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I'm dreaming of some big bucks

Kim Hollis: Inception opened to $62.8 million. Should Warner Bros. be pleased with this result?

Josh Spiegel: Absolutely. In the last 12 months, only two original movies have topped the box office with higher numbers: Avatar (which had 3D to help out) and 2012. It's rare to see original movies get made in Hollywood, rarer to see them get marketed heavily (as Inception was), and rarer still to see them do well. I'm not sure that this is going to revolutionize Hollywood, as some folks have said online, but there's nothing but good news here. $60 million is a great and expected number; the more hopeful predictions of $70 million were...well, just that - hopeful. This result is pretty damn good.

Shalimar Sahota: I remember with One Month Out, Kim said tracking is looking at a $90 million opening for Inception, and saying that was quite high. I thought the same, but as the release date loomed, and buzz kept building, the more and more I thought it just might be possible. A $60 million opening is a great result. Warners ought to be happy. I'm still amazed that they had the balls and faith to get behind Nolan and promote (rather effectively) an original film, amid a summer of remakes, adaptations and sequels. Reviews are strong, and for a film that's been out for three days it's rather bizarrely made it at #3 on IMDb's Top 250 for the moment. Message boards online are alive, bursting with questions, with people considering repeat viewings. If this has a good hold next week, then Warner have a mega hit.





Jason Lee: I thought that Kim and David hit the nail on the head with their Weekend Wrap-Up. As Pixar has demonstrated year after year, it's damn tough to get mobs of moviegoers to come out on the opening weekend of a non-adaptation, non-sequel film. Heck, even Avatar "only" opened to $77 million. The story here will not be the opening weekend but the fantastic legs to come.

Tom Houseman: This is when we have to remember that the majority of movie goers are not film nerds. Hearing the words "from Christopher Nolan" is probably enough to get the juices flowing of the writers and readers of BOP, but even when you clarify that with "the guy who made Memento and The Dark Knight," most people will want to know what the movie's about before they fork over their cash. For a movie as complex and original as Inception, one that might confuse or scare off potential audiences, $60 million is a great number.

Jim Van Nest: I agree with Tom. I think they should be thrilled with a $60 million opening. Reviews are outstanding for it, so it should have excellent legs. The only thing stopping it from going through the roof this weekend, in my opinion, was the fact that it's hard to explain in a 30-60 second TV spot. I can definitely see a lot of people saying, "Yeah, I don't think I want to think that much" or "It looks cool, but what IS it?" and staying away. Either way, this can't be seen as anything other than a win.

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