Marketing worked against it. Another factor ostensibly in the movie's favor may well have undermined its opening. That heaping plate of Ron Burgundy over the past few months (there was also that anchoring of news in North Dakota, the relentless Dodge Durango commercials, the Newseum exhibition, the underwear cross-promotion) made people feel like they had gotten their fill of the character. Film fans really wanted to see a few more hours of Ferrell and friends getting into mischief. And thanks to all these appearances, they did so weeks ago.



Competition was stronger this time out. No doubt the explanation Paramount and filmmakers would prefer. Unfortunately that doesn't totally fly — the competition was pretty similar. This movie was up against the second weekend of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," while the first film was up against the second weekend of a similar powerhouse: Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2."



Older fans had moved on. It's possible that the new film really did gain new fans. The problem is, a number of the old ones left. The year 2004 is a long time away. Ferrell's comedy fell out of favor. So some who came to theaters to see the original were no longer enamored, or at least not sufficiently enamored to turn out opening weekend.



For backers, the hope is that the new movie has some of the same legs as the original. But it could be a tough road, at least in theaters. The comedy's "B" CinemaScore is decent but doesn't suggest great word-of-mouth ahead. And the holiday movies will keep coming. Audiences want a sequel until they get a sequel, the maxim goes. They are happy to quote and relive the original. But that doesn't necessarily mean they think a new film smells of rich mahogany.