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Big Miracle is not a fictional sequel to the Kurt Russell movie Miracle

Kim Hollis: Big Miracle, the Universal Pictures film about Alaskans coming to the aid of whales, opened to $7.8 million. What do you think of this result?

Matthew Huntley: The buzz surrounding this movie was rather low - too low - and when I checked the Friday box-office numbers on Saturday morning, I was surprised to see it charted because I wasn't aware it was even opening. Given the small amount of family product in the marketplace right now, and the recent success of the like-themed Dolphin Tale, I think Universal was right to open Big Miracle this time of year, but perhaps they should have waited one more weekend when families wouldn't be so preoccupied with the big game on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was a misfire, and the movie will have a lot of work to do if it wants to recover its $40 million production budget.

Bruce Hall: I guess I would agree that they might have opened this movie a bit later in the year, but I'm not sure when. A film like this really feels like it needs to open prior to Valentine's Day. On a somewhat unrelated note, I can tell you that this is another film whose trailer I have seen several times in the theater and I can't tell you how many people around me snickered:

"Heh heh...it's Free Willy!"

I realize that is unfair, because Big Miracle is based on an actual event and as far as I know, Free Willy is total fiction AND was released almost 20 years ago. But by my unscientific estimate, there was a general assumption of familiarity with the plot of this movie. And with regard to the recent success of Dolphin Tale, I wonder if there isn't an unofficial critical mass on how many "plucky idealists defend marine life from uncaring corporate machine" movies people are willing to take an interest in over a given period of time?

Brett Beach: Why did they have to hide Kristen Bell in all the advertising! I wouldn't have known but for her sloth meltdown viral video that she was in it. Drew Barrymore and K Bell in the same film and all covered up in parkas?! Mumble mumble.

It's a weak opening. I don't think Dolphin Tale stole the market, but they had bigger stars for such a feel-good genre and there was 3D as well. Plus, Free Willy's success aside, dolphins are always cuter than whales (As Ebert once noted, humans can feel a stronger kinship with any species where we can see big human-y eyes looking back at us.)

Edwin Davies: It just feels like a big misstep to open a family film on a weekend when significant numbers of those families will be occupied watching a major sporting event, especially since family films tend to do their best business on Saturdays and Sundays when all the kids are out of school. I also think that the central hook for this film was not as clear as Dolphin Tale (Dolphin loses its tail, plucky humans help it learn to swim, everybody learns a lesson!) or Free Willy (Whale is unhappy [and has a damaged tail fin] in captivity, plucky humans help it escape, everybody learns a lesson!) since it seemed to have too much going on ("So, the Soviets are involved somehow?") Maybe it's just that people are more drawn to films about aquatic mammals that are maimed in some way.

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