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You'd better praise Milk. If not, Sean Penn will punch you.

Kim Hollis: Released in 36 venues this week, Sean Penn's latest masterful performance in Milk earned an exemplary $38,375 per location to give the film $1.9 from Wednesday-to-Sunday. Do you see further box office success upon expansion or do you feel that this is a film that plays better in metropolitan areas?

Pete Kilmer: It's most certainly a big city film. They should concentrate its release in the top 30 cities and see what happens.

Brandon Scott: I think this performs very well in South Dakota and rural Alabama. Umm, no I don't. I passed on the chance to catch this early due to a scheduling conflict but early results and reviews are strong. Although, admittedly, this is bound to be one of those touchy-feely films for critics I suspect. Let's not bad mouth this film, lest we be persecuted for our beliefs. Sweet, I managed two Seinfeld references in one MMQB. Mission accomplished. Honestly, I hope Milk doesn't go sour. All of those involved with the film deserve kudos, especially the star actors and I suspect this has some Oscar bait in it, again - based on what I have heard.

Scott Lumley: I can honestly say I have no real interest in seeing this film. It's not that I don't think Milk tells an important story, it's just that I'm surprisingly shallow and from what I hear there are very few car chases, explosions, superheros or animals performing kung fu in Milk.

All kidding aside, awhile back I noted that it seems like the easiest path to an Oscar nowadays is to play a psychopath. Unfortunately, Sean Penn seems completely incapable of doing anything the easy way and he keeps stretching himself in new ways that always end up just short of an Oscar. After seeing clips of him playing Harvey Milk and the way he has utterly immersed himself in this role, I think he may have landed himself another Golden bookend. And as always with Oscar talk, increased business follows.

It's obvious there are places this film is not going to screen well, but with that said, this is a film that got made on a $15 million budget and will probably finish with about $60 to $70 million. And I feel like I'm honestly low balling that figure.





Max Braden: I don't think it will be able to repeat Brokeback Mountain's level of success but if critics keep praising it, Milk could see some steady business. Striking while the iron is hot since California's anti-gay marriage ballot is still in the national awareness would help.

Shane Jenkins: I think Penn is a lock for Best Actor. The buzz will be such that anyone legitimately interested in current films will be compelled to check Milk out. That said, the assassination angle makes it a tough sell, and I hear the 1970s guy-on-1970s guy action is a little more in-your-face than in Brokeback. I don't see it doing as well as that film since Milk is not really a love story at heart.

David Mumpower: Arcane box office records alert: this is the biggest opening ever for a film released in the 30-40 venues range. Having gotten the wonking out of the way, I agree with the group opinion that Gus Van Zant's film is not going to have the broader appeal that Brokeback Mountain managed. It's more educational in tone, and that automatically limits the scope of its audience. Milk has moved itself squarely onto the list of end-of-year awards contenders, however, and that's always been the primary goal for the project.

Jason Lee: I agree with what's been said. This is not a cultural touchstone in the way that Brokeback Mountain was, garnering large audiences across the country. It's a great film that deserves to be seen, but I think it'll do business in the realm of what we saw from Capote than from Ang Lee's masterpiece.

Sean Collier: It'll have a long, quiet awards-driven run. It'd barely find an audience without Penn, but his presence and the buzz over his performance should pull in crowds in major markets. I wouldn't be surprised to see it expand and slowly work its way to the $15-$20 Million range leading up to the Oscars.

And boy, that Sean Penn sure is great. I wonder if, perhaps, there's been a recent column about him? If I were looking, I'd be sure to check the A-List for one...

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