Box Office Faith
October 8th, 2008 Posted in film buzz
The #1 earner at the box office this weekend was certainly no surprise. It’s a rare occasion when something with Steven Spielberg’s named attached to it goes belly up. So when the Spielberg-produced Eagle Eye took top honors at the box office nobody batted an eyelash. The action thriller starring Shia Lebeouf and Michelle Monaghan pulled in a robust $29.2 million. Second place saw a near $16 million dropoff as the Richard Gere/Diane Lane romance vehicle, Night in Rodanthe only scored $13.4 million. The previous week’s #1 Lakeview Terrace fell two rungs down the box off ice ladder with only a scant $6.97 million take.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was Fireproof. I had to do research on this one. Fireproof stars Mike Seaver…ahem…Kirk Cameron. That’s right, everyone’s favorite pseudo son of Alan Thicke’s who’s turned into a crazy evangelical was in the #4 grossing movie this week…but don’t expect to see this in any local multiplex if you’re a city dweller unless that city in which you dwell is somewhere in the bible belt. Fireproof is not for film fans who like their films light on preachy-ness. The story of a firefighter husband who tries to save his marriage by engaging in something cheesily named “the love dare” is heavy on Christ and if the trailer is any indication also on total lameness. While I’m sure Fireproof is no lamer than any of those “Epic Movie”-type spoofs it’s braek through into the top five is nothing short of astonishing. It leaves you to wonder if a “values” laden film such as Fireproof can score relatively big at the box office, whether or not the folks in Hollywood will look towards a more faith-based initiative, releasing films that play to those audiences. Perhaps the studios will seek a balance between mainstream appeal and religious appeal. If that’s the case then I have four words for you: Jesus Christ Action Superstar!
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