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Give it up for Don Cheadle

Kim Hollis: Traitor made $10 million over the four-day holiday and has earned $11.5 million since it debuted last Wednesday. What do you think about this result?

Pete Kilmer: It's not bad for a Don Cheadle movie. The man, while a terrific actor and one of my favorites to watch, is just not leading man material in the eyes of the public. He does wonderful work in just about everything he's in, but the public has no clue who he is. Plus the marketing on this was totally aimed at the Bourne crowd and it missed them.

Max Braden: It's also not bad for a Middle East/war/terrorism related movie. That opening isn't as big as The Kingdom's $17 million at the end of September last year, but it's two thirds as much as Lions For Lambs earned in its entire run. I think part of the marketing problem was that Traitor isn't a white hat vs. black hat movie, and unfortunately audiences aren't going to be very receptive to a Muslim protagonist.

David Mumpower: This is certainly more than I had expected, particularly given its pathetic Wednesday start. Max mentions Lions for Lambs, but I think the most accurate recent comparison for this is Breach. That based-on-true-events traitorous spy thriller opened to $12.3 million, only slightly better than this. I would argue Traitor has bigger names, but Breach had better buzz going in. So, this feels like a success to me, particularly for a novice distributor.





Daron Aldrige: It seemed like another low-profile movie and I can't imagine this carrying that big of a budget, so this result appears decent. The advertising, though, seemed to be trying too hard to make it the Bourne Ultimatum without the stellar reviews to back it up. Traitor only has 55% positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Brandon Scott: The result is only okay and critics have been mixed on this. I'm more happy for Don Cheadle, one of the best actors of the last two decades, getting a starring vehicle to do fairly well primarily with his name only. I've been lovin' this man since he played Rocket in Colors. With a budget of $22 million, it certainly doesn't appear primed for runaway success, but good for Cheadle and Overture as it should make some money.

Sean Collier: This is the fourth consecutive week with a Wednesday opening, and not one of them made sense to me. The Wednesday open should really be reserved for films with a built-in fanbase that isn't going to want to wait until Friday; if you trot out a regular film on a Wednesday, the crowds aren't going to just materialize. Traitor is particularly bewildering - there was little or no advertising, no real pedigree, and a (I'm sad to say) non-draw in the lead. It's weekend total would look fine without the black eye of an opening.

Jason Lee: I was bracing myself for much, much worse given the anemic Wednesday/Thursday grosses.

Scott Lumley: It's probably pretty good as I'd never even heard about Traitor prior to this week. Has there even been one commercial for this film?

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