Ken Berwitz
What happens when you make a movie that tries to rewrite history?
“Truth” is a movie about the fake “October surprise” story CBS News\’s Mary Mapes produced and Dan Rather reported, a month before the 2004 presidential election, concerning President Bush\’s National Guard service.
Starring Robert Redford – once a big movie star, still a left-wing icon, and Cate Blanchett – currently a big movie star, it opened in very limited release (just 6 theaters) this weekend.
One of the reasons (not the ony one) that movies start in limited release, is to put them in places where chances are best that they will do well, and then try to build on the positive energy from that strong start when the movie goes into general release.
But what if the movie doesn\’t do that well in limited release?
According to boxofficemojo.com, “Truth” opened to a total box office of about $76,646 in those 6 theaters – $12,774 per theater
Is that horrible? No. Is it great? No. Is it mediocre – especially given the movie\’s placement in markets where it would be expected to do best? That\’s about as much as you can say.
No information has been released to the public about what the production costs of “Truth” were, but based on its first weekend, in markets which should yield the best possible results, it is an excellent bet that we are looking at a medium to major flopperoo.
If you are as old as I am, you probably remember the TV show “Truth or Consequences” (if you\’re really old, you\’ll remember the radio version). Well, you just read the truth about “Truth”. And the financial consequences are probably going to be pretty consequential.
Nice try, guys. Be sure to play again…and here\’s a copy of our board game so the fun can continue at home.
