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Yee haw!

Kim Hollis: Appaloosa wrangled up $5 million in its expansion to 1,045 venues this weekend. What do you take from this result?

Max Braden: It's not the $14 million that 3:10 to Yuma made last September, but Yuma made that in two and a half times as many theaters. It's a decent result, especially since Appaloosa has a more stoic and less action-packed feel to it.

Reagen Sulewski: The "prestige western" is making a nice comeback, a category that this fits nicely into. Adjusting for star power (Ed Harris is a fine actor, but no marquee idol), this is right in line with what you'd expect for this genre. It's a decent platform to make an Oscar run behind if the word can get out.

Kim Hollis: I would agree that this is a positive result. I continue to be a little surprised at the number of people still willing to give Westerns a chance. Since this one has some decent buzz, I'd expect it to chug along for a little while longer, too.

Sean Collier: I have an aunt and uncle who will quite literally only go to the movie theater if a western is playing. Apparently they're not the only two. Like noir, there are still some filmmakers who just won't let the western genre rest in peace; they're now few enough that any half-decent flick with six-shooters and cowboy hats can succeed. The big question, however - does this bode well for Australia?

Scott Lumley: It's getting decent ratings, it's got a pretty powerful cast in Mortenson, Irons and Harris, so I guess the real question is just how successful can a western be nowadays? This only made $5 million dollars in its opening weekend, so this looks like it's going to die pretty quick. I'm not even sure this will hit Quigley Down Under numbers, and that's sad.

Soon to come: Michael Moore's scathing documentary about David Zucker

Kim Hollis: An American Carol, the hate-on Michael Moore film, earned $3.8 million from 1,639 venues. The $2,325 per venue average is pretty lousy, but since this is Vivendi Entertainment, is that an acceptable result? Alternately, say something funny about An American Carol and/or Michael Moore.

Reagen Sulewski: Oh, I get it now... Michael Moore is fat!

Max Braden: Did you see the trailer for An American Carol? How are we supposed to say something funny about it? I was baffled by the cast they managed to assemble for direct-to-video material, probably the reason it did as well as it did.

Tim Briody: Dear all involved with An American Carol: There's a reason there isn't more right-wing comedy. It's really hard to come up with something funnier than reality.

Kim Hollis: I saw no advertising for this movie (though admittedly, I'm not the target audience) and just couldn't imagine people would go out to see it. I'm surprised it did this well. Weren't Michael Moore jokes played out five or more years ago?

David Mumpower: Given the fine line between this and a straight-to-DVD release advertised late at night on Comedy Central, I think it speaks a lot to the degree of hate some folks have toward Michael Moore. $3.8 million for this? Wow.

Sean Collier: I'm betting that O'Reilly and company had a field day with this one coming in ahead of Religulous. I'd turn on the TV and check, but me looking at The O'Reilly Factor leads to broken televisions. I can't help but thinking that the whole audience for this one was just a right-wing push to support the project; I'd be surprised if it made a million next weekend.

Scott Lumley: How in the hell did this ever get greenlighted? Since when did it become acceptable for a studio to make a film based on the premise of 'Nyah! Nyah!' Also, Kelsey Grammar, James Woods and Dennis Hopper all need a good, hard slap. What in the hell were they doing in this film? Did the producers have nude pictures of them drunkenly violating a sheep?

I'm shaking my head at what passes as entertainment nowadays. I'd seen vanity pictures before, but this is my first 'spite' film.

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