[I still care]

I guess my prediction is coming true. What I found interesting about this article is total lack of how the Christian boycott may have figured into the lackluster sales.

They instead say that people may be getting tired of fantasy, just like that article I read how because all the recent Hollywood war films have bombed, people "don't like war films anymore".

[ECM]

He is correct about fantasy being more often miss than hit (prior to Potter/Rings/Narnia), but I certainly fail to see a “glut” of fantasy films in theaters.

[dynachrome]

I don’t think it is just the Christian boycott. I am hoping it is that enough people are tired of blatant propaganda from the libs.

[bvw]

the foundations of Golden Compass ... were not nearly as culturally substantial.

True that. Word up.

[longtermmemmory]

To kill god is to kill hope, the Golden Compas is there to kill god. Nobody wants to see a movie that says there is no hope.

The anti war movies were not about war, they were about demanding defeat. Nobody likes loosers and anti-war movies celebrate loosers.

[DoughtyOne]

How fitting that the Golden Compass was deemed to have lost it way, and couldn’t attract an audience, who clearly knew where it was headed.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Since the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies, fantasy has been one of the genre fads in Hollywood and Golden Compass suffered from the resulting glut.

Glut or no, the fans will turn out for the next Narnia movie in May. Content matters as much as (or more than) genre.

[Timmy]

Yeah. We'll see how tired of fantasy people are when Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=1355&dl=14478175) comes out on May 16.

[Jeff Chandler]

Movie goers aren’t getting tired of fantasy, and apparently neither is this writer.

[Pistov Elf]

Better to see a Good Christmas Movie than this loser!!

Pistov

[VictoryGal]

A couple of my godless co-workers said they were going explicitly to stymie the boycott.

They came back reporting that it was not a great adaptation of the book, despite the delicious special effects.

[Old Sarge]

[KillTime]

I read all the hype, saw the flick and thought it was a good action movie. I can even see the opposite of those opposed to this film, that is that the magistratim (sp) group in the movie is an athiest group out to destroy the Spirit of God, represented in the animals. Therefore to me, if anything, it made a case For religion, not against. Luckily, as always, I made my own conclusion rather than base it on something others didn't see and therefore I saw a really entertaining film.

btw, if you watch anything, see Enchanted. Best movie I've seen in a long time!

[Redcloak]

What I found interesting about this article is total lack of how the Christian boycott may have figured into the lackluster sales.

That's because boycotts don't work. From reviews I've read, GC died because it's not a very good; not because of any boycott. 

[valkyrieanne]

There have been a *lot* of fantasy movies released in the past year or two. Most of them have made money, many on their international releases. Here are some:

2005:
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Brothers Grimm
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
Beowulf and Grendel (Gerard Butler)

2006:
Eragon
Tristan and Isolde Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Pan's Labyrinth

2007:
Stardust
Bridge to Terabithia
Beowulf (with Angelina Jolie)
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Caribbean 3
The Water Horse
Tin Man (TV)
Dragon Wars
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Enchanted
Night at the Museum
Evan Almighty
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

There are probably more that I can't think of. The point is, there's a lot of competition out there in the big-budget SFX-fest fantasy genre. Golden Compass in my opinion wasn't that good of a movie. It was boring, preachy, and disorganized, even if it was visually dazzling. Also, I think people are getting saturated on fantasy, to the point where what they see has to be pretty good. They're not going to waste money on mediocre fantasy.

[topher]

I consider Golden Compass to rely on the phrases a sucker is born every minute and never give a sucker an even break.

I guess there are those in Hollywood that hope to generate controversy or something to con $10 (or more) from people going to the movies.

Of course when good movies come along (like Bella), people are reluctant to put down the $10...

[Theo]

I don’t think Christians have “boycotted” this movie. They’re just not going, and encouraging their friends not to waste their money on it.

[Veto!]

Where the heck is the long-awaited sequel to Lion, Witch, Wardrobe? Isn’t it the works?

[Sybeck1]

I hope the Star Trek remake bombs next Christmas myself.

[gridlock]

Throwing a bunch of computer-generated antics and talking animals on the screen is not enough to garner a sizable audience.

I think this reflects a growing maturity of CG effects in Hollywood. It used to be people would go see a movie just to see the effects. Nowadays, the effects are just tools to be used in service to the storyline. If the storyline is not adequate, all the CG effects in the World are not going to make up for the void.