Boycott not working? 'Star Wars' Grosses Record $50 Mln in First Day

[DeepModem Mom]

'Star Wars' grosses record $50 mln in first day
Fri May 20, 2005 05:51 PM ET

By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The final chapter in the "Star Wars" movie saga grossed a record $50 million from its first 24 hours in North American theaters, the highest box office tally ever for a single day, 20th Century Fox said on Friday.

Nearly 30 years after George Lucas revolutionized cinema with his original sci-fi tale of good vs. evil in a galaxy far, far away, the concluding installment to his double trilogy seemed firmly on course to redefine the boundaries of the Hollywood blockbuster.

Opening Thursday on some 9,400 screens in nearly 3,700 U.S. and Canadian theaters, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" generated $16.5 million in ticket sales from sold-out debut midnight showings packed with costumed fans and went on to accumulate $50,013,859 in receipts by day's end.

The unprecedented sum easily surpassed the previous opening-day box office record set last June by "Spider-Man 2" -- $40.4 million -- and the $44.8 million single-day benchmark "Shrek 2" grossed a year ago in its fourth day of release....

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"WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations. "THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED ACHIEVEMENT."...

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=8562808

[rodeodance]

1. my heros--next to Xena Warrior Princess and Star Trek series

[Toots]

2. I didn't realize there was a boycott..Who,why what?????

:shrug:

[wicket]

4. PABAHH

They even have a website:

http://www.pabaah.com/

The Daily Show skewered them a while back.

[mcg]

6. They don't want us there! But they can't keep us out!

This is the message I got

"Your coming from a site that we don't like. So why dont we send you back!
powered whit Protector System"

... but there's an easy way around this, just enter the URL in your browser's address box instead of clicking on it.

For the article about Star Wars, scroll half way down.

For a lot of the site you need to be a registered user.
A paranoid bunch there.

[tyedyeto]

9. Damn, I clicked....

must...cleanse....computer...

[KharmaTrain]

10. They've Got The Link Blocked...LOL

You have to cut and paste it in another browser so it doesn't get the DU re-direct. LOL!!!!

Your coming from a site that we don't like. So why dont we send you back!
<br> powered whit Protector System<meta http-equiv="refresh" content=" 3; url=http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=104&topic_id=3696946&mesg_id=3697036">

IIRC, didn't Lucas write most of the scripts for these movies...and 3 sequels back around 1980?

Boycott? Yeah, right. Many of these same chicken hawks who "boycott" this movie will get a copy cause they love the shoot 'em ups and special effects.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Here you go --

Politics creates a disturbance in the Force
By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY

Since early screenings of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith began last month, film critics, commentators and Internet bloggers have been debating whether filmmaker George Lucas is comparing President Bush and the Iraq war to the Dark Side of the Force. The conservative film site Pabaah.com has called for a boycott. The topic even made NBC's Today show....

***

....some see echoes of Bush in the film.

In one scene, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader tells his onetime mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." The line is seen as a reference to Bush's post-Sept. 11 threat "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."...

***

Even a perception of bias could hurt a film's bottom line, some say. The crucial summer moviegoing season usually makes up 40% of a year's box office revenue; this year, ticket sales are down 7% from 2004.

"If people feel Lucas is pushing a parallel between the Galactic Empire and present-day America, I think people will be turned off," says filmmaker Jason Apuzzo, co-editor of the conservative film blog Libertas (libertyfilmfestival.com/libertas)....

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-05-17-sith-politics_x.htm

[mcg]

7. "`Star Wars' inadvertently hits too close to U.S.'s role" -Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0505180309may18,1,7399822.story?coll=chi-leisuretempo-hed

`Star Wars' inadvertently hits too close to U.S.'s role

"Lucas said at his Skywalker Ranch earlier this month. "Because the democracies aren't overthrown; they're given away.""

Now I want to see it, in a theatre!

[DeepModem Mom]

8. Thanks for adding the article, mcg --

and those important words from Lucas.

[Warpy]

3. Right wingers will boycott

every show but the matinees and the latest shows.

Wouldn't want to see anybody they knew (except all the other right wingers).