I walked by the theater before, and the 4:00pm Serenity was sold out. Granted, it was the tiny theater at the top floor, but still.

I don't know the economics at all. A friend of mine told me recently that, as far as profits go, showing a movie in-theater is a loss leader designed to promote the DVD, which is where the real money is made. If this is true ( and I don't know if it is), Serenity is fine; the DVDs are pre-sold.

Huh: Amazon does movie showtimes [link]

as far as profits go, showing a movie in-theater is a loss leader designed to promote the DVD, which is where the real money is made. If this is true (and I don't know if it is), Serenity is fine; the DVDs are pre-sold.

There's some truth in that, although honestly if a film doesn't make it's money back in the theater, the studio is probably sweating a bit on the DVD. Still, the studios generally know what they're doing, money-making wise. They'll make their buck of Serenity, and if there's more bucks to be made, there'll be another one.

Last time I saw Serenity, there was a Doom trailer -- first time I saw it I recognised it right away, because I knew they were making it, knew it was starring Dwayne, and knew the basic plot. But listening to the Serenity audience gradually realise what it was for -- hilarious -- you could track the realisations by the bursts of laughter popping up around the theatre.

Same thing when I saw it. I think it's telling that they didn't even put dude's name up on the trailer. I gotta say, I've never seen The Rock draw much money outside of a ring. Did The Rundown set the world on fire and I didn't notice? From what I can see, it seems like The Rock's treading water, making just enough back with each film to get him another role.

Scorpion King made a shitload of money. [link]

A point. But I'd call that Rocky's LOTR. The only picture he's been in since to get more than half that was Be Cool, and he was hardly the biggest name in that one.

Don't get me wrong. I think his acting is perfectly acceptable for the kind of roles he takes, and he's easily the best actor ever to hold a Pretend Fighting Championship bet ... Well, make it a maybe on that last. I'd have to watch some of former WCW champion David Arquette's work before I discount him.

Nice site by the way. I was going to do some research along those lines before I posted, but didn't know where to look.

Devin at CHUD strikes again. The most interesting part of the column, for me, is the last third, where he talks about the grassroots marketing campaign.

If I weren't so focused on other things, I might want to write something myself on the gradual blurring of the line between "creators" and "fans" that we've seen in recent years. I think it's a fascinating subject.

I am afraid that boxofficemojo just gave me evil popups, so maybe beware.

Finally caught up with this thread again. I saw it today for the fourth time (counting two preview showings) and ITA that it rewards multiple viewings. Maybe I'll go see it again Monday or Tuesday.

That pan up to River's face peeking down got one of the biggest laughs in the screening I was in.

Actually, not a pan. The camera is stationary and does not zoom at all (what's the technical term for this?) during this shot. I know this because I sorta remembered it as a pan, so I was watching for that when I saw it today.