Catholic boycott stops Golden Compass movie success!

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Rotten Tomatoes, a site which gathers mainstream movie reviews, gave the movie a 41% fresh rating.

I don’t doubt that Catholic resistance to the film is part of the reason it did poorly. But the bad reviews and viewer unhappiness with the film probably also played a part.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $325,537,061, with a production budget of $180,000,000.
 
I do not think it was the boycott. It was a poor adaption and poor screenplay, just not a good produced movie overall.
 
did you read the article? it states clearly that they admit that christian reactions and protests halted the success.
 
HeWillProvide said:
did you read the article? it states clearly that they admit that christian reactions and protests halted the success.
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The link is from the Catholic League, they were one of the loudest against it (needlessly), so they are heavily biased in why it went bad, of course they want to take credit for it, that is human nature.

All I saw was poor reviews from a poor adaption and screenplay. Like the Divinci Code, I will probably also see this on DVD in the near future and not have my faith shaken one bit by it.
 
originally posted by** Dale_M**
According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $325,537,061, with a production budget of $180,000,000.
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Domestic: $68,880,202 21.2%
  • Foreign: $256,656,859 78.8%
    = Worldwide: $325,537,061
We are able to make an impact on America but if we could just get the word out overseas especially to the smaller populated England and Ireland($51,093,672). Totals for all countries…

boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=goldencompass.htm
 
gam197 said:
We are able to make an impact on America but if we could just get the word out overseas especially to the smaller populated England and Ireland($51,093,672).
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But the film was expected,to do better overseas because the books are better known there, especially in Britain.

I am inclined to discount the boycott’s effect, although no doubt there was some effect. The movie, from most accounts, was simply mediocre.
 
Well, where is His Dark Materials… if he’s alive? And why doesn’t he speak anymore… Is he still alive, at some inconceivable age, decrepit and demented, unable to think or act or speak and unable to die, a rotten hulk? And if that is his condition wouldn’t it be the most merciful thing, the truest proof of our love for His Dark Materials, to seek him out and give him the gift of death?
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Good for Donohue for giving the *His Dark Materials *movie franchise the gift of (atheist) love! I.e. kill! kill! stab! stab!)
 
I’ve never been a big fan of organized boycotts of books and movies…it generally makes people want to see what’s so controversial about it.
 
Yerusalyim said:
I’ve never been a big fan of organized boycotts of books and movies…it generally makes people want to see what’s so controversial about it.
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Yes, this is certainly true for adults. But I wonder if a movie aimed at children, such as this one, might not have had such a bump. Adults might be willing to difiantly go to a controversial film, but I am not sure they would be willing to expose their children without vetting it first.
 
Dale_M said:
According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $325,537,061, with a production budget of $180,000,000.
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This site claims its budget was 230 million - although maybe that’s Australian Dollars. Regardless, it will continue to make money on DVD sales, television broadcasts, etc. It looks like a comfortable profit, which would certainly increase if sequels are released, and people feel the need to see the first movie again (or for the first time) in order to be up to speed. For these reasons, I think it’s quite likely that at least one sequel, and probably both, will be made.

That makes it difficult to believe the claim on the Catholic League’s press release that the boycot had made it “unlikely that there would be a movie based on the second and third volumes of Philip Pullman’s trilogy”, and I haven’t seen any evidence that the sequels will not be made.
 
The pertinent quote:
Film critic Roger Ebert, who loved the film, said “the box office was wounded by attacks of religious groups.” He added that “The criticism was led by the Catholic League and its talkative president William Donohue.” He concluded that “Any bad buzz on a family film can be mortal, and that seems to have been the case this time.”
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So while it may not have been the only factor or even the decisive factor, it is perfectly reasonable to believe it was a substantial factor. To the point that Catholics should try it in the future with other movies. (Even when the production is good. :))
 
I think the Catholic league did a smart thing by forwarding reasoned objections to all catholic schools. I would have had no idea that the books it were based on were an atheist’s answer to CS Lewis without it and, as noted, the publisher (Scholastic) does book fairs and book clubs in most catholic schools, so many parents might have exposed their kids to this without knowing.

Knowledge is good. If an atheist writes allegory and markets it at my kids’ catholic school I’m relieved that AT LEAST there is a watchdog out there telling me so.
 
Generally from what I have heard those who make movies offensive to Christian standards prefer that religious groups attack their film because this gives their movie more publicity and notice. But perhaps the situation was different here, because as a family film it would be a movie for parents to take their children to. People might want to protect their children when they don’t protect themselves.
 
I too think getting the word out made a difference. How could it not have?

My boss (catholic :nope: ) went to see it. He told me where they ended it. Now why didn’t they end it like the book did - with the sacrifice of that kid? :rolleyes:
 
The “success” of the boycott really depends on what the goal of the boycott was in the first place. If the goal of the boycott was to make the movie a financial failure, I’d say it was not a success. If the goal was to stop Catholic children from veiwing the film and they have some way of measuring that their boycott influenced Catholics from seeing the movie, then I’d say it was a success.

Otherwise, it may simply be a coincidence that the boycotted movie was simply a cinamatic flop.

Nohome
 
Usually studios really put stock into domestic $$, not so much the overseas boxoffice. That is usually what keys their decisions on sequals, etc. It only made $68 million here in the US, compared to the domestic total of $200+million for the Narnia movie. And to go world wide, $700+ million for Narnia vs $300million for Compass. This movie was aimed at the same audience of children, and Pullman likes to think that his books are the anti-Narnia books. $68 million for a children’s fantasy released at Christmas time, the prime time for family and children’s movies, isn’t that good. It’s actually pretty pathetic. Since they spent $230 million, plus advertising, on the movie, they aren’t really making a great profit on it. And New Line has had several bombs lately, I’ve heard their parent company is thinking about folding it into another studio.

Usually if a sequal is in the works, it will be announced right away. That hasn’t happened. I personally doubt it is going to happen. And I do think that the Christian backlash had a lot to do with it. Compare it to the Narnia pic which had the support from Christians and families. Major difference.

I for one am glad this happened, and I do not plan on watching the movie on dvd. Maybe if it’s on cable I’ll see what the hullabaloo is about, but I won’t give it any more consideration than that.
 
I just watched the movie few days ago. I think I might want to RENT the DVD and use it to educate people about the Catholic teaching. Although it was compromised so much, I could still feel that they are attacking the Magisterium.

Btw, according to the wikipedia.org, there’s a chance that there’ll be sequel.
 
I didn’t go see it because the movie satirizes and holds as an object of scorn an organization in the film called The Magisterium, whose name is lifted directly from Catholic Moral Teaching.

No one in my family saw it.

Thus, the Catholic Boycott had **a direct effect **on the total film’s revenue received.

I’m sure a lot of people on this thread didn’t go see it for similar reasons, and other Christian churches boycotted the film because the film promotes atheism. This also had a cumulative direct effect.

I don’t know if that will prevent them from churning out more of this garbage, but we definitely can say this Boycott had some effect on the success of this film in this country.

There’s no doubt about that.

You should find some sort of victory in halting some of the overall box office success of this Celluloid attempt to brainwash young Christian children, with all the money of a major Hollywood Studio behind it, against Jesus’s Church.

I swear, on this thread, and I’m not trying to be very critical of others (in a mean spirited or bad way), but there seems to be a lot of naysayers in general who seem to believe automatically whatever they watch on TV or every statement that Wal-Mart’s Public Relations Department issues or what they read in their newspaper or hear on the Network news.

You have to think critically **with the teaching of the Catholic Church **as your anchor.

I heard almost nothing about the movie or saw any movie reviews of it, except I heard the author was interviewed on the Today show just before the movie was released in the U.S.

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TUEBOR

DEFENDING OUR CULTURE
 
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