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Sean Collier: I thought that with such an excellent premise and such a strong cast, there might be a bit of a better return. Still, it's profitable enough for Gervais' standards.

Max Braden: The number doesn't surprise me too much. I think for most U.S. audiences Gervais is still largely unknown, and something about this project makes me think that even in the hands of Apatow it would have been a lesser hit. But I look at it as a proof of concept, and I think if you paired Gervais with Apatow, or someone like Ben Stiller, you could see a much bigger result.

Perhaps if it had been a Devo biopic...

Kim Hollis: Whip It, a female empowerment film about roller derby directed by Drew Barrymore, opened to $4.7 million. Why didn't Fox Searchlight make the magic happen here?

Tim Briody: You answered your own question Kim! "A female empowerment film about roller derby directed by Drew Barrymore." That doesn't really scream box office hit to me. Perhaps it should have been platformed or something.

Michael Lynderey: Ellen Page is less of a draw than I would have thought. Really, though, Whip It is the kind of movie that seems to have everything going for it - cast, trailer, reviews - but there's one crucial part missing at the center: a premise that would attract a decent-sized audience. "Shenanigans at the roller derby rink" clearly was not that premise. Too bad for Drew Barrymore, but I think with all the goodwill she still has, she'll live to direct again someday.





Shane Jenkins: Does Fox Searchlight even have a track record for releasing films wide? Whip It is so commercial (well, potentially), that it seems like maybe Searchlight should have left distribution to its more blockbuster-geared big brother.

Pete Kilmer: I think the marketing was really lacking for this film, I saw no serious build up for it until mid last week or so. It's a shame, good cast, Drew's getting good notices as director for it. I hope it builds up next week.

Sean Collier: Because roller derby? Seriously? Roller derby?

Max Braden: Reviews were very good, it's just the marketing that failed. I didn't see the trailer very often, and what I did see of it seemed to sell the credentials of Barrymore and Page rather than the movie itself. The trailers felt like DVD ads, with the movie almost as an afterthought. That's bound to lead to box office as an afterthought. Maybe it'll do better on DVD.

David Mumpower: I see this as a missed opportunity. Roller derby is back in these days with tons of semi-pro leagues popping up across North America. For whatever reason, Whip It seemed to fall into that area of just good enough to get a greenlight but nowhere near good enough to get strong studio support. Fox Searchlight as a group is normally one of the most effective studio arms in terms of maximizing box office revenue, but their passion for this one was non-existent. Ellen Page is gradually slipping into that area of "remember that chick from Juno?" What's odd is that this may be by choice, something of a rarity in this industry. She's not actively running away from marketable movies since I think this looked like a hit on paper, but she does need better career advice. Otherwise, she's going to wind up as an emotionally damaged but good lawyer/doctor/investigator/mentalist lie detector on some mid-season replacement show on Fox.

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