"Brokeback Mountain" a quiet box office boon

[swimmernsecretsea]

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
(12-28) 18:47 PST Los Angeles (AP)

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.

The film expanded to 69 theaters the following week, then to 217 over the holiday weekend, reaching suburban audiences in Portland, Dallas, Denver and Atlanta.

The gradual release allows moviegoers to talk up the film's appeal, Foley said.

And it seems to be working.

"This is a film that builds through word of mouth and critical acclaim," Dergarabedian said. "People want to see what all the fuss is about."

Response has been so robust that distributors are expanding the film's rollout ahead of schedule. It will show on 269 screens this Friday, and reach an additional 80 markets the following week, Foley said.

Still, he acknowledges that bringing a homosexual love story to the Bible Belt presents its own set of challenges. Various Christian groups voiced opposition to the film before its release.

Ted Baehr, who reviews films for the Christian Film & Television Commission, called the film "abhorrent" and "twisted, laughable, frustrating and boring neo-Marxist homosexual propaganda" in a review on the Commission's MovieGuide Web site.

But based on the film's reception in Atlanta and Dallas, Foley said he expects it will be well received in other markets.

"We're rolling it out ahead of schedule because the demand is there," he said.

Ever-building buzz can only help "Brokeback," Dergarabedian said.

"This film has so much buzz going for it and so much critical acclaim going for it, it will transcend any limits the subject matter has placed on it," he said. "If you want to be a well-informed viewer on Oscar night, you should probably see this movie."

Source Link here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/12/28/entertainment/e184750S19.DTL

[Hardrada]

1. Did C.S. Lewis write that one?

[Skittles]

2. I saw it last night in Plano Texas

the theater was packed and no wonder: it is a beautiful love story

[William769]

3. I can't wait for it to come to my area.

[racaulk]

4. I saw it in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago.

I saw it twice, actually. :D The theater was packed both times, and it's easy to understand why. The story was both beautiful and gut-wrenching, the cinematography and direction were excellent, and the acting was high caliber. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

The first time I saw the movie, the audience was comprised primarily of gay men (not surprising, with it being opening weekend). But there were many more heterosexuals, of both genders, in the audience the second time I saw it. I think this speaks to the movie's broad appeal and to the "buzz" surrounding the movie that the writer of this article described.

[kweerwolf]

5. I just saw it tonight in Kansas City

It was a sold-out premier to benefit a local organization.

It's truly a beautiful film and one that is honest and authentic in its portrayals of two men who lack the vocabulary to express what they are feeling.

That being said, I found the original story more moving than the film. I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it, but the scene in which Ennis talks to Jack's wife on the phone really disappointed me. In the story, it was left far more ambiguous to the point where you didn't know whether Ennis was imagining what might have happened or whether he was reading between Lurlene's words and discerning what did happen. I felt the film took a much too literal approach to that one aspect of the story and in doing so it removed the ambiguity that made the original short story so haunting.

[dickthegrouch]

6. I Hope everyone has seen the Don Asmussen parody

Look on the Toons page (I had trouble copying it here)

Toons

look for Brokebush Mountain.

Happy New Year