ShareThisBy BETSY PICKLE
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
"Death of a President" was declared dead on arrival at U.S. and Canadian theaters last weekend. Despite a slew of publicity _ admittedly, most of it negative _ the film earned only $281,778 on 143 screens, according to www.boxofficemojo.com.
"Death" earned an average of $1,970 per screen last Friday-Sunday. In contrast, the box-office winner, "Saw III," grossed $33,610,391 on 3,161 screens for a per-screen average of $10,612.
In Atlanta last Saturday, there were fewer than 20 people in the auditorium where "Death" was showing, a stark contrast to the throngs of people seen walking to the Georgia Tech football game nearby.
Even taking football games and Halloween parties into account, the lack of enthusiasm for the film was extreme. But it wasn't unexpected.
"Death of a President" is a British-made film that found a distributor after it debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Politicians from both sides bashed it _ without seeing it, many media outlets refused to run advertising for it, and Regal Entertainment Group, the Knoxville, Tenn.,-based theater giant, was one of the first exhibitors to announce it would not play the film.
Businesses have a right to set their own policies. Citizens have a right to express opinions (though informed ones would be better) and avoid movies they feel are in bad taste.
"Businesses have a right to
"Businesses have a right to set their own policies. Citizens have a right to express opinions (though informed ones would be better) and avoid movies they feel are in bad taste."
So is this suppose to be a news report or an editorial? Have you watched the film? Seems like you are prejudging it before you have seen it, keep your personal opinions to yourself and just report the facts.