Brokeback Mountain box office--record platform opening

[kweerwolf]

First a little background. Brokeback Mountain is using a strategy called "a platform release," where a film opens in a few theaters (five, in this case) to build buzz, and then rolls out gradually. The key number to watch in the early weeks is the per-theatre average. Anything above $10,000 is great for an arthouse pic, but to really blast off into the stratosphere, they are looking for $20-30,000. The biggest average ever for an indie pic was Syriana, with $74,900, just two weeks ago. (Which would be almost impossible without a major movie star.)

<snip>

Exploding in platform release with one of the most spectacular grosses ever seen for a limited release bow was Ang Lee's cowboy love story Brokeback Mountain which debuted in only five cinemas but grossed an estimated $545,000 for a jaw-dropping $108,910 average per theater. The Heath Ledger-Jake Gyllenhaal drama has been showered with praise by critics and is already one of the top contenders for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and other prestigious prizes. This weekend, it was selected by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association as the best picture of the year with Lee also winning the director's trophy.

Focus Features launched Brokeback Mountain in three New York sites plus solo houses in Los Angeles and San Francisco this weekend and will expand on Friday to approximately 60 theaters nationwide. The gradual roll out is common for acclaimed arthouse films that need word-of-mouth and awards buzz to spread before convincing moviegoers in other parts of the country to open their wallets. The R-rated film can solidify its early frontrunner status if it receives major kudos from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review, and the Globes which all announce their nominees or winners over the next two days giving the industry a clearer picture of the best films of 2005.

http://blogs.salon.com/0001137/2005/12/10.html#a1786

I'm going to invest heavily in stock for chiropractic clinics and companies that make cervical collars. Box office receipts like this will make the fundies' and right-wingnuts' heads spin so fast they will be lined up around the block for treatment.

[joeybee12]

1. It's the Rapture!

Hah! Showed those fundies!

BTW, did you know that the term or "idea" of rapture does not exist anywhere in the bible! Wonder where these fundies found it?

[politicat]

3. www.religioustolerance.org has a concise explanation...

Various theories have been promoted by Christians that have linked the millennium, tribulation, Armageddon, second coming and tribulation together according to different schedules and sequences. During the second and third century CE, some Christians believed that the Millennium referred to in Revelation would follow Christ's return. This is called "Premillenialism." It was declared a heresy and suppressed by the church in the 4th Century.

This ancient belief was reintroduced in a modified form circa 1830. Most people believe that it was resurrected by John N. Darby, a minister of the Church of Ireland, a denomination in the Anglican communion; he founded the Plymouth Brethren. However, author Dave MacPherson claims that British pastor Edward Irving was the actual person responsible, and that a conspiracy was organized to give Darby the credit.

The whole article is here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/rapture.htm

[kweerwolf]

6. I just checked the "Rapture Index" ...

... and it has been increased to 155, putting it a full 10 points above the "Fasten Your Seat Belt" level! I'm wondering if Brokeback Mountain pushed it up, or if they are waiting to see if it wins any Oscars before being yanked up into the sky like God's yo-yos.

http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html

(Interestingly, I did find the following while browsing through the "Comments on Active Categories":
"The False Prophet - The departure of the pope obviously increases the chance for the next pope to be the false prophet.")

[HillDem]

10. What will James Dobson say?

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

18. If he's smart, he'll keep his trap shut

But he's not, so I'm sure he'll go on some tirade, which would be the best thing for this movie. The more controversy, the more curiosity, and the more people would go to see it who otherwise would not have.

[meowomon]

26. James Dobson will say

...that to keep your son form being gay, take a shower with him and let him gaze at your penis. Go figure.

[HillDem]

31. Welcome to the DU!

:hi::hi:

[Kurovski]

35. Rushing the Oedipal stage would only serve to create

younger and younger Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand fans.

[Kurovski]

34. The rapture? I should say so!

A tale of all-American cowboy-lovin' is indeed a rapturous thing!

It fleshes out what "Red River" could only hint at. It's about time someone bothered to "git-r-done".

Many a repressed fundie male's REM cycles will be populated with warm, strong and tender cowpokes.

Yee-haw! Cattle drive, anyone?

[MuseRider]

2. Very happy to hear this.

I seriously doubt that movie ever comes here but if it does I am there. It sounds like a wonderful, touching story.

[Caoimhe]

4. Same here. I am not wishing it quick box office death but....

I also can't wait for the DVD to come out, since this movie will no way play here.

[kweerwolf]

5. MuseRider, I think it opens here in KC on Jan. 6

You'll just have to organize a caravan to come over and see it. I'm gong to try for opening night and I hope I can get some folks from my Democratic club to go with me so we can meet afterward and have a discussion of the film (and probablyh pass around a few boxes of Kleenex, too).

[MuseRider]

8. Great!

I think I will do that. Thank you for letting me know.

[sui generis]

12. Well you know that's the thing if you really believe in love

then who it's between doesn't matter. Everyone else is just faking it because they sure don't get it.

The fact of the matter is that our extended families, friends, neighbors, coworkers are getting used to us, and some are actually starting to think of us as human and not some bizarre Prince Albert styin' handlebar-mustachioed leather chaps wearing Liberace (although there's nothing wrong with that either).

Hopefully for the rest who are curious enough to go, they'll get a chance to re-evaluate their stereotypes.

Odd thing that real cowboys don't care about this movie - it's the gap toothed mullet headed beer gut Old Glory types who pretend to be representing western masculinity who are having crying jags about how the Marlboro Man is now the Marlboro Ma'am.

Poor little fellers.

[kweerwolf]

7. Fundies weigh in on "Brokeback"

Dr. Ted Baehr of MovieGuide said the film has generated a tremendous amount of public awareness, including positive reviews from ABC and other mainstream media outlets — which have, in turn, invited him to comment on the movie.

His assessment?

"If you're not looking at this through the eyes of someone caught up in the 'love affair' between these two men," Baehr said, "then the movie appears to be twisted, laughable, frustrating and boring Neo-Marxist homosexual propaganda."

In other words, he didn't like it.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038874.cfm

[sui generis]

13. neo marxist homoseckshul propogandy

some people see this


others see this

[Meldread]

9. I have a feeling that...

...this movie will become a classic. One of those movies, that even 20 years from now, will still be just as good.

[Mike_The_Computer]

11. Wonder if they'll start using Ang Lee's name in the same breath

as Michael Moore now.

But oh, that helpless feeling the Fundies must be feeling, as a gay historical romance gains critical and popular momentum. Wonderful!

[The White Tree]

14. I hope not. He is an incredible director

One of the best movies I've seen in the last several years was Ride with the Devil, a truly great Civil War story about Kansas.

[kweerwolf]

16. I always liked "Ride With the Devil" ...

... though I may be a bit biased since it was filmed locally and deals with local history. It was disappointing that it didn't do better at the box office, but I think that was because it wasn't the traditional "Gone With the Wind" type Civil War story. I believe it accurately reflects the way the war was fought in this part of the country ... no great armies in blue and gray converging on a battle field and no plantations populated by Southern belles and sassy slaves, but neighbor against neighbor engaging in ambushes and raids.

[kdpeters]

15. I saw Brokeback Mountain this weekend in San Francisco

It's showing on three screens at the five-screen Embarcadero Theater. That this small theater would show a single movie on multiple screens is unprecedented in itself. I went on Friday afternoon about 2pm to pick up tickets, but all shows were sold out for the rest of the day. Luckily, another friend had bought extras so I was able to go. There's just nothing like going to the movies with a packed house full of queens -- especially in San Francisco.

It really is as good as they say. The cinematography was outstanding especially sweeping landscape shots of the Wyoming mountains and prairie (though actually filmed in Alberta, Canada I believe). They really paid attention to every detail and made a beautiful movie.

The love story is very moving in such subtle ways. It's not overly dramatic, but it's honest. Any of us who have ever been in love and in the closet at the same time will personally identify with the story. I grew up in rural Georgia myself and had my first relationship long before ever acknowledging I was gay. This movie captured that struggle so realistically, certain scenes took me back twenty years.

I hope you all go see it. You won't be dissappointed.

Karl

[swimmernsecretsea]

20. I saw it there also.

I didn't know it was on Moviefone until late, and I wasn't able to get tickets until Sunday. All showings for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (the last was 10:30pm) were completely sold out. People regularly lined up about 90 minutes before showtime began. I ws pretty impressed with the audience I went with as well. Everyone was quiet and ver interested in this film, and all the couples sat holding hands, watching. I think we all knew we wanted this to be good, and weren't disappointed. There were a lot of groups, as well as couples, and a number of women as well.

I agree about the cinematography; those immense vistas of cloudscapes and ranges of fog-shrouded mountains are easy to capture, but Ang Lee made them function as if they were a character.

Ang Lee and the actors have a very subtle hand in revealing the story. An awkward touch is contrasted with a hurried and desperate kiss. A character reveals his inner anguish when he suddenly turns into an alley, crouches against a wall, and chokingly sobs while punching the wall. Moments are playful as well as tender. Beautiful work by everyone in it.

[IndyOp]

17. Wow - About time!

I don't know how anyone can watch "Three Weddings and a Funeral" without feeling that the greatest love story therein was that of the two men -- Andy and Hugh were a pitiful 3rd or 4th tier pair (and I like Hugh Grant!).

:bounce:

[tanyev]

45. Oh, yes. The scene where John Hannah speaks at his partner's

funeral brings me to tears every time I see it.

[K8-EEE]

19. The Freeps Are FREAKING OUT, LOL LOL LOL!!

OMG they are soooo clueless. My fave comment:

Think of how ridiculous it is that a gay man can "pretend" to be straight to the point of fathering children.

I certainly couldn't "pretend" to be gay no matter what. The very thought is sickening and repulsive, as it is to anyone with a normal sexual psychology.

[BR_Parkway]

28. Guess some of us in real life would just kill them, not only have my

partner and I got 4 kids, but now we're raising sheep on the farm. I may have to go by me one of them cowboy hats!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

36. MY fave is:

This is obviously the liberal/gay (same thing) answer to "The Passion of the Christ". A smash hit in urban areas with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

[kweerwolf]

37. "The Passion of the Cowboys"???? n/t

[donco6]

38. This is rich:

"Think of how ridiculous it is that a gay man can "pretend" to be straight to the point of fathering children."

Yeah, I think you Freeps call them "ex-gays."

[Kali]

21. But do they come across as real cowboys?

Somebody upthread mentioned that real cowboys didn't care, it was the redneck wannabes. I want to know if the cowboy aspect is real.

(said the hippy rancher who notices things like saddle styles and cowboy/buckaroo dress, cows and horses before movie stars - although that Jake guy....hmmmmm:9 )

[roguevalley]

22. this is good news. a deserving movie with a compelling topic.

very good news.

[mrsadm]

23. The film has had some great reviews

My favorite review was in The New Yorker, Dec. 12 issue. Here is a link:
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/content/articles/051212crci_cinema

Also the NY Times gave it a favorable review.

Now we need to see if it makes more money than Mel Gibbs' Christ movie.

[Gildor Inglorion]

24. Oh, Happy Day! Callooh! Callay!

I haven't been as stoked about a movie since "Latter Days," which I absolutely love. Having read the short story upon which "Brokeback Mountain" is based, I can't wait to see how they handle the characters. Those are two FINE young actors (quite aside from their obvious hotness). Plus Larry McMurtry did the screenplay. How much better could it get?

[AllyCat]

29. On which short is this based?

I have one book of Proulx's short stories, but can't seem to find this one.

[kweerwolf]

30. It's in Proulx's boof of short stories, "Close Range"

It's also available in the archives of the New Yorker (where it was originally published in 1997). You can find a link to the story here:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?051212fr_archive01

[swimmernsecretsea]

39. "Close Range"

Here's the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684852225/qid=1134425606/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-3684703-3577649?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

The collection has also been renamed "Brokeback Mountain" and reissued for the motion picture:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743271327/qid=1134425689/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-3684703-3577649?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[klebean]

42. I haven't been as stoked about a movie since "Latter Days,"

Loved that film, too. The director is a former Mormon (as am I); after the premiere
(people were leaning on the walls and sitting in the aisles) I congratulated him on
the authenticity of his film - that's when I got an earful - many of the crew were
former Mormons.

I saw Brokeback here in LA at a Saturday matinee in a large theatre (the Grove).
Shows were selling out.

The audience was very diverse - we sat next to a whole family. The diversity,
I think, accounted for some of the nervous laughter (such as when Ennis' wife
caught sight of them). I went w/a friend who "came out" on his mormon
mission in Rome, but tried to change and got married and had a child.
They divorced years ago, are friendly and their daughter is an awesome adult
w/two sons of her own now. I held him close while he sobbed when the film finished.
I tear up everytime I think of this film.

Heath and Jake may well share an Oscar next year.
And btw, who knew cowboys had so much fun?

[Momgonepostal]

43. When was your friend in Rome?

I also served a mission to Rome, 89-91. Is that the mission Stuart Matis went to as well?

[meowomon]

25. Hot Gay Sex

Move over men, women are saying that two hot men together is sexy. Well, at least the women I talked to. Voyeurism is alive and well.

[Gildor Inglorion]

32. Welcome to DU!

Any post about hot gay sex is ALWAYS welcome!
:hi:

[davidinalameda]

33. no it's not and welcome!

don't make me go moderator on you

:bounce:

[AllyCat]

27. Interesting thread at Int'l Movie Database

www.imdb.com has forums associated with each movie discussed at its site. The number one thread right now is titled "Homophobes: before you post, Jesus asks 'have you helped the poor today?'"

It's generating some interesting discussion, plus a lot of bumps. Registration required to view, but it's free and they don't seem to spam (I've never had a problem). Here's one of my favorite posts to the first one brave enough to spout some "homosexuality is a sin...the bible says so" crap:

--snip--
Yes, in the bible it is a sin, but in the same passages it is also a sin to shave your beard.

All clean-shaven Christians are going straight to hell.

It's a sin to touch a woman during her menstruation.

Any Christians put a reassuring hand on their cramping wives shoulder? Hell!

It's a sin to wear cloth woven from two different threads. Better get checking those washing care lables or it's Hell for you.

A sin to eat fruit from a tree less than 4 years old. Do they put that on the lables at Wal-Mart? Better not eat any fruit to be on the safe side.

It's all in Leviticus. If you can't follow all the rules, then shut the heck up.

Share the love, not the hate.

--snip--

[skids]

40. We should start a rumor...

...That one of the characters is based off dubya.

[Kurovski]

41. Nah...those guys are REAL cowboys.

George thinks the cowboy spirit is about extreme belligerence and heavy drinking.

[pro_blue_guy]

44. I want to see this.

It's too bad that this movie isn't playing in my local area. There are three movie theaters with a total of 26 screens in a 15-mile-radius and not one of them has Brokeback Mountain! I don't even want to know the reason for this.

I guess I'll have to go to Cleveland to see it.