Serenity Roundup

Tucson, AZ

Apparently Serenity made some decent money at the box office in its first weekend. Say the Box Office Prophets of Serenity's debut weekend:

Pulling up in second this weekend is Serenity, Joss Whedon's take on what a space opera is in 2005. Serenity did okay over its opening frame, grossing $10.1 million, thanks mostly to the cult success of its creator and its originating TV Series called Firefly. Notable here is that the venue count was actually quite low for an sci-fi flick at only 2,188. That gives Serenity the second best venue average in the top ten at $4,634, which means it stays ahead of new films despite having fewer screens in the per venue battle. We often talk about how the second weekend of a film's release is so crucial, and it's even more important in this case. Because this movie is based on a TV show that only a renegade few watched and stars no one mainstream audiences would know, the second weekend drop could be inherently precipitous. However, Serenity does seem to have reviews and word-of-mouth on its side. At RottenTomatoes, a much higher than expected 80% of critics gave this one a thumbs up, a number I certainly did not think it would see. Not only is this one fresh in the critics' eyes, but also in the Users of RottenTomatoes. Signed-up users of the review compilation Web site combine to give this a 92% fresh rating. Sure, it may just be a bunch of freaks and geeks, but remember that this same demo made Napoleon Dynamite a $44.5 million winner against a production budget of $400,000. Universal and partners spent a small $40 million on Serenity, a good investment for this kind of opening weekend. If it doesn't drop crazily next weekend, a franchise could be born. Ah hell, with this sort of open it's probably a franchise already. A decent follow up weekend probably makes it a trilogy. It worked for Transporter 2, so there's no reason not to do it here.

Most importantly- WILL THE DVD BE OUT BEFORE THE SOLSTICE??? According to the Rumor Mill, Yes.

And lookylook at what's happening to DVD sales of the TV series! (At this writing, it is #5 though I have I heard that it has risen as high as #2.)

The reviews from liberty-minded types are all over the spectrum:

-Serenity: A Massive Flop?- yourleaders.org

-[Finally!] My review of Serenity- lewlew has a yak attack

-Finding Serenity- J. E. Crosby over at lewrockwell.com

-Serenity Redux- Seth Daniels also
over at lewrockwell.com

-At Last, Serenity sighs Scott Bieser

-SIGH. AFTER ALL THAT ANTICIPATION ... it was better as a TV series, says Claire Wolfe. And no, Scott Bieser, she did not take the controversial plot developments personally.

-Can't stop the signal- Wally Conger is out of step with Claire Wolfe on this one

-Out to the Black - Julian Sanchez at Reason

-Go See Serenity Now, insists Glen Witman blogging atAgoraphilia. Here are his thoughts in the giddy aftermath of his initial viewing.

-Serenity- Jason Kuznicki of the Liberty and Power group blog

-It's Classical Liberalism... in Space!, opines Carina in spite of having An Inclination to Criticize

-Serenity Now! hollers Jordan J. Ballor of Acton Institute PowerBlog

Assuming an ill sibling in a city far, far away does not turn out to be deathly ill, I will be doing my part this weekend to help ensure a sequel. I enjoyed it greatly. Yes, there were some things I wasn't thrilled by, but overall it was well worth my money to see it on the big screen and I plan to pick up the DVD as soon as I can.