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You'll release the dogs, or the bees, or the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you?

Kim Hollis: The Secret Life of Bees, the theatrical adaptation of the best-selling Sue Monk Kidd novel, opened to $11.1 million and had the best per venue average in the top 12. Would you consider this a winner for Fox Searchlight?

David Mumpower: Oh, I feel this is one of the biggest success stories in recent memory. This was a quick shoot that occurred at the start of 2008, and it was written and directed by my beloved Gina Prince-Bythewood. She hadn't done a feature film since she got so much (well deserved) acclaim for Love & Basketball, which is hard to believe. The combination of a beloved book, a potent cast and a director who has previously delivered the goods made for a shockingly good debut. This was over double what the studio had been projecting for the title.

Tim Briody: This is one of the more legit surprises at the box office in ages. It's a huge win for everyone involved.

Brandon Scott: It's a surprising, almost shocking figure. To keep the ex-rapper theme alive...why do moviegoers turn out for Queen Latifah while Marky Mark is not bigger? Anyone for an old-school rap battle between the two to settle it? I digress.





Reagen Sulewski: This is an unreserved success, and it's probably bought itself some Oscar consideration.

Pete Kilmer: It's got a stellar cast, it was marketed almost pefectly and it didn't open in a massive amount of theaters. All of these are positives to really get word-of-mouth going and to create a little steam engine of a movie that will expand into more theaters as it goes along.

Kim Hollis: I think there were some signs that this movie could break out, but I am surprised it succeeded to the degree it did. The book is very well loved and Oprah was totally talking the film up, which counts for a lot with the target demographic in particular.

Jason Lee: With this opening weekend success, does anyone else here see a "The Secret Life of Bees 2: The Hive Strikes Back" coming to theatres in Fall 09?

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