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Edwin Davies: I think that the film will probably do very well as far as nominations are concerned since P.T. Anderson is one of the most acclaimed and respected directors of his generation, to the extent that whenever he puts out a film (this is only the third he's made since 2002, and his sixth overall) it's an event amongst the arthouse set. However, his films tend to be pretty challenging, which is great artistically, but maybe not so much commercially. Case in point: I think that Punch-Drunk Love is probably one of the ten best American films of the last decade, yet even with one of the most consistent box office draws in history in the lead it still failed to make much of an impact. By most accounts The Master is probably his most dense and difficult films to date, so that might limit its initial chances of breaking out. If, however, the film garners the sort of nominations that I expect it will (Picture, Director and the major acting categories seem likely, whilst Screenplay seems a shoe-in) then that could give it a huge boost further down the line. If it can keep chugging along nicely over the coming weeks, then gets a lot of attention nearer the awards season, then I could easily see The Master eclipsing There Will Be Blood, though probably not by a huge amount.

Matthew Huntley: It comes as a surprise the TWC would choose September of all months to release what they obviously felt was their primary awards contender. It's just too early. As good as The Master is on many levels, its roll-out strategy will likely hurt its box office and awards nominations/wins. Additionally, audience response hasn't been as kind as many anticipated (the movie ultimately lacks a "wow" factor), so I really can't see it inching past $30 million when all is said and done, if that.

Reagen Sulewski: Something that Moonlight Kingdom showed us earlier this year is that a more limited, quirky release can dominate if it's the primary one out there at a given time. Weinstein was smart to get The Master out ahead of the curve on this and establish it in the marketplace. It should have a good few weeks to run by itself before the other prestige releases start tumbling out, and could make a good run at $50 million like Wes Anderson's film.

David Mumpower: What I admire about Paul-Thomas Anderson is that he creates movies for himself and if others appreciate them, that's great. If they don't, he doesn't seem distraught over his eclectic work failing to penetrate the mainstream. I love Boogie Nights as a '90s movie the way that Edwin loves Punch-Drunk Love. I also feel deep admiration for Punch-Drunk Love, which claims one of the most novel payoffs in the history of cinema. And I am squarely in the LOVED IT! category for the admittedly impenetrable Magnolia. Having said all of this, even I find Anderson's films too odd at times. At the risk of shocking some of my cohorts, I still haven't watched There Will Be Blood yet because I could tell from the trailers that it wasn't my type of film.

With regards to The Master, a lot of my friends who are regular people rather than the indie lovers who seem to comprise the body of BOP's readers really disliked this film. I noted two different "We walked out" comments on Facebook, three if we count a stranger's reply in the thread. We're seeing metrics to support this at sites such as Rotten Tomatoes. The Master is 86/84% fresh among critics/top critics yet only 66% of movie goers liked it. It's closer to House at the End of the Street and Resident Evil: Retribution than to End of Watch and Dredd. I have legitimate concerns that The Master will not prove mainstream enough to be a serious competitor during awards season. How often do inscrutable films win?

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