Posted on 12/29/2005 6:11:43 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
LOS ANGELES - Who's afraid of a couple of gay cowboys? Not moviegoers, who helped "Brokeback Mountain" post the highest per-screen average over the film-flush holiday weekend.
The Ang Lee film, which follows the 20-year forbidden romance between two roughneck ranch hands, earned $13,599 per theater, compared with $9,305 for weekend winner "King Kong" and $8,225 for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
The big question is whether "Brokeback" can maintain its momentum as it moves from selected cities, where audiences are receptive to the subject matter, to suburbs far and wide, where that might not be the case.
Early numbers — and early awards buzz — establish the picture's staying power, industry insiders say. "Brokeback" earned a leading seven Golden Globe nominations.
"It delivered very strong growth in what is truly a highly unforgiving, competitive, cruel market at this Christmas period," said Jack Foley, president of theatrical distribution for Focus Features. "It showed it has breadth beyond the gay community."
Distributors planned to roll out the film slowly. It opened in just six theaters, where it earned an "unprecedented" $109,000 per venue, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
"Bare-back Mounting"? What a strange name for a movie.
I have termites in my desk; living there, active colonies.
I discovered this when they announced themselves a few months back by boring holes to the outside edge, right through the Formica laminate.
Short of fogging the entire house, I've no clue as to how to encourage them to leave.
Still, I feel as though I must do something before my desk crumbles to the floor.
In the meantime, I've been feeding them fingernail polish and sealing up their exits as they appear.
Perhaps a fairer comparison would be to compare the earnings for Kong 3 and Narnia in their top markets since BBM is only in places they are guaranteed to get the biggest draw. IE: If BBM is in 100 theaters, take the top 100 from K3 and Narnia.
I'm pretty sure that the New York Times could devote every page in its National, Metro, and Style sections to promoting this movie for the next year and it still wouldn't turn a profit.
BFLR.
Average Daily Gross: $ 0.59
Average Daily Theater #: 69
Average Daily Theater Take: $ 8,598
December 20th, 2005
Rank: #9
Gross: $4,913
Daily Change: $0.339 -13%
Days In Release: 12
Theaters: 69
Per Theater Average Total: $4.062
Sequel to follow:
"Bunghole Valley"
Yes, but nobody
reads the New York Times, and those
that just look at it
don't care what they see.
Lots of people tune in here,
and most people here
will wonder what folks
are talking about . . . So, some
will see the movie.
The longer Freepers
keep these threads popping up and
the discussions hot,
the more film-goers
will be tempted to take in
the gay cowboy film.
(Hey, I had no plans
to see the new King Kong, but
the discussions here
made me feel guilty
for bad-rapping it unseen.
So, I did see it.
And it was much worse
than I thought it would be, but
it was talking here
that made me go out
and spend my money. I'm sure
Brokeback Mountain folk --
their ad flaks and such --
are aware of how this works
and are stroking it . . .)
I must say that this post adds cogent insight rarely seen in a thread. My understanding of the thread's subject is greatly clarified.
I suppose people in the Business routinely take an interest in "per-screen" revenues, but this is the first press-release I can recall seeing, ever, that used per-screen figures to tout "box office success." Obviously this is not a 'roll-out' this is a 'spin-out.'
Watch this film fall flat on its face when it goes wide. Everyone who has seen it will have already gone to the big metroplexes..
Good point. Some of the promos for this movie lead one to believe that it is a "family movie". Wonder what percentage of that box office got up and walked out right around that pup tent scene?
They are running ads for it every five minutes on KABC radio.
OMG ! ROTFL !! That is hysterical, the whole office is in stiches !
... But openly gay stage and screen star Nathan Lane went on the "Today" show Friday and, instead of treating the Ang Lee movie with customary reverence, had a satirical field day at "Brokeback's" expense.
"I wish I could quit you," twanged Lane - who was on the show ostensibly to promote "The Producers" - mocking Gyllenhaal's cowboy confession to his bunkmate.
"It's really when [Ledger] said, 'This thing gets hold of us the wrong time, the wrong place, we're dead,'" Lane recalled as Katie Couric and "Today" crew members giggled. "I thought, 'What do you mean, like the A&P? You're in the middle of nowhere! Get a ranch with the guy! Stop torturing these two poor women and get a room! What's the problem?'" ... (Lloyd Grove, NY Daily News)
Anyone catch the generic ads at Box Office Mojo? 'Brokeback Mountain' video game? I don't even want to think about it...
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