Why Kristen Wiig Was Certain This Raunchy Box Office Hit Was A Total Dud

For my money, “Bridesmaids” is one of the best American comedies ever made, and we have co-writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo to thank for that, along with their fearless director Paul Feig. Apparently, though, Wiig — the “Saturday Night Live” lead actor who wrote and starred in the film — thought it was a huge flop at first, because he didn’t have an impressive weekend.

“Bridesmaids” finished second at the box office in its first opening weekend — behind the first “Thor” — and by the end of the weekend had grossed nearly $26 million against a budget of $32.5 million. However, word of mouth kept the film going, and when all was said and done, “Bridesmaids” was a hit truly It grossed an impressive $288 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing film ever produced by comedian Judd Apatow, surpassing his 2007 film Knocked Up. Those The film received numerous awards, even earning Oscar nominations, including a screenplay nomination for Loig and Mumolo and a supporting actress nomination for Melissa McCarthy, who became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the wake of “Bridesmaids.”

So why in the world did Whig think he bombed? While chatting with her former SNL co-star and friend Amy Poehler on Poehler’s podcast “Good Hang,” Wiig said that studio Universal wasn’t exactly positive about the whole thing. “After opening weekend, they said, ‘Well, we tried,’” Wiig said.

once again, What?! As Wiig explained, the studio felt the film’s opening weekend was a make-or-break moment. Fortunately, she noted, the film gained a lot of traction thanks to word of mouth. “And then I think more and more people kept seeing it, and then things happened later,” she concluded. Since this is Wiig we’re talking about, she made a slightly cheeky joke: “He was a farmer.”

Director Paul Feig, who worked with Melissa McCarthy on hit comedies like “The Heat,” “Spy” and the female-driven “Ghostbusters” remake of “Bridesmaids,” was also concerned about the same result Wiig got when he directed “Bridesmaids.” (Feig talked about this during a SXSW panel in March 2025, per Variety.) Apparently, a lot of people Feig knew — especially female writers — were “pitching female-led comedies” to studios and were told, “We have to wait and see how Bridesmaids does.” The pressure was palpable Enormous. “I was like, ‘Fuck! Don’t put that on me. Am I going to ruin movies for women?'” Feige said before addressing the apparent double standard. “I don’t think in ‘The Hangover’ they said, ‘I’m going to wait to see all these guys on screen before we do this again,'” he joked. “But thank God it worked well.”

However, as Feig pointed out — which corroborates Wiig’s recollections — the studio was downright lewd about the story of a woman, Annie Walker (Wiig), who becomes increasingly frenzied and jealous while serving as bridesmaid to her best friend Lillian Donovan (Maya Rudolph). “Up until the day we got out, we were expected to not do well,” Feig recalls. “We were told: You have to make $20 million in your opening weekend, or you’ll be considered a failure.”

To make matters worse, according to Feige, the film was not shown at the last minute late at night. “We did a midnight screening the night before, and it didn’t go well,” the director said. “It’s going to be $13 million,” they were saying. Sorry, it’s a bomb.’ All day long, I was walking around, like, ‘I think I’ve ruined comedy for women.'” Far from it, Fig! Don’t worry!

“Bridesmaids” has become a major Hollywood success story and a beloved comedy classic since its release in 2011. That’s thanks to Kristen Wiig’s steady, utterly manic performance as Annie — her entire scene on the plane is one of the film’s most memorable and quotable — and stunning supporting turns from comedic secret agent Rose Byrne (as Lillian’s new friend Rich and Annie’s actual enemy, Helen. Harris III) and Melissa McCarthy (as the groom’s erratic but incredibly wise sister Megan Price) don’t hurt either. So will we get a sequel now that the studio has been soundly proven wrong with the box office take on “Bridesmaids”?

No, according to Wiig, and I think that’s for the best. In March 2024, Wiig spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the unexpected success of “Bridesmaids,” echoing some of her feelings about people’s lack of faith in the film — “People are scared. What’s wrong with a big female cast? Why is that scary?” – He also said that a sequel is not in the cards. “There was no conversation at all,” Wiig confirmed. “That story is over, and it’s so beloved to me for ten million reasons, that I think it’s okay for it to exist in the world as it is.”

If you really want more Bridesmaids, may I make a humble suggestion? In 2020, Wiig and Annie Mumolo released their second feature film they co-wrote, “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” and although a lot It’s weirder than “Bridesmaids,” too amazing. Have you ever wanted to see Wiig playing two characters while Jamie Dornan was obsessed with being an “official husband”? Watch “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” on VOD, and “Bridesmaids” is streaming on Netflix.