Posted on 04/26/2011 12:48:34 PM PDT by Beaten Valve
My esteemed colleague Kyle Smith may not qualify as a box-office Nostradamus ("I smell a hit,'' he once wrote of "An American Carol'') but he was certainly on the mark in predicting that "Atlas Shrugged -- Part One'' would flop in his Sunday column a couple of weeks ago.
After a middling performance during its opening weekend that was hyped in some quarters (i.e., The Hollywood Reporter), the per-screen average for this amateurish Ayn Rand adaptation (even Kyle could only muster 2.5 stars' worth of enthusiam for the movie, though he liked its message) plunged to an alarming $1,890 from $5,640 during its opening frame. Overall, the weekend's take was a scant $879,000 -- a whopping 48 percent drop despite adding 166 locations. Which certainly suggest they're running out of audience quick.
That means that at some locations, distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures will be writing checks to theaters to cover the difference between receipts and operating expenses. The only way they're likely to get the 1,000 screens the producers say they want next weekend is to rent them. And, as Kyle put it at his personal blog, "Whether the sequels get made is purely a matter of how much desire the producers have for losing money.''
Surely rubbing salt in the producers' wounds is the performance of Robert Redford's left-leaning "The Conspirator,'' which also added screens in its second weekend and managed a decent hold and a $2,696 per location average. Its current cumulative gross is $6.9 million vs. a hair over $3 million for "Atlas Shrugged.''
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Hack reviewers like Roger Ebert and Peter Travers gave it the worst reviews. It's hard to figure out how much of that was because of the film's actual awfulness and how much was because the film was awful in a different way than films they've praised were awful.
According to Metacritic, the New York Post gave it the best review, and that was pretty lukewarm. Even the Wall Street Journal hated it.
The Fountainhead with Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal was a passable film -- it wasn't awful or unwatchable -- but it also managed to be pretty leaden in places: too much the illustration of a thesis, rather than a portrayal of real life.
I would call it a decent film, worth going to see.
It’s hard to compare “Atlas Shrugged” with “The Fountainhead” because the movies are from different schools of film making.
I had goosebumps during some of the scenes in “Atlas Shrugged” that depicted the deal making between crony capitalists and government.
I think the general quality of “Atlas Shrugged” may be better than “The Fountainhead.” I freely admit it’s my opinion, however.
“Playing in two theaters in Colorado Springs...Tinseltown and Chapel Hills Mall. That’s not 200 miles from Pueblo, is it?”
No it’s not. But I don’t live in Pueblo. Pueblo is where we shop once a month and would go to the theater if Atlas Shrugged were playing. Whenever we go to The Springs (rare now-a-days) we put on over 200 miles.
Drops are normal week over week for WIDE releases. Phased releases like Atlas Shrugged is having shouldn’t drop when the theater count increases, especially not 50% in both directions. Yeah Easter can be bad but when your theater count goes from 300ish to 450ish that SHOULD make up for the Easter problem, instead total revenue dropped by half, that’s bad. This weekend won’t be good.
The last movie I saw at the theater was Forest Gump. We went to Atlas shrugged last weekend.
I’ll not visit the theater for anything else than part 2. The libs can spin it any way they want. It was Easter weekend. Where are the conservatives, at church? We drop this ball all the time.
Your county is EXACTLY a carbon copy of our county. We had to travel 30 miles to see this film.
But, you know what? We’re doing it. The conservatives will win.
We are winning. The middle of the road folks are tired of this crap. Groceries, gas, and all the other stuff. We can’t keep up with this tactic. Enough already. We can’t feed our families. We’re sick and tired of it all. Obama has to go. His policies are to destroy America. While he flies around the country raising Tons of dollars. We are doomed.
I was about 30 when I read it, (and the Virtue of Selfishness) and remember thinking about the “selfishness” of her stances...even though I wasn’t particularly religious at the time and kind of in my own little selfish world. And, I hated that long “speech.” I probably should go and re-read other parts of the book, though, since it’s been quite awhile. On the other hand....I think we’ll just go see the movie.
For those of us who did not read the book, why did Francisco basically swindle people’s money before nationalization of the San Sebastian Mine?
When I first read it, (in the ‘t0’s?) it gave me the clues as to what to watch for, and I did. But when I saw something worth telling people about, they were too busy with their jobs, and perhaps their boats to listen. S0 we find ourselves at this pretty pass! Others tried without success, as well, of course.
As the Bible gives us the road map for life, Ayn Rand gave us the blueprint for disaster. For nearly four hundred years we enjoyed the first. So how did we end up with the last? My prayer is that we have not yet reached the point of no return.
Frankly, I cannot think of a worse philosophy than one which excludes the Living God. I re-reading Atlas Shrugged. I first read it when it came out many years ago. I’m at the first chapter of Section II. But I doubt that Rand, an atheist, mentioned God in a positive way, if she mentioned Him at all.
(in the 50’s)
This past weekend was Easter weekend. Most people spend this holiday with their families, and in their churches. I think it will pick up some this week. I plan to see it myself this week.
Francisco didn't swindle anybody. He was teaching the looters and moochers a lesson, and the tuition paid for that instruction was the value of their investment.
People like Jim Taggart, Orren Boyle, etc. bought into the mine project only because it had the D'anconia name behind it. In Francisco's view, they were merely piggy-backing on the fruits of his mind.
When pressed further, Francisco's response was beautiful. Basically, he said "What's your problem? For months, I paid men good wages, I built schools, I built housing for all these people. I was doing what you expected producers like me to do. And now you come whining to me because you lost money?"
Another part of the plot not fully explained was the relationship of John Galt, Ragnar (the Pirate) Danneskjold, and Francisco D'anconia. They were the three prized students at Patrick Henry University, and they were caught in the vortex of the conflicting ideologies of Dr. Robert Stadler and Hugh Akston (Michael O'Keefe at Akston's Diner). If you'll recall, John Galt was drinking coffee at the Diner when Dagny first met Hugh.
Drat, I'm definitely going to re-read Part One in preparation for this weekend's trip to the theatre!
A bearable human life requires hope. Our current president knew this, thus hope and change were incorporated into his campaign promises, and the people bought it. (After what we are seeing in the U.S., the indoctrination being thrust upon young people today?) the Godless people in Atlas Shrugged had little or no hope. The mediocrity of Socialism was in the last throes of finishing off the freedom of capitalism. Somewhat what we are having to witness today.
A people who know the Living God have hope. Thus the government is doing its level best to kill Him. Hope ans aspiration have no place in Socialism.
See Posot 93.
Got it!
DVD. Theaters mean people and people forgot how to behave years ago.
I heard the same thing earlier today on FOX News. The negative reviews could be a strategy designed by the libtards to discourage people from going to see the movie. I am planning on going to see it tomorrow. I will also buy the DVD when it becomes available.
I guess atheist materialism doesn’t sell as well as the producers hoped.
My thoughts:
We saw this as the first movie in 10 years we set out to see (that Indiana Jones on an empty afternoon out of town doesn’t count).
We both have read the book more than once.
We both think the book is important, and enjoyable.
If you loved the book, you’ll like the movie.
If you liked the book, you’ll love the movie.
If you feared the book you’ll hate the movie.
This movie will break all records for those who purchase the DVD as a gift.
I’m amazed they made it so short, at only ~90 minutes, for a third of a book that deserved a 12-hour miniseries. I hope that the prospects for success let them make the next two parts 2.5 hours each.
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.