Posted on 12/19/2005 3:56:40 PM PST by jcav
Will "Brokeback Mountain" play in Plano? In the movie's first weekend in the Dallas suburb where the 2004 Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ" earned some of its biggest grosses, the answer appeared to be yes.
After setting a record for the per-theater average for a dramatic movie in limited openings in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, critically acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain" faced its next obstacle as Focus Features expanded the so-called gay cowboy movie to strategically selected smaller cities.
The movie, directed by Ang Lee and starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two ranch hands who develop an enduring emotional bond, "Brokeback Mountain" took in an additional $2.36 million in its first foray outside those three metropolitan cities, rising to No. 8 at the box office, Focus Features estimated Sunday. Its 10-day total is $3.3 million.
The closely watched debut in Plano, Texas, "was a revelation about the accessibility of this movie," said Focus head of distribution Jack Foley. "This is not gay-dependent. Attendance at those theaters indicates the film has the attention of suburban moviegoers."
It was the first time since Disney's animated "Pocahontas" in 1995 that a movie in fewer than 100 theaters cracked the top 10 box office ranking, according to tracking service Nielsen EDI Inc.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
In that case, all I can say is.....BAAAAA-BAAAAA!!!
Please post anything you have to say to me in the open forum, I will not respond to freepmail.
It's a chick flick.
I don't see the big deal. It is not like the movie is number One and the Box Office. It is simply in the Top Ten.
Gaydar tingling.
I'm sorry you feel that way.
I posted the article I did because I think it's important that the community be aware of as many facts as possible, however unpleasant some of them may be. Whether or not we may wish for this movie to fail, there is a strong chance, even a certainty, that it will be a financial success. Clear thinking requires that we acknowledge such possibilities.
Now that's an obscure "Seinfeld" reference!
:_)
Too funny.
With all the advance publicity this thing has gotten, they'd better hope for good sales of DVDs. That's pretty pathetic, seeing as how every three dollar bill has already gone to see it.
All I can say, again, is that I'm sorry you feel that way.
Someone once that that reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.
The fact remains that this film is taking in a respectable amount of money. Hollywood understands money, and will respond. We need to be aware of this.
Sounds like you have a ... er.... HORSE in this race.
Sorry, but filling a theater for a couple weeks of weeks in Plano, does not a financial success make.
Do you think this movie is going to do any where near the business movies like Alexander and Troy did? They were both box office disasters.
There is no way that this movie will ever be a success except in the spin the media will put on it by giving it a very limited release and then gushing when the few people who want to see it all drive across town the first week it opens. I guarantee it won't be showing in Plano on 2 screens in three weeks. You'll be lucky to find it on 1.
Gallagher will say anything to stir up his audience. He's a radio mercenary with no real class.
Not only will the movie be a straight to DVD wonder.... what was Heath Ledger thinking????? He has totally put at risk his young adoring female audience!
I doubt very much that it will do as well as Alexander or Troy.
HOWEVER, it doesn't have to.
Alexander cost $150 milion, and Troy cost $185 million, whereas the cowboy film was under $20 million.
Bear in mind that it opened on FIVE SCREENS, repeat, FIVE SCREENS, in the 3 cities. You can bet those screens were in artsy-fartsy theaters attended only by gays.
Troy wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...
"With a budget of $14 million,"
You are right, that is not too expensive, certainly not by today's standards. So you are also right, they don't need it to find a large audience to do well financially. Which leaves the question of why the producers won't just accept that and be glad. But they are looking at this not as just a movie for entertainment, nor even a piece of "art" which might have limited appeal. They want this to be some piece of propaganda that will "win hearts and minds" and I don't think that is gonna happen.
So what? They just poke sheep and each other instead of cows and each other.
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