $218 million (and nearly $550 million worldwide, plus an additional $128 million via DVD and Blu-ray sales). Between Ted and his popular TV staples Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, MacFarlane has an established and (seemingly) loyal fan base. And it’s hard to argue that there’s a limited audience for R-rated comedy just four weeks after Neighbors opened to nearly $50 million. So why did so many people stay away from Million Ways?

Some have suggested that it was a genre issue: People don’t like Westerns, as evidenced by the failures of The Lone Ranger, Cowboys & Aliens and Jonah Hex. Okay, but what about the successes of True Grit and Rango? Others sliced the failure even more narrowly, suggesting that people don’t like Western comedies, but that’s a pretty small sample size. There was the bomb Wild Wild West (1999) and the hits Maverick (1994) and Shanghai Noon (2000) and then there’s…well, once you start getting down to 1985’s Lust in the Dust you’re really grasping.

Which brings us to another possibility: Do audiences reject MacFarlane as a live-action leading man? Ted was a high-concept comedy, and the foul-mouthed bear was part of the attraction. But Million Ways’ marketing put him front and center. Surrounded by equally filthy jokes, sure, but his face was the one often delivering them. And audiences aren’t used to that. He’s proven a master at writing and voice work, but unproven in front of the camera; many viewers found him off-putting after hosting the Oscars, with reviews decidedly mixed and many critics finding his efforts barren. Maybe we’d be singing an entirely different tune about A Million Ways had it starred Mark Wahlberg as lowly sheep farmer Albert instead?

Why did you skip A Million Ways? Weigh in here: