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Compass loses its way
10/12/2007 11:51 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The Golden Compass,
a $180m family fantasy starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel
Craig, did not meet expectations at the North American box
office, opening at No 1 but with weekend ticket sales of just
$26.1m, its distributor said on Sunday.
New Line Cinema, a unit of Time Warner Inc, had hoped the
film would pull in between $30m and $40m.
"It's a little bit disappointing," said Rolf Mittweg,
president and chief operating officer of New Line's worldwide
distribution and marketing operations.
He hoped word of mouth would help the film in coming weeks,
especially with school holidays starting. "It's all about
longevity," he said.
Based on the first book in British author Philip Pullman's
acclaimed children's series His Dark Materials,
writer/director Chris Weitz's film is set in an alternate world
ruled by an oppressive religious authority.
Religious aspect
It features talking
animals and a heroine played by youngster Dakota Blue
Richards.
Even though the film downplays the religious aspect, the
Catholic League said it wanted Christians "to stay away from
this movie."
But the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
described it as "an exciting adventure story with a traditional
struggle between good and evil."
After leading the pack for two weeks, Walt Disney Co's hit
fairy-tale fantasy Enchanted slipped to No 2 with $10.7m, taking its three-week tally to $83.9m.
Sony Corp's urban comedy This Christmas held at No 3
with $5m, giving it a $42.8 million total, also after
three weeks.
- Reuters
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South Africa
