A Little Apoplectic Over "Apocalypto"

Ooh! “Apocalypto” finished #1! Let’s all get in line to suck Mel’s d*ck again!

Before Yahoo and Disney and all the industry insiders get all gushy about Gibson because his movie grossed the most at the box office this weekend, let us consider a few facts, ‘kay?

1. Its final box office take for the weekend was only $14.2 million. Its budget was $40 million. It still has a way to go before it even breaks even, let alone turns a profit.

2. The second place finisher, “The Holiday,” earned $13.5 million, so it’s not like the victory was a runaway success.

3. Gibson’s previous film, “The Passion,” earned $84 million in its opening weekend. From one movie to the next, that’s a drop off of 60 million, meaning “Apocalypto” earned about one-sixth what “The Passion” did.

4. Earlier this year, a movie that cost a little less than “Apocalypto” ($33 million) opened after much hype and discussion. It finished first at the box office in its weekend and delivered grosses comparable to Gibson’s film: $13.8 million. The discussion at the time was nothing but how disappointing the number was and had everyone asking what had gone wrong. In the end, it barely earned enough to recoup its production budget. The movie was “Snakes on a Plane.”

So, “Apocalypto” barely wins its weekend and it’s hailed as a major success for Gibson. “Snakes” wins its weekend with comparable numbers and it’s called a failure.

Maybe if “Snakes” director David R. Ellis had gotten liquored up and made anti-Semitic comments to a cop, his press would have been better.

*WHOOPS: Actually, the drop off from one movie to the next would be $70 million, not 60. Hey, I majored in journalism, not math. :)