Box-office power of Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ baffles insiders

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 4/20/11 | PAUL BOND

[BCrago66]

The power of Ayn Rand devotees has impressed some Hollywood distribution executives, who took note of the hefty $5,640 per-theater average scored by “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1” during its opening weekend.

“Shocking,” one executive said about the healthy business the low-budget film has been doing, considering its “awful” marketing plan.

[AFreeBird]

Well N00B, once upon a time, high def was film on the big screen. Or you could wait for it to be cut down in a multitude of ways, and shown on a 4:3 screen in B&W; color if you were lucky. Of course you had to get up off the couch to change the channel ,of the half dozen or so available, to watch it. Usually a couple of years or so after it hit the theaters.

[William Tell]

Christian Engineer Mass said: "I just don’t get the concept of sitting in a darkened room with a group of strangers to stare at a screen for 2 hours."

The financial success of Part 1 may well determine whether the rest of the story is filmed. This is only the second theater visit I have made in the last ten years.

My wife and I went this afternoon. It was not crowded; perhaps a dozen or dozen and a half people.

I was pleasantly surprised by the film. My main concern going in was that the pace would be too slow to accomplish telling the story. As it turned out, the pace was quite good. The "special effects" were more than adequate to support the story. The time in the theater went very quickly.

I look forward to the final parts of the story. I hope that the success of Part I enables the producers to create even longer and more complete additional parts. Some of my money will help this along. None of yours will.

[Talisker]

I’m under 40 and I don’t go to any movies. I just don’t get the concept of sitting in a darkened room with a group of strangers to stare at a screen for 2 hours.

You're right, you don't.

[hinckley buzzard]

I love how Hollywood "insiders" and the "experts" generally are baffled by reality.

[hinckley buzzard]

I’ve spoke to a few folks that are middle aged that say “Atlas who”? They can tell you all about American idol though.

These are the people who Gallup and Rasmussen call "independents." These are the dullwitted stooges who presumably settle our elections for us. These are the morons whom the media hails as "nonpartisan" instead of brain dead. Get it now?

[parisa]

U N E X P E C T E D!!!!!!

[EDINVA]

All the Hollywood experts who are so shocked at its per-theater take are the same folks who made sure its distribution was very limited.

[I still care]

I knew “Atlas Shrugged” would be sort of like “The Passion” - totally ignored and dismissed by elitists, but a hit with real folk.

I am not surprised at this at all.

[BCrago66]

Frank Luntz loves these folks, even though they’re idiots. Because they’re so uninformed they cannot form an opinion on anything, they’re “independent.”

[didi]

“At 49, you start saying that you are pushing forty. Remember that fifty is the new forty.”

I love it. Especially since I am bearing down hard on “40” this year!

Trying to find out how far I will have to drive to see this movie.

[I still care]

I think Atlas is up to number 4 on amazon.

It’s all good.

[GOPJ]

There were plenty of folks but nobody who looked like they were under 40 years of age.

Not a problem. Liberals think it's eternally 1968 - and young boomers rule the markets - but it's not...

Boomers are older and we still out-number and out-spend other groups. Going after the teen market today makes as much sense as going after the senior market in the 60's...

[re_nortex]

I am almost 40 and Atlas is the first movie in years I was looking forward to seeing in theatres and I enjoyed it very much.

I've got just about 30 years on you and Atlas Shrugged was the first film I've been to a movie house for since United 93 almost 5 years ago.

[ponygirl]

I was telling a co-worker that I had seen the movie over the weekend and she had me repeat the title three times. Had never heard of it. Had never heard of Rand, or Atlas, or the Fountainhead, any of it. This was a college graduate - English major - in her mid-forties who had never heard of the book “Atlas Shrugged.” I was a little taken aback. I didn’t read the book until three years ago, but I do remember it being listed on my senior high school English “college reading list.” I skipped over it at the time because of the heft of the darn thing. And of course, I specifically remember learning in the movie “Dirty Dancing” that both Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead contained VERY dangerous material.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

We are going Friday Eve.

I am assuming weekends are going to be big for this movie since most people that will want to go see it have jobs.

[Stentor]

...I find your indignation against people who enjoy a good old talent show unwarranted.

I go back to Ted Mack. I don't get this hatred of talent shows even though I don't watch Idol. It's a strange kind of elitism.

[FreeKeys]

LOL!

[Minn]

I’m under 40 and I don’t go to any movies. I just don’t get the concept of sitting in a darkened room with a group of strangers to stare at a screen for 2 hours.

There have been girlfriendless/childless times in life when I have had little interest in going out to movies, but I've never had any problem grasping the concept a century old pastime; especially before the industry went to hell.

Not to pick on you, but the way you framed your comment is so typical of the younger set. It's not enough to politely express a lack of interest. There also has to be the implicit assertion that those partaking in the entertainment are somehow defective and lack the inherent wonderfulness of the young, hip observer.

It's kinda like that old marriage between one man and one woman thing that old fools have been observing for thousands of years. Just don't get the concept.

[pacpam]

Your comment on Hollywood could apply to economists too.

[FreeKeys]

I didn’t even know this movie existed until now.

This is just a FRACTION of the FR posts going back to February (search "Atlas" among Titles):

The complete Cliffs Notes of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" is available for free online ^

02/26/2011 6:35:10 PM PST · by grundle · 48 replies cliffsnotes.com ^

The Role of the Mind in Human Life in Atlas Shrugged ^

02/25/2011 12:42:06 PM PST · by grundle · 11 replies cliffsnotes.com ^ All the main positive characters in Atlas Shrugged are great minds. Dagny Taggart is a brilliant businesswoman/engineer who runs a transcontinental railroad superbly. Hank Rearden is a productive genius of the steel industry and an extraordinary metallurgist who invents a new material that's vastly superior to steel. Francisco d'Anconia is a prodigy who masters every task as quickly as it's presented to him, independently develops a crude version of differential equations at age 12, and invents a new kind of copper smelter. Ellis Wyatt is an innovator of the oil industry who creates an advanced method of extracting oil from...

David Kelley Reviews Atlas Shrugged Part 1 ^

02/25/2011 8:04:05 AM PST · by Ed Hudgins · 33 replies The Atlas Society - The Center for Objectivism ^ | February 24, 2011 | David Kelley “Midas Mulligan,” says the shadowy figure who accosts the prominent banker in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. “Who’s asking?” “Someone who knows what it’s like to work for himself and not let others feed off the profits of his energy.” So begins Atlas Shrugged Part I, the independent adaptation by “The Strike” Productions, scheduled for theatrical release April 15, 2011. The skeptics are wrong. Ever since the project launched last April, skeptics have wondered how a film with a limited budget of $10 million, rushed production schedule, and lack of big-name talent could possibly do justice to the novel. Over a...

Atlas Shrugged Movie Clip: Henry Rearden Comes Home ^

02/24/2011 6:05:20 PM PST · by grundle · 24 replies YouTube ^

Why Atlas Shrugged Changes Lives ^

02/24/2011 5:53:38 PM PST · by grundle · 10 replies YouTube ^ | Debi Ghate

Atlas Shrugged Movie Clip: Henry Rearden Comes Home ^

02/22/2011 7:52:31 AM PST · by ponygirl · 35 replies www.atlasshruggedpart1.com ^ | 2/21/11 | Atlas Shrugged Part 1

Another scene from the upcoming movie Atlas Shrugged Part 1 was released for President's Day. For those who haven't read the book by Ayn Rand, here is the set up: Millionaire steel magnate Henry Rearden arrives home late for dinner after a big day. The metal alloy he has been perfecting for ten years, Rearden Metal, has finally found a customer in Taggart Transcontinental Railroad and has been poured for the first time. He has a gift for his wife made from the first pour of the new metal. His wife and family chime in with their opinions.

Atlas Shrugged - Scene just released!!!! ^

02/21/2011 1:45:18 PM PST · by MarkL · 71 replies atlasshruggedpart1.com ^ | 2/21/2011 | www.atlasshruggedpart1.com Just found this on the web! Itwas just released. It's the scene where Henry comes home and presents Lillian with the gift of the bracelet. And his brother demands money, but doesn't want Henry as the donor. Very cool scene. Mark

Atlas Movie To Change World ^

02/21/2011 12:19:39 PM PST · by Shout Bits · 29 replies Shout Bits Blog ^ | 2/21/2011 | Shout Bits Ayn Rand’s tome, Atlas Shrugged, is often credited for changing people’s lives with its cautionary tale of business colluding with government to destroy freedom and prosperity. The novel, which has sold about seven million copies, has seen its influence grow under the Obama Administration. Writers like Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal have noted how Pres. Obama’s aggressive socialist agenda mirrors Atlas’s fifty year old plot. It is no surprise, then, that Atlas is selling better than ever, over half a million copies in 2009 alone. Even the movie industry, anything but a friend to liberty and capitalism, could...

Want the Atlas Shrugged movie in your city? Here's how to make it happen. ^

02/19/2011 12:19:06 PM PST · by FreeKeys · 42 replies Atlas-Shrugged-Movie.com ^ | 1-13-11 | Joshua Zader ATLAS SHRUGGED MOVIE The latest news and discussion about the ATLAS SHRUGGED movie...courtesy of the fans of Ayn Rand's novels at the Atlasphere Click the picture: Want the Atlas Shrugged movie in your city?Here's how to make it happen. Posted on January 13, 2011 6:23 am UTC by Joshua Zader A lot of people are wondering whether the Atlas Shrugged movie will be in a theater near them. If you are wondering the same thing, here is your answer. Below is an exchange from the movie's Facebook page:Hassan Yusuf: Will this be in limited theaters or can I watch...

Atlas Shrugged part 1 - movie trailer ^

02/14/2011 12:58:16 PM PST · by grundle · 31 replies YouTube ^

Atlas Shrugged part 1 - movie trailer

Atlas Shrugged Trailer Released ^

02/12/2011 1:03:13 AM PST · by raccoonradio · 43 replies youtube ^ | 2/12/11 | raccoonradio $ Click on link. Damn, it looks good! Out 4/15/11

Atlas Shrugged part 1 (Trailor out) ^

02/11/2011 3:09:04 PM PST · by maine-iac7 · 9 replies Atlas Shrugged Part 1 ^ | 11 Feb 2011 | Paul Johansson, directot

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 trailor just released

Atlas Shrugged part 1 (Trailor out) ^

02/11/2011 3:09:04 PM PST · by maine-iac7 · 9 replies Atlas Shrugged Part 1 ^ | 11 Feb 2011 | Paul Johansson, directot Atlas Shrugged Part 1 trailor just released

Atlas Shrugged movie trailer released ^

02/11/2011 3:07:02 PM PST · by JoeA · 12 replies Examiner.com ^ | 2/11/2011 | Joe Alfieri February 11, 2011 - The long awaited and oft delayed film version of Ayn Rand’s epic novel Atlas Shrugged may soon become a reality. A trailer for the film Atlas Shrugged (Part One), was scheduled to be shown at the CPAC conference, has just been released and can be seen at left.

Atlas Shrugged movie trailer released ^

02/11/2011 3:07:02 PM PST · by JoeA · 12 replies Examiner.com ^ | 2/11/2011 | Joe Alfieri February 11, 2011 - The long awaited and oft delayed film version of Ayn Rand’s epic novel Atlas Shrugged may soon become a reality. A trailer for the film Atlas Shrugged (Part One), was scheduled to be shown at the CPAC conference, has just been released and can be seen at left.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 - Trailer ^

02/11/2011 3:00:47 PM PST · by Bush_Democrat · 294 replies Atlas Shrugged Movie ^ The trailer for Atlas Shrugged Part 1 has finally been released!

Capturing the Spirit of Atlas Shrugged ^

02/01/2011 7:00:54 PM PST · by Publius · 40 replies The Atlasphere ^ | 20 December 2010 | Donovan Albanesi

What was it like to attend the ten-minute sneak-peek of the Atlas Shrugged movie earlier this month in New York City? An Atlasphere member relates his firsthand experience.

On December 7, 2010, I attended the “Atlas Shrugged” movie event hosted by the Atlas Society. I had no idea how many people would attend; I had made my RSVP through Facebook, which listed only seven registered attendees.