"so it is doomed to lose money at the box office"
Actually, "Brokeback Mountain" has already made a profit of more than 100%. The cost of the film was $14 million, and it has already exceeded $32 million at the box office (according to boxofficemojo.com). The film is also setting records for $ per screen average. "Brokeback Mountain" has so far had a very limited release with screenings at only a few hundred theaters (compared to 3,000+ for big Hollywood movies). From today's imdb.com:
More "Sold Out" Signs Posted at 'Brokeback' Theaters
Once again, the box-office champ on a per-theater basis over the first three days of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was Focus Features' Brokeback Mountain which grossed $5.8 million in just 683 theaters, averaging $8,430 per theater. Daily Variety observed that the film opened in a number of small markets where big grosses are rare for any movie, but that in the larger markets where it was shown for the first time, including Tucson, Little Rock, and Pittsburgh, it grossed well over $20,000 per theater. Brokeback is widely expected to win numerous awards, including best dramatic film, at tonight's (Monday) Golden Globe ceremonies and, as a result, increase its box office take substantially next weekend. In tonight's Globes competition in the best drama category, Brokeback faces The Constant Gardener, A History of Violence, Match Point, and Good Night, and Good Luck.
Actually, "Brokeback Mountain" has already made a profit of more than 100%. The cost of the film was $14 million, and it has already exceeded $32 million at the box office
It's actually just breaking even at this point. For a film to make money it has to more than double the box office.
Which is just over twelve percent of Narnia's take ($263 million according to IMDB, including $12 million last week). Yet you won't see Narnia winning any leftist awards.
'Back in the day' using the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) for factual film records was SAFE.
In recent years, that database has lowered it's standards on fact checking and movie/actor credit listings. Now, IMDB scrinking and tiny researching staff have to rely too much on questionable biased press releases from publicity persons, and opinionated blog sites. Facts are shakey and should be triple checked.