And Brokeback is now #1 for the year here and already a multiplier over 6.

1 Brokeback mountain £6,111,233
2 Just friends £5,452,121
3 Jarhead £4,727,131
4 Memoirs of a geisha £4,466,310
5 Fun with Dick & Jane £3,969,891

Well, i seen it again last night...and the theatre was packed. So good signs for next week....in addition to the Oscar Noms.

Saturday night I saw Brokeback Mountain again, this time with my sister, her husband, and my brother. It was a lot more enjoyable this time around. I was amazed at how much more I enjoyed it this time. And I even shed tears . I honestly thought that while I'd appreciate it more this time that I might get kind of bored at times, but shockingly I was very entertained and the time went by fast. It was packed this time too. It was pretty much sold out. People were still coming in when it was starting and they all had to sit in the seats in front of the screen, and those seats filled up fast, leaving only a couple of empty ones in the theater. My sister loved the movie and thought it was sad, my really religious and homophobic brother (who my sister's husband invited along not knowing what the movie was about yet, so then we had to tell my brother before going and he didn't sound too enthused about seeing it but my sister just told him it was a romance between two guys who eventually marry women, and he was like, "So they get married to girls?" That made it sound less bad to him, but I think he assumed that meant they stopped their affair. Little did he know they continue it while married .) thought it was pretty good but "not the kind of movie he usually watches," and her husband thought it was "ok" but it didn't have enough action for him because he likes movies with action (not ones that actually have some meaning and importance ). People on the way out seemed to like it. An older guy told the woman he was with (whom I'm assuming was his wife) "that was a really good movie" and some girl was telling the other girl she was with that it was "soooo good." I was just glad I didn't have to sit next to my brother. We got there before the movie started but it was still packed already so we couldn't sit together and my sister's husband and my brother took off when we got in the theater and said they were going to sit up in the stadium seating and we can sit in the floor seats (assholes ) but we went to the other side of the theater and found a couple of seats left in the stadium seating for ourselves. I didn't mind not sitting next to my brother during it so I didn't have to hear him make any noise or remarks.

Anyway, I heart this movie. One of the most beautiful looking films I've seen with scenery that will put you in awe at times, and one of the best love stories I've seen. I found it more sad this time and just to be a much better film. I just hate that when a movie like this becomes really popular and wins Best Picture and stuff a backlash starts and so many people turn on it. I won’t be one of them. It’s my #1 film of 2005.

This is hilarious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ

I actually think there should be a separate thread for all the Brokeback spoofs... But this one is probably the best.

Do you guys also think Brokeback will clear $80 million before the Academy awards? If that's the case, than it only need about $20 million post Oscars to hit 100.

Hmmm, Brokeback's $100 million is lookin' mighty fine right now

It will be closer to 90 million by Oscars. After this weekend, the film is going to sit around 61 million, and there will still be 4 more weekends before the Oscars, one being the President's Day 4-day weekend... furthermore, we already know this film does strong weekday numbers, AND I might be the only one who thinks this, but I think it will do well around Valentine's day, because afterall, it is a love story, as unconventional as it may be..

Right, I forgot about Prez Day. I also think it can do well on Valentine's Day, especially since the gay community has never been taped by the obviously heterosexist Hallmark companies

I think it will be a top choice for people for Valentine's too. It's one of the top date movies in the country and I think a lot of hetero couples will be seeing it for Valentine's. I say it should at least get to 80 Million by the time the Oscars air.

Call me old-fashioned, but just can't see a heterosexual couple going to see a gay love story on Valentine's Day; unless it's the female who's putting the pressure on the guy.

Come to think of it actaully, isn't that what Valentine's Day's about?

I'm not sure many heterosexual guys went to see movies like a walk to remmeber very willingly either, though

Not many guys willingly go to romance movies. Usually the female picks the movie on Valentine's Day. It's not about the guy so much .

great article!

For 'Brokeback,' not easy being front-runner

By Martin A. Grove
'Brokeback' business: As great as it is being the best picture Oscar front runner that Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain" now is, it's also a position that poses some challenges.

Driven by its eight Oscar nominations -- more than any of the other best picture contenders -- and its earlier Golden Globes, Producers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America victories, Ang Lee's epic love story is faced with maintaining its lead until the Academy's polls close Feb. 28. Knowing that front-runners can run out of steam, Focus is working hard to keep "Brokeback's" marketing fresh and to continue expanding the film into new markets in the coming weeks. I was happy to be able to explore these and other points in conversations Wednesday with Lee about the making of the film and with Focus co-president David Linde and marketing president David Brooks about the business of how the company's handling the picture.

When I told Lee that I wanted to focus with him on how he'd made this movie that I'd found so profoundly moving, he replied with a laugh, "That's probably three hours." And, indeed, while we ended up talking for quite a while about the making of "Brokeback," there's probably even more that we didn't get to discuss. In any event, Lee's reflections on making the film deserve more than to be excerpted here today, so I'm going to devote next Wednesday's column to what he had to say.

Asked about the challenges of being the front runner, Linde told me, "What we would like to accomplish is for people to continue thinking about the movie and talking about it with their peers. That's all we can really ask. We are hopeful that the depth of how meaningful it is on a personal level will only resonate more and more as time goes on. All we can ask is that people see the movie and give it thought. That's our greatest goal."

Brokeback's" success to date both on the awards front and at the boxoffice, where it's now done over $53 million and is heading for $100 million or more domestically, comes on the heels of Focus' past success with award-winning hits like Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" and Roman Polanski's "The Pianist." "Brokeback's" performance maintains Focus' image as a place where filmmakers who make terrific movies can get the right kind of support to maximize their impact with moviegoers as well as with the awards community.

"I think that when Universal decided to buy Good Machine (the company Linde his Focus co-president James Schamus headed a few years ago) and create Focus, all they did was encourage us to do what James and I had always done, which is support as best we can the perspective of the filmmaker," Linde explained. "We're not trying to do anything else. That's who we are. We feel incredibly lucky that we've had the support that we've had and incredibly fortunate that this year people are really embracing what our filmmakers are trying to do. Each of these filmmakers really has something to say and in this day and age those original and unique voices are perhaps even more special to audiences that they have been in the past couple of years."

Besides "Brokeback," Focus also scored four Oscar nominations for Fernando Meirelles' "The Constant Gardener" and four more for Joe Wright's "Pride & Prejudice." All told, Focus received a total of 16 nods, the most for any distributor this year.

Looking at "Brokeback," Linde observed, "It is at its heart a very personal film about individuals. What I think makes us happiest is that it's resonating so widely, but still in such a personalized manner. The beauty of the nominations is that whatever concerns people might have about the breadth of who will see it are dissipated because people realize that it's really become part of the zeitgeist. And at that point, just about anybody has really had the time to digest what they know about the film and to think about what they know about the film and then to go and see it."

Asked how Focus is working to keep the film's front-runner status going, marketing president David Brooks told me, "It's hitting its widest (release) this weekend. We're on close to 2,100 screens in North America and that alone is a tremendous benchmark for the movie that we're really excited about. It's getting out even further into the country and it's (great) just how well it's worked in every single city that it's opened in, which is really incredible. With the aid of being the most Oscar nominated movie and being able to shout that as well (now), I think that only gives people more impetus to go see it. And certainly it gives it even more strength as it goes into these other 400-plus theaters that are new this week.

"The more and more people who see it, the more people talk about it. You can't turn on the radio or the TV and not hear mention of 'Brokeback' in some way, shape or form. Thankfully the nominations, I think, will just go further to stimulate continued chatter about the movie."

Having an extra week of playing time this year because the Oscars won't take place until March 5 (so as to avoid earlier competition from the televised Winter Olympics) will also work in "Brokeback's" favor. "From a commercial standpoint, there's no complaints there," Brooks said, "because you have that extra week where people have a chance to catch up. You as an Oscar watcher, I'm sure, have noticed I'm sure and have probably heard anecdotally year and year out that people tend to want to see all five nominees so they can feel part of the program and make their own selections and prognostications. Anything that gives them another opportunity to catch up and see (the nominees) before the show is great for business."

In the past, of course, there was an even longer playing period between Oscar nominations in February and the telecast in late March. While Brooks notes that the longer campaigning period could be draining on those competing for Oscars, "the flipside of that kind of industry Academy fatigue is that you did have those extra weeks for the extra commercial playability of the movie, which is always good. As long as you're a nominee, you're not a winner or loser -- you're a nominee, you're in the game until the Night. And coming out of that Night, depending on how things go -- you know, in a year like (the one with) 'The Pianist' and 'Chicago,' there were a couple of winners who came out of the Night. It sort of depends on the sweep. There are certain years where two or three movies can get a bump and some years like the 'Million Dollar Baby' or even 'Titanic' (years where one film) tends to sweep the top categories and they're the ones that get the bump."

Clearly, Focus did a lot of things right with "Brokeback" because if it didn't, the film wouldn't be where it is right now at the boxoffice and in the Oscar race. What made things work so well? "We gave both the film and the audience the gradual opportunity to touch people in their own personal way," Linde explained. "Even though we were certain that the film should be released first in America, we still started its presentation in Venice (winning the Golden Lion award). And then we went to Toronto. And then we began to screen the movie. You know, Ang has a very long, successful history with film festivals. We really felt that giving people who had a lot of experience with Ang's movies the chance to see the movie first and begin to talk about it (was the way to proceed). And then once it had sort of entered into the ether, to give lots of people the opportunity to screen the movie so they could begin to talk about it and talk about why it was important to them, I think was really key in giving the film a chance to open from the get-go. The film really sparks dialogue. It encourages dialogue and it also benefits from dialogue."

As for the film's eight Oscar nods, Linde pointed out, "It gives you opportunity. We looked at movies like 'Million Dollar Baby,' for instance. Once we had a really clear idea of how strongly both critics and audiences were reacting from Venice and Toronto and all the screenings that we did beforehand, we really felt that we had an opportunity with the guilds and obviously with the Globes and with AMPAS and so we constructed a release strategy that was based on giving information to the audience. Because the more information that people have about the movie, the more they want to see it, quite honestly.

"So if you start in September with specific audiences and critics and journalists, who begin to talk about the movie, what you're giving the audience the opportunity to do is to learn as much as possible about the movie before they go to see it. Our experience is that once they see it, they just want to talk about it because they love it so much. So it's really a very designed strategy to essentially track all these different opportunities to create dialogue about the movie, which then in turn creates more business."

Focus' release strategy was also designed to put the film into theaters in many markets at this point where it had not played previously and is, therefore, a fresh new film for people to see after they've seen it capture major awards like the Golden Globes. "A lot of the other movies (competing in the Oscars) have already gone wide and to a certain extent will play underneath. And now our moment has come to enter into markets and theaters where these other movies have already played. And that's very much a part of our strategy."

Is the fact that people across the country have already seen clips from "Brokeback" on the Globes telecast and have seen the film, its stars and Ang Lee winning awards help drive it at the boxoffice now? "I think there are people who are automatically prepared to embrace the movie," Linde replied. "There are people who want information about the movie before deciding to see it. When they see it, they embrace the movie. So every single clip that we get, every newspaper article, every little piece of information that they receive is a means of (getting them to buy tickets)."

"The beautiful thing about 'Brokeback Mountain,'" Brooks added, "is that we've been consistent from even before Day One in our messaging about this being a deeply moving love story for everybody -- a universal love story, an epic love story, an American love story. And we're just going to keep saying that. You will continue to see the love story message and you've probably noticed the other message is how deeply this love story has connected with audiences across America. And you'll continue to hear that message, but now we have the great fortune of layering over that the awards that it's won in addition to the Oscar nominations and the distinction of the movie as being the most Oscar nominated of the bunch."

The picture's commercial success is another important point helping to drive it now. "It really is incredible the depth to which this movie plays in the country," Brooks said. "We've certainly been pleased by that. Most people didn't expect it and we're thrilled that it's happened. I think it really speaks to the universality of the movie. It's important that we get that message out both to moviegoers but also to the media."

Although it seems as though "Brokeback" must have been a very challenging movie to market, Brooks says that wasn't the case: "We came up with a strategy. We came up with a message, which was the love story message and not putting any modifier on that -- no parameter. It is just a love story. And we really, honestly, embraced that in every piece of the marketing and publicity outreach. We stuck with that from before Day One. Our strategy has been to stick with it and we're going to continue to. I think that strict adherence to that and not trying to go outside of that and create controversy or rush the movie out into the marketplace (worked well). We were very disciplined and careful in allowing the movie to generate that early word of mouth and to grow. It was great that we did that and that allowed it to flourish in its own way. And it just picked up a head of steam from there.

"When you're watching late night television, you see it every night. And you're opening the newspaper and you're seeing it every day. And then it's showing up on talk radio, in op-ed pieces, in letters to the editor -- literally everywhere you turn there's something about 'Brokeback.' We can't necessarily take credit for that. That's the movie. We, hopefully, brought it into the world and helped it to be born into that. But it's been phenomenal what's happened with this movie. For me, personally, I had an experience like this when I was at Miramax on 'Pulp Fiction' where a movie just took on a life of its own. It became part of the national conversation. (And there have been other such movies) recently like 'Passion of the Christ' in perhaps a bigger way, but who knows where we're heading on this? And the Michael Moore movie ('Fahrenheit 911'), too, where these films just become so deeply engrained in the national conversation. It spans the spectrum of popular culture."

Filmmaker flashbacks: From Feb. 6, 1987's column: "Universal will be a major contender in this year's Christmas movie sweepstakes, having just moved Steven Spielberg's sci-fi presentation 'Batteries Not Included' from June to December.

"'It's a very strong Christmas entry,' observes Universal distribution president William Soady. 'This is a warm, heartfelt story that lends itself to the Christmas season and we felt it was worth making this move at this time...'

"The move to Christmas, of course, is a good indication of Universal's confidence in the Amblin production. 'Christmas is a very fast track,' reminds Soady. 'You never slot a picture at Christmas unless you feel that it can go against the massive competition that will be released within a two-week period...'

"Moving into June in place of 'Batteries' (directed by Matthew Robbins) will be Spielberg's presentation 'Harry and the Hendersons,' a fantasy-adventure-comedy (directed by William Dear) about a family that literally runs into a big legendary creature while out camping....'

"All told 1987 is shaping up as a potentially strong year for Universal. In addition to 'Harry,' the studio has another key summer release in 'Dragnet,' opening June 26...There will also be 'Jaws '87,' the third sequel to the blockbuster, July 1; 'North Shore,' a film about surfing on the north shore of Hawaii, in July; 'Born in East L.A.,' an off-the-wall comedy starring Richard 'Cheech Marin,' in August; and 'Three O'clock High,' a youth comedy about a high school student confronted by a bully, in August."

Wednesday words: Read next Wednesday's column for Ang Lee's thoughts about making "Brokeback Mountain."

That was a really interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

Hehe, not bad....cheap laughs.


But saying there should be a seperate thread for Brokeback spoofs is a bit insulting....why not suggest we do it for every other film??

moving on...

Didn't realise this....

WorldWide Gross: $81,099,346

Yassss!! :):)

Because there´s been like one million of them?

I think we should have a thread for all... the good, the bad and the ugly. This movie has become a media phenomenon... maybe a "BBM in the media" thread, I don´t know.

Just a thought.

yeah dar that would be a cool thread...

not sure if anyone has checked dave cullen's BBM fourms. on their, a lot of members are getting together on sunday as an anti-super bowl event and watching BBM together.

it's crazy! strangers getting together to see the movie

Well I don't care what orientation you are, but the sight of two guys having sex is FAR less repellant than watching Mick Jaggar "perform" at sporting event.

If...youuu...staaarttt... me...up.... *COUUUGGGHHHHHH HAAAAACCCCKKKKK******** start me uppp....... *CCCOOUUGHHHHHH*

I think by far the best article I've read on the movie...

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18712

Brokeback Mountain is heartbreaking!

Finally got to see the movie yesterday, and my my what a heartbreaking story that is affecting in so many ways. It's superbly done and the acting in this movie is astonishing. There are so many subtleties and layers that you cannot not think about it long after it has finished.

If haven't seen a love story this powerful since i don't know when, it's more than a story of just two lovers, it's a story of how cruel society can be and the prejudice towards homosexuals which affects not only the two lovers but also the people around them.

The emotions and torment the characters were feeling is so wonderfully conveyed....the dialogue was also mind blowing. Lines such as "I wish i knew how to quit you" and "It's because of you that i'm like this" and "Jack, I Swear"....it makes your heart cry.

The symbols scattered throughout the movie were so powerful, most notable being the two shirts together...my my.

A+++++++++++

I've finally found my Phantom of the Opera for 2005/6

UNITED KINGDOM - Weekend 4

1 - Brokeback Mountain - $1,748,819 (£987,261 - 125 TC)
2 - Brokeback Mountain - $5,034,599 (£2,843,944 - $2,265,752/ £1,279,878, +30%)
3 - Brokeback Mountain - $8,432,575 (£4,783,631 - $1,885,624/ £1,069,677, -16%)

Largest drop yet, though it's a tough market out there with other adult oriented movies such as Fun With Dick And Jane, Memoirs Of A Geisha still going strong and the arrival of a fellow Oscar nominee, Munich.

It's tracking ahead of Crash and looks like it could become the highest performing Oscar winner since Chicago (ROTK aside that is)....okay it hasn't won yet, but i sooooo want it to win.

Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $83,412,520 (£48,099,432/ €69,921,490 - $6,847,775/ £3,713,999/ €5,381,666, -43%)
King Kong - $46,197,768 (£26,080,026 - $3,826,937/ £2,160,421, -19%)
Chicago - $15,694,715 ($1,427,385, -30%)
The Hulk - $13,524,400 ($104,764, -81%)
Closer - $12,901,046 (£6,775,404 - $966,689/ £513,241, -44%)
The Phantom Of The Opera - $12,293,956 (£6,459,987 - $1,111,603/ £584,103, +137%)*NY
The Aviator - $10,961,549 (£5,821,350 - $1,177,591/ £625,383, -32%)
Brokeback Mountain - $10,833,983 (£6,111,233 - $1,248,069/ £704,011, -34%)
Crash - $7,895,975 (£4,286,367 - $762,968/ £414,383, -31%)
Million Dollar Baby - $6,331,729 (£3,358,096 - $468,804/ £248,635, -45%)
House Of Flying Daggers - $5,984,098 (£3,176,558 - $433,147/ £231,829, -48%)
Hero - $5,703,776 (£3,161,603 - $347,173/ £192,438, -44%)


AUSTRALIA - Opening Weekend

Brokeback Mountain is playing on only 48 screens, you have to go to the really artsy/adult oriented cinemas to see this movie.......though that didn't stop it from grossing a superb $1.5m.......the interest and demand is definately there and i can really see this playing solidly throughout Feb and March.

Gladiator - $5,927,458 (US$3.5m - 287 SC)
Moulin Rouge - $3,655,261 (US$1.9m - 252 SC)
The Hulk - $3,285,233 (or $3,396,534 incl. p/v - 341 SC)
Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World - $3,078,560 (or $3,113,778 incl. p/v - US$2.25m - 324 SC)
A Beautiful Mind - $3,009,995 (or $5,325,883 incl. p/v - 321 SC)
Memoirs Of A Geisha - $2,788,491 (or $2,823,115 incl. p/v - 200 SC)
Hero - $2,258,748 (or $2,263,322/ US$1,706,145 incl. p/v - 165 SC)
Chicago - $1,857,026 (or $2,548,043 incl. p/v - 157 SC)*
The Aviator - $1,830,974 (US$1.4m - 248 SC)
Munich - $1,789,146 (or $1,800,969 incl. p/v - 211 SC)
Closer - $1,609,499 (US$1,251,225 4-Day or $2,097,983/ US$1,623,625 5-Day - 157 SC)
Brokeback Mountain - $1,574,210 (or $1,611,557 incl. p/v - 48 SC)
Finding Neverland - $762,863 (or $812,171 incl. p/v - 199 SC)
The Phantom Of The Opera - $525,336 (2-Day Christmas Saturday + Boxing Day Sunday - 235 SC)*


FINLAND - Opening Weekend

Playing on just 5 theatres, it's on par with previous year's Oscar nominees such as MDB and Lost In Translation.

Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $2,046,630 ($1,451,281 + $595,349 2-Days - 68)
The Hulk - $260,225 (or $243,297 without p/v - 45)
The Aviator - $200,635 (or $179,700 without p/v - 20)
Chicago - $190,290 (26)
Finding Neverland - $126,863 (15)
Broken Flowers - $122,705 (or $110,388 without p/v - 8)
Million Dollar Baby - $120,287 (or $108,096 without p/v - 6)
The Phantom Of The Opera - $101,597 (6-Day or $98,254 without p/v - 12)
Lost In Translation - $97,465 (5)
Brokeback Mountain - $94,205 (5)
Closer - $90,986 (or $88,489 without p/v - 12)


FRANCE - Full Week 2

1 - Brokeback Mountain - $1,869,439 (277,516 adms. - 155 TC)

MDB went bonkers in France last year, Brokeback Mountain doesn't look like it could follow such heights.....though holding well against the opening of Munich.

Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $35,001,984 ($14,636,219, -26%)
Titanic - $23,393,191 ($11,189,191, +11%)
Gladiator - $10,836,644 ($3,578,546, -50%)
Million Dollar Baby - $9,180,157 ($3,622,427, -35%)
The Hulk - $7,607,057 ($1,926,107, -60%)
The Aviator - $7,487,699 ($2,843,498, -38%)
Ray - $5,320,771 ($2,515,433, -11%)
Closer - $4,717,409 ($1,638,615, -47%)
Broken Flowers - $4,068,484 ($1,601,487, -34%)
Moulin Rouge - $3,703,501 ($1,384,089, -40%)
Brokeback Mountain - $3,417,249 ($1,541,727/ 228,076 adms., -18%)
Chicago - $3,349,594 ($1,253,246, -40%)
A History Of Violence - $3,143,701 ($1,318,482, -27%)
Finding Neverland - $2,500,890 ($950,277, -39%)
House Of Flying Daggers - $2,499,413 ($901,976, -44%)
The Phantom Of The Opera - $797,866 ($203,006, -66%) - OUT




ITALY - Weekend 2 (70%)

1 - Brokeback Mountain - $1,068,451 (202 TC)^

Solid start in Italy, let's see how well it capitalises on the Oscar nominations this week....

Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $18,736,021 ($5,620,026, -31%)^
Match Point - $5,453,703 ($2,232,860, -1%)^
The Aviator - $5,099,903 ($1,533,441, -44%)^
Finding Neverland - $4,380,427 ($1,436,324, -32%)^
Hero - $3,986,965 ($1,079,597, -49%)^
Closer - $2,897,052 ($765,094, -49%)^
Million Dollar Baby - $2,605,010 ($1,118,388, +4%)^
The New World - $2,497,275 ($717,765, -48%)^
Brokeback Mountain - $2,410,930 ($868,640, -19%)^
House Of Flying Daggers - $2,237,094 ($714,561, -36%)^
The Phantom Of The Opera - $632,860 ($312,817, +54%)^

That Finland opening is just fantastic.

If you haven't already I reallly recommend you read this!!!! It's a little long but it is truly a great article!

It is. Thanks

I do understand the situation of Focus and the filmmakers, though. If they say the movie is a gay film, they risk the possibility of alienating part of the straight audience who thinks that a "gay movie" would have nothing to do with them, when that is not the case. Being in the closet is a specific gay thing, but the feelings of isolation, loneliness and repression are universal, so...