Box-Office Romance: Jen and Vince Avoid 'Gigli' Bad Results

June 5, 2006 — -- Love conquered all at the box office this weekend, as Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston's romance helped "The Break-Up" overcome poor reviews. But one only has to look back to such horrors as "Gigli" to know what a box office killer Cupid can be.

Romantic comedies are hardly what studios like to trot out in the summertime, when action/adventure flicks rule -- but "The Break-Up" easily topped "X-Men: The Last Stand," just a week after the mutant superheroes set a box-office record by grossing $122.8 million over Memorial Day weekend.

"Off-screen romances make headlines, but they can be disastrous if the hype overwhelms the movie itself," said Brandon Gray, publisher of Box Office Mojo, a Web site that tracks the film industry.

"Vaughn and Aniston did a pretty good job of downplaying their love life, unlike some other stars," he said.

If one of them had acted like Tom Cruise -- jumping on Oprah Winfrey's couch declaring that he was in love with Katie Holmes -- they might have suffered, Gray said.

"Cruise was once very good at leaving his personal life something of a mystery," he said. "Now, not so much."

Rumors spread last summer of Vaughn and Aniston's on-set romance. Even though the couple only have acknowledged their relationship recently, they've never confirmed when they started going out.

In the eyes of Aniston fans, however, the relationship seemed the perfect comeuppance for ex-husband Brad Pitt, who became involved with Angelina Jolie after they worked together on "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," another movie that seemed to benefit from romance rumors.

Indeed, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was a smash hit, with a $50 million opening weekend in the United States, and ending the year as one of the Top 10 grossing movies of 2005, taking in more than $420 million internationally.

To make matters even more muddled, Vaughn had a bit part in "Smith" as one of Pitt's friends.

When Hollywood's gossip machine kicks into high gear, it would seem to be a good way to generate free publicity for a new movie. However, it's often resulted in some famous box-office bombs. Here's a look at a few: