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Sean Collier: I'm just bewildered at the decision to release Ninja Assassin into a crowded marketplace. Released in a dead zone - maybe March or early October - I can see this film winning a weekend. With so many other choices, and in a family-dominated spot on the calendar, it didn't really find its footing. Still, not a dreadful result.

Jim Van Nest: Sean, I think releasing Ninja Assassin here was WB's idea of counter-programming. "Let's see, we've got sissy vampires, blonde Sandy Bullock, Robin Williams and John Travolta...this is the perfect time to release an ultra cool and violent ninja flick." Maybe they were counting on all the boyfriends that got dragged to see New Moon last weekend cashing in on the "owe you one" from their girlfriends. Sorry, Warner Bros...I think they took their "owe you one" elsewhere, if you know what I mean.

Michael Lynderey: Ninjas are cooler than vampires. But Ninja Assassin is just the latest entry in the late-November B-action sweepstakes, and it's playing out almost exactly like its two immediate predecessors - Hitman and Transporter 2. Just like them, Ninja really has no audience outside of the hardcore action base, so I'd say a total of right under $40 million is pretty good - especially considering this is a film with no stars, no source material to draw audiences from, and meh reviews. That coolness we were talking about must count for a lot.

Kim Hollis: I'd agree with this assessment, Michael. I have to think the WB is pretty pleased with where this is going based on its somewhat limited appeal and unknown stars. It's going to do fine overseas and DVD returns for this type of thing are always solid, too.

Shalimar Sahota: This result is kind of expected, really. It was only really going to appeal to those interested in what those from The Matrix stable of cast and crew were doing (Wachowski Brothers as producers, James McTeigue from V For Vendetta directing, Rain from Speed Racer in the lead role). The story is as simple as they come and the trailer relies on lots of flashy visuals and blade-throwy sound effects to entice the viewer.

George Rose: The previews looked out of control, with no story or direction to guide the over-the-top action. I wasn't surprised when the negative reviews started to pour in. It's safe to say ninjas aren't cooler than vampires, or at least they aren't as bankable. The marketing was also significantly less invasive than New Moon's, so that probably contributed to the weak debut. Ninjas can be cool; Ninja Assassin just wasn't the title to showcase that. What we can really all learn from this is how little people care about the Wachowski brothers and James McTeigue.

Jason Lee: The audience for this film was always going to be limited to fanboys and geeks - it's just a little too Asian to appeal to a wider action audience. This made pretty much what I expected it would.

Reagen Sulewski: I disagree that this film was some secret blockbuster in the making if only it had a better release date. What was its competition in its demo this weekend? That it even got as high as it did is thanks to the evidently still potent pull that the Wachowski name has. This might be the first blockbuster movie with more ironic viewers than sincere ones.

Max Braden: Tony Jaa's second movie opened at $5 million, and The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li opened last year to $21 million. I think that for a martial arts movie without a well-known star, you can say Ninja Assassin did very well. Last year's Thanksgiving action flick Transporter 3 pulled in $18 million over the five-day period.

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