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David Mumpower: So, we're all coming to the same conclusion individually. Given the product Miramax had, this is a triumphant result. In lesser hands, this release could have been buried in a manner that resulted in absolutely middling to little box office a la Alpha and Omega, Planet 51 or Astro Boy, the nightmare scenario. Instead, they picked the correct weekend to fill a recent void in quality animated titles. I also think we should mention that the Justin Bieber movie presents at least some direct demographic competition as pre-teen girls are a strong audience for animated fare. So, Gnomeo and Juliet's debut is even more impressive when we factor in extenuating circumstances on top of the quality concerns regarding the movie itself. Nobody was saying six months ago that this would be a $25 million debut. Kudos to Miramax for pulling a rabbit out of their hat.

Channing Tatum's abs < Brooklyn Decker's boobs

Kim Hollis: The Eagle, a Roman Empire era soldier's tale starring Channing Tatum, opened to $8.6 million against a $20 million production budget. Is this a good enough result for a relatively cheap film starring Tatum and directed by the same guy who made The Last King of Scotland?

Josh Spiegel: Since the budget was so low (lower than I'd have thought), Focus is probably not sweating the opening weekend. With overseas sales, I see the film topping its production costs by quite a bit. The movie failed because there was barely any marketing, and what marketing there was didn't make the movie seem like anything special. Do I need to see Channing Tatum in a sword-and-sandals epic? Does anyone?





Edwin Davies: Considering that Centurion, a by all accounts better film directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent) and starring Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) told a pretty similar story last year and didn't even make $8 million worldwide, this is a pretty solid opening. I don't think it's a particularly bad result in terms of the talent involved, either, since none of Kevin Macdonald's films have topped £40 million at the domestic box office, so this doesn't represent a significant drop for him. As for Tatum, he is something of a paradox in the movie world; he's a name actor who has headlined several hit films, yet most moviegoers would struggle to pick him out of a line-up. That a film starring him hasn't exactly set the world alight is neither good or bad for him, it just further demonstrates that he has failed to create a persona for himself (except for perhaps as a blandly handsome beefcake) that people can identify with.

Bruce Hall: Not quite great, but it isn't as though the guy has much to lose just yet plus the thing will almost certainly make a profit. It is still early in Tatum's career and as has been mentioned, he is still defining himself. Beats me what he's ultimately going to be, but as far as his long term career I doubt this is a movie anyone will be talking about in any way when it's all over.

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