Brokeback Total Gross: Sensational??!!!
Steve thought I wouldn’t post his comment with evidence of the “sensational” showing of Brokeback Mountain at the box office this past weekend.
Steve, I’ll post your comment and raise ya one.
69 theatres in 21 cities?
I repeat: won’t make it to New Year’s.
And make no mistake. It’s not (only) because it’s about homosexuality. It’s because people don’t like to have a political agenda foisted on them dressed up as entertainment.
You went out of your way to specify “total,” so you must know you’re being disingenuous here: the hoopla is over the fact that percentage-wise (per theatre) it’s done better in its limited release than King Kong.
Will you be terribly devastated if it *does* make it past New Year’s? More or less so than if your friendly local salesclerk forgot and wished you “Happy Holidays?”
btw, nice manly “MilBlogs” icon you’ve got there, sailor.
again mrs yoest you are either deliberately ignoring the evidence or are simply not schooled in the intricacies of the analysis of the motion picture industry and marketing strategies- look at average takings, look at weeks release and look at budget….its clear that brokeback mountain has momentum and has adopted a successful marketing approach…why dont you stick to what you know… its clearly not anything about the business of entertainment
Following my last comment see extracts from Variety article here:
“After its gay cowboy love story “Brokeback Mountain” rode roughshod over more mainstream competish in Texas, Arizona and Florida, Universal specialty film arm Focus Features is accelerating expansion plans.
Focus brass said Monday that it will roll out “Brokeback” on 300-400 screens by Jan. 6, altering its original agenda of putting the film on 250 screens by Jan. 13….
The film has played well so far in unexpected places — like Plano, Texas, where it’s showing on two screens; Phoenix; and Voorhees, Penn., outside of Philadelphia — without any resistance from exhibs.
“It’s too soon for us, but we are following it closely,” said Michael Patrick, CEO of Georgia-based regional exhib chain Carmike, of the phenomenon so far. “If it continues to gross anywhere near what it has, it will play with us.”
A Fandango exec said that the ticket-ordering Web site is getting a significant number of emails from fans wondering why the pic isn’t playing in their town — a phenomenon that he said rarely occurs.
In order to break into markets with populations under 50,000, the typical profile for Carmike’s theaters, “Brokeback” would have to hit around 2,000 playdates. That’s a heady goal for an indie pic, not to mention that screens can become scarce this time of year.”
Read full article here:
http://www.variety.com/VR1117934946.html
you don’t even have to couch it in those terms, and I think you’re under-selling this movie’s staying power. Fahrenheit 9-11 outlived its 15 minutes of fame and still did millions.
however, if you’re going to compare Bareback Mountain to a niche film, you’re going to have to compare it to the only recent movie with the same amount of controversial content: The Passion of the Christ. when BM hits $300 mil, then we’ll talk about “mainstream acceptance.”
Everything I’ve read about it says that it is boring as hell unless you are into gay sex. So, I think I’ll miss this one.
Charmaine
Though I have absolutely no interest in going to see a gay sheep herder movie, the flick is going to produce both an award buzz and a good ROI.
It may fade if it doesn’t cross over into a chick flick, but looking at the numbers so far, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed by it’s success.
Cost of BM estimated at 14 million and at this rate might recoup its investment via dvd sales. As of 12/19 film avg. 5.6k per theater still good but the greater number of screens has diluted the avg. per screen attendance yet boosts the overall dollars earned. I think Charmaine’s prediction of a fade by Jan. 1 is still in play. If theaters in the major areas are still claiming 20k + per screen then wider showings will only increase box office marginally. Again I refer back to Michael Moore and his debunked claim that his film was doing well in more conservative areas. This still strikes me as tempest in a tea pot. I can hardly wait to discover that homophobes caused the film to not live up to the expectations of its supporters or detractors.
Making Money vs Making a Movie
Brokeback breakdown. Why does Hollywood continue to invest time, talent and treasure into products nobody wants? Brokeback Mountain is receiving rave reviews. But seen in only 69 theatres in 21 cities? And these are empty. Lots of ink; no…
Making Money vs Making a Movie
Brokeback breakdown. Why does Hollywood continue to invest time, talent and treasure into products nobody wants? Brokeback Mountain is receiving rave reviews. But seen in only 69 theatres in 21 cities? And these are empty. Lots of ink; no…
Making Money vs Making a Movie
Brokeback breakdown. Why does Hollywood continue to invest time, talent and treasure into products nobody wants? Brokeback Mountain is receiving rave reviews. But seen in only 69 theatres in 21 cities? Lots of ink; few viewers. This is because…
good to see you’re still delusional, toasty yoesty. i’ll be in VA this weekend. let’s hang.
Continuing to beat a dead horse,as of 12/22 BM still in 69 theaters but not in the top ten and is losing 15-20% attendance each day, while all other top ten films are gaining attendance. Small film, small audience, lucky to recoups its cost.
I suspect that Plano, TX may have some demographic anamoly that makes it more like a big city on the left coast than, say, Kokomo, IN might. The way this thing is being sold is not going to get heterosexual men, or women who like romantic movies rushing to part with their hard-earned Wal-Mart wages. I think your prediction will be right, Charmaine. I’ve never seen movie guys wait a month after releasing a film before trying to get it out into *yawn* lots of screens–people don’t have that long of an attention span to wait for a movie to come their local theater. Something else will fill the void long before then.
You were saying?
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-01-09-brokeback-date-movie-main_x.htm
Posted 1/9/2006 12:20 AM
It’s a date: ‘Brokeback’ romance draws couples
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
In four weeks, Brokeback has recouped its modest budget (south of $20 million) and is now in 120 diverse markets. “We’re doing huge grosses in places like Fort Worth and Cleveland,” hardly gay capitals, says James Shamus, chief of distributor Focus Features.
***
Also see:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/
BO listed there in 5th place at 670,000, about 200,000 behind “Narnia” and somewhat under half the #1 film, “Hostel.” Cheer up, though: it probably won’t overtake that one. Apparently America agrees with you, Mel Gibson, and some 33 year old director with some serious wimmin issues that yes, watching people be horribly, graphically tortured for lengthy periods is much MUCH more palatable than a couple of handsome men getting it on.
Perhaps if “Brokeback” had shown the horrific mutilation and homophobic murder of the man whose body the Heath Ledger character was supposed to have seen as a child, but no actual kissing or groping, the film might have been more to your taste. What a shame we’ll never know. Oh, well: looks like it’s doing just fine on its own. La, la, la.
lol. Yes I see how people were SO concened about a political agenda being forced on them. They only like that when it’s religious films like Passion of the Christ. Oh wait, THAT’S not propaganda, that’s just a beautiful showing of truth. No intent to promote a point of view.
Funny how the simple truth that a very good movie will overcome criticism and ultimately win out. Brokeback Mountain has been so popular it has now been distributed to over 2000 theaters due to demand and is now the top grossing movie so far out of the top 5 Academy Award competitors.
Like someone said earlier, you were saying? 🙂