Box Office: Can Melissa McCarthy’s ‘Happytime Murders’ Fend Off ‘Crazy Rich Asians’?

The box office has been surprisingly strong this August, and now it’s up to Melissa McCarthy and a gaggle of raunchy puppets to keep the momentum going.That’s the hope, as “The Happytime Murders” aims for a mid-teens opening when the black comedy launches across 3,224 locations this weekend.

Analysts are comparing the result to Seth Rogen’s bawdy R-rated animated comedy “Sausage Party.” Rogen’s film became a massive box office hit, picking up $140 million off a $19 million production budget.

“The Happytime Murders,” however, carries double the price tag, at $40 million.“The Happytime Murders” is set in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles — a world where humans and puppets coexist — as McCarthy’s character, an Lapd detective, re-teams with her former puppet partner to solve a series of brutal murders.

[Cue “SNL’s” Stefon voice] This movie has everything: Sex, offensive puppet jokes, murder, Melissa McCarthy snorting something through Twizzlers.

At last, we

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