Heartening box office returns this weekend. The Chronicles of Narnia (Part I of many, I trust) does excellent business, despite a major snowstorm in the East on Friday. Meanwhile, the moonbat leftist conspiracy theory—spouting, critically beloved Syriana tanks in its first weekend of broad distribution. Per screen, Syriana pulls in less than half as much, and word of mouth is not going to help a movie which hates America and cannot spin a coherent plot.

Although the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, another critical fave, does good per screen business in very limited release (in major cities with large hoosexual populations), it will not prove much of a money—spinner in national release.

At this point it is worthwhile asking why so many publications emplopy critics so out of touch with their readrship and viewership.

Philip Anschutz, the billionaire evangelical Christian backer of Walden Media, who is responsible for bringing Narnia to the screen, will make a hefty profit when worldwide box office is added to DVD sales. And then there are the sequels which the Chronicles portend.

Sooner or later, the rest of Hollywood is going to get tired of lavishing money on special interest turkeys like Brokeback, and get back to the business of making movies that draw families. I believe it was Louis B. Mayer who said with reagrd to family—friendly fare that "It is better to sell four tickets than two."

If the esteem of the artsy, gay—friendly circles means more to Holywood execs than dollars in the box office, they and their companies can be replaced by the likes of Walden Media.

Thomas Lifson  12 11 05