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Matthew Huntley: Not surprised at all, really, given the following factors: 1) generic title, which it happens to share with a corny CBS drama from the late '90s; 2) speaking of TV, a made-for-TV-movie'ish premise; 3) mixed reviews from critics; 4) R rating. Regarding the last point, why make this movie rated R, and for language of all things? Perhaps by reducing the number of f-bombs (I'm speculating since I haven't seen the film yet) this could have been a family drama instead of an adult one, which would have opened up the audience base more. In any case, the marketing campaign just didn't make this one sound engaging or cinematic enough to shell out $10+. With likely little help from Oscar nods this week, I don't think we'll hear much more about Promised Land going forward.

David Mumpower: This is my type of film, at least in general. I love these message stories that lead to nonsensical media stories such as “There has been fire in the water for hundreds of years now so why freak out about it now?” Yes, that one is real. Still, these heavy-handed stories that politicize the world are exactly what leads 47% of the country to decry Hollywood as the capital city of the Liberal Elite. That’s nearly half of the potential movie-going audience that is ruled out before a single frame of footage is filmed. Many of the rest of us are discriminating enough to care about reviews. Critics say that not only is the reunion of Gus Van Sant and Matt Damon vastly inferior to Good Will Hunting, it’s not even as good as Gerry. Have you watched Gerry? It is a story of two guys walking for an hour and a half. If Promised Land falls under that, people are not going to spend money on it.

Felix Quinonez Jr.: I'm not very surprised by this result. Fracking isn't really a topic that drags the masses to theaters and so it really needed good reviews to stand out. Unfortunately this wasn't the case and it clearly suffered for it.

Jay Barney: I'm disappointed because this is a film that I wanted to do well. There are a number of different factors that drag us all to the movies, and for me the politics of this story mean a lot. I hate to put myself in the anti- Atlas Shrugged or 2016: Obama's America crowd, but catching a film that explores where the United States is with its overall energy use is what I what I would like to spend my money on. There is an education/reality aspect to this film that I wish more people were exposed to. Perhaps this is the wrong vehicle, but I think the exploration undertaken here is worth noting. I'm a pretty big Matt Damon fan, as well.

Brett Ballard-Beach. Without making any direct praise or bash on the film (which I haven’t seen, but would like to, as I have seen all of Gus Van Sant’s films. Yes, even Reckless), there is nothing sadder than the would-be Oscar nominee as pegged from two months out that winds up being a critical dud and awards-show shutout when the end of the year rolls around. The reviews are mediocre and if you are going to have (non-Battlestar Galatica) fracking going on, you have to have a wave of praise to pull in the coastal crowds. And not just a smart script written by Will Hunting and Mr. Emily Blunt, and directed by an Oscar nominee from 15 years ago. This was probably slotted to expand based on Matt Damon’s name alone and it was probably with heavy hearts that it was rolled out to this wide release when the chips were in that there wouldn’t be a, um, Promised Land of box office waiting on the other side.

Max Braden: It's a softball throw. It's a softball message throw, and that's the lamest. If you're going to pitch a softball against December or January movies and you want a home run, you're going to have to include at least one animal as the star, like a chipmunk or a dog. And if you want to compete with the actual potential Oscar nominees everyone's actually talking about, with a message, you're going to have to include at least one Julia Roberts in a push-up bra. And to top it off, as anyone in the lobbying industry knows, you don't lead with a message unless you have the votes. So thanks a lot, Matt Damon, not only did you let John Krasinski dominate you, now, every dirty fracker in the country is going to waltz into Pennsylvania and turn household faucets into blow torches. Where's Al Gore when you need a win?

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