As of Jan 13-16 weekend Narnia has grossed $263,441,000 and Brokeback Mountain has only grossed $32,088,000. Of course Brokeback has only been released to 683 theaters as compared to 3224 for Narnia. But that breaks down to $81712 per theater for Narnia compared to $46980 for Brokeback. With those numbers I know which one I would be showing in my theater if I owned one.
I hope you're right when all the dust settles, but if I were an investor who didn't care about content, Brokeback provides a far better return on investment than Narnia.
How can this be?
The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) estimates the production costs of Narnia to be $180 million. With receipts of $263 million, that represents a return on investment ($263/$180) of $1.46 per dollar invested.
Brokeback? IMDB estimates its budget at $14 million. With receipts of $32 million, that represents a return on investment ($32/$14) of $2.29 per dollar invested.
Do the math - that's a 57% better return on investment. And - it's showing in far fewer theatres.
With numbers like those, I wouldn't be surprised to see more similar-themed movies show up in the future.
It could be the pickings for a straight guy that doesn't want to pay money to watch a gay male love story are going to get a little slimmer.