So, it seems that 'The Golden Compass' didn't do so well (or at the very least, didn't do as well as expected). Blame/Congratulations were immeadiately directed at the fervent religious folk who did their damndest to keep as many people away from the movie as possible. I find this idea to be beyond ridiculous. Pop culture boycotts (and Christian/Catholic boycotts in particular) have generally raised public awareness and have arguably had opposite the intended effect more often than not.
Let's rewind to every single instance a new Harry Potter movie or book has come out, because you know that the boycotts and (overbearing) conscientious folk who tried their best to keep people away from that franchise have been so successful. 'Brokeback Mountain' almost seemed to be assisted by the attempted backlash. The moral? A boycott, no matter how strong, will not beat out the hype machine if people are intent on seeing, reading, or listening to the object of ire.
I honestly felt this movie was going to disappoint in the Box Office, and the reason has very little to do with overeager moralists. It had much more to do with the fact that the movie, as advertised didn't seem to be the type to really grab attention. The disticntly 'meh' reviews that poured in from both critics and fans of the book alike did little to convince anyone that this was a movie they had to see (and honestly, the film may have done itself a disservice by watering down the material, thereby alienating the only pottential hardcore audience it had left - fans of the original series).
Having such a poor opening week may doom this franchise before it even really gets off of the ground. You may blame Rotten Tomatoes for this, if you like, but I don't know how much credit I'd toss William Donohue's direction.
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