Posted on 06/20/2005 7:10:06 AM PDT by Syco
Batman was powerful enough to rule the box office, but the superhero was unable to pull Hollywood out of its worst slump in 20 years.
"Batman Begins" debuted as the top movie with $46.9 million, while overall movie revenues skidded for the 17th-straight weekend, tying a slide in 1985 that had been the longest box-office decline since analysts began keeping detailed records on movie grosses.
The top 12 movies took in $128.5 million, down 1.6 percent from the same weekend in 2004, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The slump may be a sign that more people are seeing movies at home. An Associated Press-AOL poll last week found that 73 percent of adults prefer watching movies on DVD, videotape or pay-per-view rather than going to the theater.
Studio executives blame the downturn on a comparatively weak lineup of movies this year and say it will take more time to determine if DVDs and other home-entertainment options are eroding theater business.
100% agreement from this corner. Well acted, beautifully scripted, and properly gritty. I'm really hoping for a comparable sequel.
I'm looking forward to another Superman. Maybe a holigraphic image flying off the screen over the audience.
It's worth seeing in the theaters. Possibly twice. It had a really good, moral message to it. I like this Batman! (Both movie and character).
And Alfred rather steals the show.
Ugh. Gawd, that thing's ugly. Give me any of the old sleeker modules. Maybe they couldn't stop artillery shells, but they had style (and loads of gadgets).
Who needs a movie theater?
Great news but...
The slump may be a sign that more people are seeing movies at home.
I'm afraid that's true.
They set it up to bring in the Joker. And they were smart and didn't kill the villain, if they keep that up they can bring back anybody they want.
A reviewer I respect gave Batman Begins an A, so... I wanted to know if the movie would be appropriate for two kids, 7 & 10, and where the PG-13 rating came from.
7 is too young. It was quite violent and very intense. The scene where his parents are killed...
However, I can't remember a single profanity, there was no nudity or inappropriate moral behavior, and Batman didn't kill anyone. But there was a lot of violence.
10 years old might be ok. I would recommend waiting until it's on DVD and renting it, after you preview it; it'll be much less intense for a kid at home.
Yeah, that wouldn't go over well. I wasn't planning on seeing it, but now I'm interested.
It was a very interesting look. I'm not a huge comic book geek - I like the stories but don't read the comics - but this was very good. There's a definite moral dimension that you don't often get in action movies. Probably because it is a superhero movie.
Go to a matinee some afternoon and have some overbuttered popcorn, it's a fun and in some ways moving movie. Even if I wanted to smack the girl at the end of it.
Like with most things in life, I don't care how ugly it is, I just want to see how it performs. If it's up to the task and exceeds expectations, I say go for it!
The new 'batmobile' is great; Morgan Freeman is great; Michael Caine is great; Christian Bale absolutely sells the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
This is Batman. You'll love it.
Christian Bale is very cool. I thought the entire cast of the movie carried the day despite a contrived plot.
Batman Begins is definitely not for the under ten crowd.
Definitely a good movie to see on the big screen.
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