Box Office: No Saturday Miracle Surge For The Golden Compass

/film.com ^ | Sunday, December 9th, 2007 at 3:00 am | Steve Mason

[keat]

There was no Saturday miracle surge for New Line. The Golden Compass, an effects-laden family film starring Nicole Kidman with a reported budget of $200M, received a modest 16% increase from its opening day, posting an estimated $10.2M on Saturday. Assuming a Sunday drop of 33%, Compass will finish its opening weekend with a disastrous $25.84M. (For a comparison to other big budget, family-oriented films in this mold along with details about New Line’s dismal 2007 and Nicole Kidman’s box office cold streak, scroll down to my Friday Night report.)

Disney’s Enchanted blew past $80M domestic with a $4.9M Saturday, and the live action/animation hybrid with a sure-fire Oscar nomination for Amy Adams will cruise to an estimated $10.98M. This Christmas (Sony), Fred Claus (Warner Bros) and Beowulf (Dreamworks/Paramount) have finished 3-4-5 on Saturday and for the 3-day frame.

[keat]

It is hard to see an anti-God film where Yahweh is portrayed as the evil commander of the concentration camp

Just doesn't seem like a good plot for a film aimed at young people.

They're going to have to sell a lot of plastic polar bears to dig their way out of this one.

btw, I wonder what fast-food chain is picking up the merchandise? That could be a fun fight.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Movies are the modern world's folk tales around the campfire. They are a means of common ground among different people, and when we as a country can agree on a story as being worthwhile and meaningful, that says something about who we are and what matters to us.

The bad guys know this just as well as the good guys.

It's terrific the majority of Americans saw through this vile propaganda and rejected its message.

Normally, a $25 million opener for a $200+ million picture would doom any chance for a sequel. With the agenda behind this film, who knows?

But thankfully, this particular campfire is nothing but soot and ashes.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Waking up on Sunday to find you’ll probably gross less than $75 Mil: Priceless

Beautiful. Hope this piece of trash makes MOAB status!!!!

[Dr. Eckleburg]

How much of a “strong Catholic” is someone who lives with a Scientologist for a decde and permits her two children to be raised as Scientologists?

[JSDude1]

Just like I wish MTV to do poorly, I also wish for this movie to do poorly (evil content that could infect hearts and minds..)!

[driftdiver]

Its a much bigger bomb than that.

[Tanniker Smith]

But it'll come in number 1 for the weekend, right?
Pity. That'll give them a week of advertising the number one movie in America, despite how dismal the reviews were. (Actually, the only review I saw was the NY Daily News, which gave it 3.5 stars, but that's as far as I got to read -- I was in a meeting and the paper happened to be open . . .)

[GunRunner]

Because I and others see this film as a symbol of Hollywood's disdain for people of the faith.

Well, Brokeback Mountain was a smash hit, and Fahrenheit 9/11 and An Inconvenient Truth are 2 of the highest grossing documentaries of all time.

They will also reward any liberal minded film nicely at the Oscars, and snub anything that goes against their worldview.

None of this will change from any boycott, and with foreign ticket sales, DVD sales, syndication rights, and merchandising, the film will most likely make a profit.

I think your energies would be better spent elsewhere, not to mention the fact that lobbying people to avoid a movie you haven't seen yourself can be perceived as tactless and arrogant.

[Petronski]

The author and the film are evil. Delighting in this failure is automatic.

[Tanniker Smith]

Wish I'd followed your example. That was the alternative when we saw "Bee Movie" -- the two boys were just a little too old for it. They liked parts but thought it was stupid and there wasn't enough for the grownups.

They saw Fred Claus with my brother-in-law last weekend. Better reaction.

[Petronski]

...not to mention the fact that lobbying people to avoid a movie you haven't seen yourself can be perceived as tactless and arrogant.

Ridiculous.

[keat]

But it'll come in number 1 for the weekend, right?

Yes but it won't have word-of-mouth which is much more important. It can't get any better.

[VOA]

bump

[Mamzelle]

This movie (actually, the expected sequels of this movie) was an attempt at proselytizing an anti-Chrisian ethic. Pullman is quite open about what he's trying to do, which is a kind of atheist evangelizing. He is out-an-out offensive. Hollywood chose to invest in his ideas.

They're losing their shirts. It invalidates the Hollywood hope of a completely secularized artistic culture. We're happy.

The thing about an opinion forum--people are here to have and promote opinions. What's the sense in an opinion forum, otherwise?

[Cheburashka]

Philip Pullman, the author the the book the movie is based on is on record as saying he wants to undermine the basis of Christian belief in his books. In an open society he has the right to believe what he wants and write what he wants.

And people who believe in the things he wants to undermine have the right to hope that he sees the error of his ways and honestly repents. Until that happens, they have the desire that his attempts to push anti-Christian propaganda on children suffer failure, both as propaganda and financially. They certainly have no reason to wish him success.

[keat]

I’ll bet you $500 American dollars that it won’t make a profit.

Enjoy the film, should be plenty of elbow room.

[bray]

Hmmm, New Age doesn’t sell. Who woulda thought.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[GunRunner]

They are a means of common ground among different people, and when we as a country can agree on a story as being worthwhile and meaningful, that says something about who we are and what matters to us.

The pornography industry is a billion dollar business. Keep that in mind before you feel encouraged by the failure of just one film written by an atheist.

Conservative Christian films and liberal atheist films will both do well at the box office in the near future. Trying to use the success or failure of individual movies as a pulse on American society is more likely to be frustrating and fruitless than worthwhile.

[jimbo123]

Brokeback Mountain, F911 and Inconvenient Truth didn’t cost $250M+ in production, prints and marketing.

This anti-God monstrosity will not make its money back. The financial hole is just too big.

The head of New Line Pictures will get the axe because of this gigantic bomb.

This time, the good guys win.

[MizSterious]

Personally, I like to see failure when it involves something aimed to harm children (”killing God in their minds”), or when it aims to harm our country, as so many of these so-called “anti-war” (aka anti-US) movies try to do. So yes, I celebrate this one, as well as Redacted and Lions for Lambs and several others. Their failure goes into the win column for this country—and our kids.