By daniel kline
Wagerweb.com is offering bettors the chance to predict the opening weekend grosses of "The Da Vinci Code." The site puts the over/under at $70 Million.
There are many reasons given for declining movie attendance. Some blame rising ticket costs. Others point to the Internet and video games as just some of the competing entertainment options. Maybe it's that people can simulate the experience of the movies with home theaters. Still others say that people hate the 20 minutes of ads they are subjected to before each film. But the main reason might be the actual films themselves.
People still enjoy the communal experience of going to the movies. And this is one of many reasons it may be worth taking a flyer and betting on the over on the box office of "The Da Vinci Code."
Since the beginning of last summer, only five films have opened to greater than $65 million on their opening weekends. Those films were "Star Wars: Episode 3," "War of the Worlds,"; "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire," "Ice Age: The Meltdown," and "Chronicles of Narnia." So what makes this a pretty good bet to be number six?
Awareness is off the charts. Forty million copies of the book The Da Vinci Code were sold. Many were surely passed along to friends. If you've been on a plane or a train or walked along a beach in the last couple of years, it's been hard not to pass at least one person reading the novel. Walk into any book store, and there are sections devoted to books analyzing the original book. And, come on, when you first read that the film was going to star Tom Hanks, wasn't your first thought "Too bad there was already a movie called 'The Sure Thing."
There is a definite lack of competition. "MI:3" and "Poseidon" both opened to disappointing grosses. Most adults looking for summer films often complain that summer films are only about "things blowing up and talking animals." "The Da Vinci Code" is for them. Until the new summer princes of romantic comedy, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, open their movies later this summer, what's the big date movie? While not your typical summer action flick, "The Da Vinci Code" still contains a lot of thrills and suspense, plus a strong female lead to complement Tom Hanks. This film will be filling a void when it opens this weekend.
"The Da Vinci Code" is controversial. Senior Vatican officials are urging a boycott of the film. This proposed boycott has only brought additional attention to the film, but now some might say that there is no such thing as bad publicity. This is not necessarily true in the movie business. Russell Crowe's affair with Meg Ryan killed the box-office for "Proof of Life." Tom Cruise's antics on Oprah had a negative effect on "MI:3," and all the press surrounding Bennifer certainly didn't help sell any Ben Affleck or Jennifer Lopez movies. However, those examples were about the talent. When the film itself is controversial, press tends to help it. The people who haven't read the book are likely to be curious as to what the fuss is all about. Sony is not very concerned about the bad press. In fact, its commercials embrace it by calling "The Da Vinci Code" "The most controversial thriller ever."
There are some concerns. The film hasn't screened yet. Not all best selling books become hit movies (although it certainly helps to drum up interest). But, short of a Pixar cartoon, Harry Potter and your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, how many sure things are there? "The Da Vinci Code" has enough going for it for you to bet the over.
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
