Pamela Anderson calls it the “coldest love scene ever,” Liam Neeson jokes that an intimacy coordinator had to “teach him to romance a snowman,” and Paramount is betting the cheeky moment will help its Naked Gun reboot restore faith in the theatrical comedy business. The pair’s playful disclosures, joined by brisk box-office tracking and a swirl of real-life romance rumors, have turned an 85-minute spoof into one of the summer’s liveliest talking points.
Anderson revealed during a press stop that the film contains an unexpected threesome involving a snowman, adding that the sight gag “made everyone on set lose it”. Neeson told Stephen Colbert the sequence marked his first time working with an intimacy coordinator and required “painstaking choreography” to keep the joke PG-13. Director Akiva Schaffer later said the gag came from writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who wanted a moment “as surreal as anything in the original trilogy”.
The legacy sequel, produced by Seth MacFarlane and running 85 minutes, opens nationwide on August 1 with Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. and Anderson as undercover journalist Beth Davenport. Early ticket sales suggest a domestic debut of $16-19 million, the strongest for a live-action comedy since the pandemic began, while analysts argue the film’s performance could influence whether studios green-light more broad spoofs.
Off-screen chemistry is fueling advance publicity: Neeson has said he is “madly in love” with Anderson, praising her humor and work ethic. Joely Richardson, sister of Neeson’s late wife Natasha Richardson, publicly endorsed the pairing with a string of heart emojis under Anderson’s Instagram premiere photos.
Not everyone is applauding; original Naked Gun director David Zucker has criticized the reboot for sidelining him and questioned its slapstick approach. For Paramount, controversy and curiosity appear to be translating into ticket demand: preview shows delivered a franchise-best $6.3 million on day one, positioning the film for a healthy opening frame. Whether a snowman ménage-à-trois becomes the season’s breakout meme—or a footnote—audiences will decide this weekend.
