‘Semi-Pro’ has disappointing opening

Will Ferrell remains three-for-three when it comes to No. 1 sports comedies, but the anemic opening of his latest has some wondering whether he’s losing his touch.

The basketball send-up “Semi-Pro” took in $15.3 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI. That’s less than half of what most analysts projected, and a fraction of what Ferrell typically draws on an opening weekend.

His auto racing parody “Talladega Nights” earned $47 million in its opening weekend in 2006, while the figure skating spoof “Blades of Glory” took in $33 million last year.

“There were a few things working against him,” says Paul Dergarabedian of Media By Numbers. “The main one being the rating; ‘Talledega Nights’ and ‘Blades of Glory’ were PG-13. By making this R, you rule out the teens who love him.

“I think they thought they could have the kind of R-rated success that ‘Superbad’ or ‘Knocked Up’ had, but that’s more (producer) Judd Apatow’s forte than Will’s.”

Dergarabedian also wonders whether Ferrell’s shtick as a dimwitted but cocky athlete is wearing thin with audiences.

“No one does it better,” he says, “but people have seen it before.”

Tough reviews didn’t help, nor did the film’s male-driven theme of a basketball team on the verge of being disbanded.

Instead, women turned out for the period drama “The Other Boleyn Girl,” which almost doubled projections with $8.3 million and fourth place.