It's definitely going limited on the 7th, probably in 8-10 theaters like The English Patients, Shakespeare in Love, and Memoirs of a Geisha did. I'd expect it to go wide after two weeks, but Focus likes to expand close to their maximum right away, so I wouldn't be surprised to see 1000+ theaters on the 14th.

I hope they'll handle the expansion better than for Pride and Prejuside which certainly had $40+ million potential if not for Focus, IMO.

Yeah, that's a good comparison. I don't know why Focus never put more focus on developing better release strategy at the box office. They are good at promoting smaller indie films, but they seem to be content with $30-40m gross even when they had a jackpot in their hands.

Yeah, seriously, they've had some of the biggest screw-up's I've ever seen in terms of expansion/release strategies.

Best examples:

Eternal Sunshine of the spotless Mind (released in the absolutely wrong season and didn't expand it all after a solid start)
Pride and Prejudice
The Constant Gardener
The Motorcycle Diaries (they really could have squeezed more out of that one)

And that's the biggest reason why I'm against Atonement actually winning the whole thing... I really have troubles seeing a film that potentially grosses 25-35 mil getting it. Especially if Charlie is huge. Focus really needs an awesome release strategy for this if they want BP, and in short I have no faith in them at all.

Umm... if it's as good as everyone is saying, why would that matter?

Sorry, it just struck me as odd that YOU wouldn't want a movie to win just because it didn't do well at the box office.

Sorry phrased it wrong, I'm all on board for cheering for Atonement to win, I'd love it to

By "against" I meant "Not predicting it to"... : )

at the moment, this is the frontrunner. But "Juno" has nearly as many reviews on RT [15 vs 20] and has a higher average grade [8.3 vs 7.9]. Both of them are at 100%.

and "There Will Be Blood" is perfect after seven reviews..."No Country for Old Men" has a great RT grade, too....

still, Atonement is more Academy Awards-like than those three movies; it's a frontrunner, but being a frontrunner never ensures a win, especially in this day and age.

Just wow.

Go watch Beowulf

May you have fun in Africa!!

I'm in. I've been predicting an Atonement win for a few months now.

I really can't wait to see the movie. Regreatably, though, I live in a pretty small area, so it could take a while to get here.

hmm. Its first twenty reviews on RT were from British newspapers/columns, because they coincided with its British release. They were all positive, and it was at 100%. About two months passed between the last English review and the first American one.

The first two post-England reviews have been negative, sending its score all the way down to 92%. I wonder what's going on with that.

Peter Travers from Rolling Stone is another one to come in as well. He gives it 4/4 stars.

"It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance."

Peace,
Mike

Negative from Slant, YAY

Thank fuck for that. Being in the same bed as Slant is akin to sleeping with a hooker from Laos infected with Ebola.

It's gotten the same rating as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly from them, so that's good company.

Ehh...I think Atonement's looking less and less likely by the day (but still pretty likely).

I'm still pretty much at the same level as always. Atonement, with what we have to work off of right now, still looks like the safest bet for winning based on the Academy's taste and the strong reviews so far. Plus it's a period piece, and that just shoots it way ahead.

But I am still waiting for it to be released in the US and to see what kind of mark it will make and what kind of buzz it can create. It could fall behind if it turns out not to be that great as more reviews pour in, or it could fall behind if other films simply garner more strength (Sweeney Todd, No Country).

I'm still thinking that it could come down to being between Atonement and Sweeney Todd. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking, because both films have the potential to nab a slew of nominations at the Oscars and make my "Nominations Dominator" dream come true. Heh. Plus, Atonement is Drama and Sweeney Todd is Comedy/Musical at the Globes, allowing both films major wins. I want that to happen, the two films to go at it through the Oscar season and have a big showdown.

Peace,
Mike

So, Sasha Stone who was not into the hype so far, has seen the movie and she seems to love it.

I'm getting a similarly mediocre reaction from everyone I know who's seen it. Seems like it's turning out to be more of a Cold Mountain...but British, so it won't lose out completely.

so, its reviews are almost final. 90% RT grade. That's more than good enough for a period war romance to win [it beats out half of this decade's BP winners]. However, its reviews are lower than NCFOM's by a heft margin [7.8 avg vs NCFOM's 8.6 avg], slightly below Juno, below where I expect TWBB will finish, and maybe even below Sweeney Todd. If those are our five nominees, Atonement could be the least critically adored of the bunch, which would mean it would be very difficult for it to be a frontrunner.

I think box office will be a huge factor. If it has closer to $100m by Oscar night, it's got a great shot at a win. If it's at $30-40m by then, things are really up in the air for it.

actually, RT grades rarely drift more than 3 or 4% from where they are at this point. Some stay within 1 or 2% of there. I doubt Atonement will hit 95%, nor will it stoop below 85%. We have a pretty good idea where it's headed with critics.

Some weirdo gave it an F.

Here's the big Ebert:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbc ... 60301/1023

well that RT grade has stooped down a little too low in my opinion. I don't think it's a frontrunner anymore...I think No Country may have moved into that position.