Sunday, December 9, 2007

"The Golden Compass" up against nobody, doesn't impress at Box Office

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From Hogwarts to Hoth, with oodles of clever literary references, The Golden Compass manages to evoke several popular movie franchises without establishing a theme of its own. Based on Philip Pullman's children's fantasy novels—roundly denounced as anti-religious by religious extremists—the star-studded adaptation starts off strong and trails off into the abyss. BoxOfficeMojo

"The Golden Compass," a costly fantasy starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, got off to a slow start at the North American box office and will likely fall short of opening-weekend expectations.

New Line Cinema's $180 million film sold an estimated $8.8 million worth of tickets during its first day in theaters on Friday, according to data issued on Saturday by tracking firm Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com).

After Saturday and Sunday sales are factored in, the film will come in at No. 1 with about $28 million when the studios issue their weekend estimates on Sunday, said Paul Dergarabedian at Media By Numbers, another tracking firm.

New Line, a struggling Time Warner Inc unit hoping to launch another franchise along the lines of its blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" series, said last week it was hoping the film would open to between $30 million and $40 million.

"It's below expectations, but it's not an out-and-out debacle," said Dergarabedian.

Conspiring against the movie, he said, were such factors as a soft marketplace and unrealistic expectations for an epic fantasy filling the holiday void left by the "Narnia" and "Lord of the Rings" smashes.

A New Line executive did not return a call seeking comment.

Based on the first book in British author Philip Pullman's acclaimed children's series "His Dark Materials," writer/director Chris Weitz's film is set in an alternate world ruled by an oppressive religious authority. It features talking animals and a heroine played by youngster Dakota Blue Richards.

Even though the film downplays the religious aspect, it has been savaged by such groups as . . . the U.S. Conference of Bishops [HUH??? The USCCB reviewer gave it pretty much a 1.8 thumbs up accolade]. Opponents have cited Pullman's unflattering portrayal of the church and specifically the Catholic faith.

Critics were also generally negative on the film, according to the web site Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com), which collates reviews. [...Snip]

2 comments:

swissmiss said...

Father Ubel even cautioned against it today at Mass. He didn't give a review, per se, just a caution about letting children get caught up in it since the books get progressively dark.

Anonymous said...

"Roundly denounced as anti-religious by religious extremists."

Sounds like Box Office Mojo is as tone deaf as New Line...if they keep insulting the ticket buying public (who are more roundly moderate) with their irreligious extremism and shaming...then they shouldn't be surprised when the product fails to sell.