The Market Has Spoken

And the market has said "Thanks, but no thanks" to Atlas Shrugged: Part 1.

In its second week of release, the critically panned adaptation of Ayn Rand's objectivist wank fantasy expanded from 300 to 465 theaters. And saw a significant drop in per-screen averages. Opening weekend brought in an average of $5600 per screen, for about $1.5M in receipts. That, I am told, is respectable for an indie film.

This weekend saw $1900 per screen, landing in 18th place. (Down from 14th last week.) That's a drop of over 60%, while in about 50% more theaters. Whoops!

Now, Randians everywhere are going Battlefield Earth, blaming the liberal media for trying to torpedo the film. Because liberal film critics "can't stand free markets." Which doesn't really make any sense. I mean, I'm not Joe Hollywood, so maybe I'm wrong, but don't those liberal critics rely on that free market for their livelihood? Or are Roger Ebert and Peter Travers hoping that someday all movie admission will be free? I guess they'd still need film critics if all movies were free. I dunno. Personally I don't think anyone should have to pay to see Fast and Furious Five, because it looks like garbage. That's not really the same thing, is it?

No word yet on how many theaters Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 will be in next week, if any. I suspect though, that this will be in Red Box sooner rather than later. And while we're on the subject, just because you're using Red Box (and you know who you are) does not give you license to park in the fucking fire lane at the grocery store! Knock it off!

Also, failure to recoup its $15M budget puts the sequels in jeopardy. Maybe Glenn Beck can have some sort of pledge drive. Oh, wait, he's been cancelled. Sorry. p.s. Pledge drives are Socialist. Nevermind.