(CNN) -- Cliché trailers and unimpressed movie reviews aside, "The Bounty Hunter" was still expected to perform decently at the box office last weekend, some guessing a gross in the neighborhood of $25 million.





In reality, the predictions weren't far off -- the actual box office gross came in at nearly $21 million, which BoxOffice.com editor Phil Contrino described as a solid opening weekend, if a little on the low side.





The true surprise, Contrino said, was Twentieth Century Fox's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" coming out of nowhere and edging past it with an opening weekend gross of $22 million. "It's a situation where there's a movie with no stars aimed at a very specific age group -- teenage boys -- and it beat a movie with two stars," he said.





Yet, Contrino added, Aniston has never been really reliable to open a movie on her own, and she was the bigger star in "Bounty." Gerard Butler, her co-star, is gaining prominence but doesn't have the years of recognition that Aniston has.





The actress was nearly inescapable in 2005 as the media tracked her divorce from actor Brad Pitt, but her thriller "Derailed" and romantic comedy "Rumor Has It" performed modestly at the box office.





Aniston then came back with a hit in 2006 with "The Break-Up," co-starring Vince Vaughn, himself riding a wave of popularity from "Wedding Crashers."





That success -- $39 million opening weekend and $118 million grossed domestically overall -- was immediately followed by "Marley & Me," which grossed $36 million its first weekend, and "He's Just Not That Into You," which Aniston starred in along with a number of other A-List actors.





Yet 2009 brought the flop "Love Happens," which grossed $8 million when it opened in little more than 1,500 theaters in 2009. By all accounts, "Bounty Hunter," beaten by a movie about middle school kids or not, is a step in the right direction.





Judging from her ups and downs at the box office, she's been "far too hit or miss" to be a safe bet at the box office, Contrino said. "The moral of the story is that you can't bank on her."





Yet Aniston's public perception would lead one to believe otherwise, said film critic Nick Schager.





"In general, there's a disconnect between Jennifer Aniston's cultural popularity and her movie star popularity," Schager said. "There are certain people -- and you could make the case for Angelina Jolie as well -- given how rampant tabloid culture has become who are much more famous for that stuff than they are for the actual movies or TV shows."





If anything, said US Weekly's Senior Movie Editor Bradley Jacobs, Aniston's cultural popularity is the reason "Bounty Hunter" got the dollars that it did, despite its current 8 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.





"Despite terrible reviews, people still wanted to go," Jacobs said. "Jennifer is still a movie star."





Aniston is one of the top celebrities that US Weekly covers, Jacobs said, and while her press attention may have something to do with her box office draw, Jacobs doesn't think it's the total sum.





"Jessica Simpson is covered a lot but she doesn't have box office power. Cameron Diaz, we cover her a fair amount and her movies have a spottier track," Jacobs said. "There's something about Jennifer -- they love the hair, the body, the clothes and they've shown that they're willing to pay money."





Aniston, Schager believes, is indeed capable of carrying a movie. She just hasn't shown it yet.





"Aniston hasn't proven herself to be a reliable box office draw on her own, but she is a huge star. I think people like Jennifer Aniston, and if there's a movie that looks appealing, it'll do well," Schager said. "
Who took the No. 2 spot? the movie "Bounty Hunter" received a poor what?
"The Bounty Hunter" reviews,
question: Who took the No. 2 spot?, answer: "The Bounty Hunter" | question: the movie "Bounty Hunter" received a poor what?, answer: reviews,