>> They're predicting $350 million -- and then there's DVD sales. <<
See, that's what I meant by saying the movie crashed in the second week. I never claimed the movie wouldn't make money. In fact, I clearly stated the opposite to be true. But a lot of people WERE predicting around $350 million domestic, and the movie looks likely to land short of $200 million, based on the bad reviews and bad word of mouth. Hence the crack about "Fandango" that started the article: the bad word and mouth and reviews couldn't dampen the opening weekend of what clearly was one of the most talked-about and awaited movies of all time.
If that's how you define "crashing", fine -- there's nothing in your original piece that explains this. But I wouldn't define a movie that only triples its investment in sales instead of quadrupling it as a failure.
That said, if Ishtar were a movie about two gay lounge singers who discard Christianity and convert to Islam, one of them discovers he is terminal and his partner struggles with euthanasia, AND $50 million is spent promoting the film, it would have been a hit.