Can Hollywood Make It ALL Back in the 4th Quarter

If the Movie business was a football game, Hollywood has about 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, down 20. They seem to have the line size needed to bring in the points. The final score might depend on whether the fans got out of the habit of showing up during the first 10 months when the product was just plain ugly.

We're off to see the "new" 3D offering, Chicken Little, this afternoon. I'll report later. I love 3D, and have spent many hours and dollars at various IMAX theaters and Disney parks enjoying the effects. This is supposed to be the future of 3D, and should be transferrable to our home screens. I suspect they will milk it for a few years before offering it at home.

We are very excited about The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, coming December 8. Everything points to this this being a huge blockbuster. Christians will be out in force. Those who read the book as children will want to see it, even if they didn't know it was about Jesus. Then there will be the word of mouth. Early reviews say that it is stunningly beautiful and very well done.

Harry Potter is already hitting big. Not my cup of tea, but it will help pile up points. Pride and Prejudice probably won't do $200 million, but it will get my $10 one of these weekends.

Then the two minute drill will see King Kong release a week before Christmas. Early hints are that this could be the biggest film of the year, although Lion will have 2 extra weeks to put points on the board for actual 2005 revenues.

Why do we care? It is a major industry, and a major source of our cultural communication of points of view, morality, and lifestyle.