'Apocalypto' earns $14M, resurrects Mel Gibson

[Herman Munster]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16209948.htm

LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson's bloody epic "Apocalypto" debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie, proving the filmmaker still can deliver a winner despite his drunken-driving arrest and anti-Semitic rant last summer.

"Apocalypto," a Disney release set in the Mayan civilization and told in an obscure Mayan language, opened with $14.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was a modest haul compared to the $83.8 million opening weekend of Gibson's last movie, the 2004 religious blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," which went on to do $370 million domestically.

But "Apocalypto" overcame the baggage of Gibson's personal troubles as well as its difficult subject matter, which features a no-name cast in a hyper-violent tale that includes beheadings and images of hearts ripped from people's chests.

"The movie obviously succeeds on its own level. I think people probably are a bit on the surprised side around town that it's No. 1," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "Two months ago, nobody would have bet on that."

[QuestionAll...]

1. I saw it last night...

and can't say at all I 'enjoyed' it. It was non-stop brutal and awful, - I was warned but went anyway. This is happening right now in iraq and afghanistan and too many other places around the globe.

the opening had a quote to the effect that great civilisations are destroyed from within, rather from the outside.

after thinking about it for a bit I think I see what the general message may be, and it couldn't have been done as effectively without the continuous horror and stress of suvival for a people that are targeted by a power much stronger than they are. I saw a lot of parallels to our 'modernity and civilisation' and how things have not changed that much - just the instruments of brutality have.

The invasion of the village - I saw Fallujah. I don't think the scenes of invasion were any less horrific.
Taking the prisioners and their mistreatments - Abu Graib.
The sacrifices - soldiers and citisens of Iraq dieing for corporate profits and misuse and gluttony of resources.
The sacrifices - the common man, the ones whose hearts are torn out at the whims of the ruling classes.

I don't think I'd want to see it again as I was cringing and hiding my eyes for a large part of the movie.
but I am so fortunate as to not have to witness or go through such terribleness - when too many are, Right Now. so in a sense I am glad I went, I have a slightly better understanding of what pure terror and fear and hell on earth man visits upon his brothers.

shame on us all.

[aquart]

2. Congrats on giving him the box office.

[QuestionAll...]

3. ?

i'm not sure what you mean...
that I shouldn't have gone because You Say So?

?

[Selatius]

4. Let him shoot the messenger instead of addressing the message.

That's his loss for not reading the message.

[JackBeck]

6. Umm, Mel G. isn't the only one who worked on the film.

So we should punish the hundreds of crew and cast who also worked hard to make this film because one idiot spews such vile?

And I think you should go back and read the entire text of the message.

[FedUpWithIt All]

14. Thank you.

What makes me cringe in a theater is often nothing compared to the real horrors people live with everyday.

[JackBeck]

5. It may be #1 at the box office, but by Hollywood standards,

14 million is not that respectable. I'd be curious to see it's per screen gross.

[JackBeck]

7. OK. Just did the research.

This movie bombed. "Volver", Pedro Amaldovar's movie, did better than "Apocalypto" over the weekend, making $3000 more per screen. And it's been out for 5 weeks.

We'll be seeing Mel's movie sink like a sac full of rocks.

[AndreaCG]

13. Good. It's supposed to be awfully bloody

Like an upscale horror movie.

I can't see the fundies renting theaters to see this one.

[MrSlayer]

8. I'd like to see it but I never seem to get to the movies.

I've still not seen Borat, hell I just finally saw Dead Man's Chest friday night and I've been meaning to see it for months. I'll probably get the DVD when it comes out.

[EdwardM]

9. 14 million? Didn't Passion of the Christ open with more than 80 million?

Looks like Mel Gibson lost a ton of money in his rant. 14 million is way less then I was expecting.

[JackBeck]

10. It'll be interesting to see if this film makes back it's 40 mil budget.

A 14 mil opening weekend is laughable, especially when playing in almost 2500 theaters.

[Little Wing]

11. Peanuts

Or, to gear that towards Mel's tastes

Bagel Chips

[onecent]

12. These young people of today want to see gore and death. Our

youngsters are immune...if it's not vile and tragic and bloody and out of the world...then they don't want any part of it.

I'm a grandmother of 15 and I'm telling you it's really sickening.

They want want want
They get get get
No respect, no passion, no driven goals,
No discipline

All we can give them is money, because they have everything else!

Merry Christmas!

Don't mean to sound as disgruntled as it seems...but dear God....something has got to give with the young people. It's all too materialistic.

They want cars when they turn 16 and most of our kids cannot give their kids new cars....

[trekbiker]

15. I saw it and thought it was an amazing film..

violent and very graphic but an incredible piece of cinematograhy. And I normally cant stand subscripted films. The casting, costumes, sets, locations were perfect. A truly believable depiction of a very violent part of ancient Mayan culture. The ending was very good. the beginning of the end of one violent culture supplanted by the next violent culture.