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David Mumpower: A meta aspect of this topic that I’m tracking is that Tarantino was one of those buzz content creators of the 1990s. Like Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon, he was largely hyped more often than he achieved the popularity commensurate with such notoriety. All three of them have weathered the storm of criticism that their personal styles are not conducive to mainstream acceptance. And now all three are achieving their greatest success after what seems like a lifetime of trying. I believe that part of it is that younger movie-goers are unfamiliar with the struggles. Their entire lives have been spent with an awareness of who Whedon, Sorkin and Tarantino are. It has never dawned on this generation that these extraordinarily talented people would be anything other than accomplished artists. So there is only upside to having that sort of built-in awareness. For Tarantino, Django Unchained includes the biggest star he has ever had in a film, Leonardo DiCaprio. So he is a name director with one of the five or six most famous actors in the world. Even with the uncomfortable subject matter, this title always struck me as a massive hit. I still must confess the sheer volume of tickets sold still surprises me, though.

Shalimar Sahota: $100 million within two weeks is impressive and not something I expected Django Unchained to accomplish. He may not appeal to all but the lack of studio interference means that Tarantino is one of the few directors that seems to get away with whatever crazy idea he has. The quality is there and it's nice to see the success that the film is having and that people are being drawn to this, if only because I'd like to believe that it'll spur on more creatively outlandish films. Probably unlikely, though.

Max Braden: I'm a little surprised in that I imagined a lot of America would by shy about going to see it, as if they wouldn't want their neighbors to see them buying a ticket. But as Django says, "What's not to like?" Every red-blooded American loves a revenge fantasy.

Edwin Davies: I'm not surprised at all, since I was expecting it to act as a sequel to Inglourious Basterds. Few contemporary film-makers are as indelibly associated with their work as Quentin Tarantino, and I think that the way Django Unchained has performed demonstrates the goodwill people have towards him following critical and commercial success that was Basterds. On top of that, the trailers were terrific, there was plenty of discussion about the film prior to release, and it functioned as great counter-programming to all the more family-friendly fare over Christmas.

Kim Hollis: Les Miserables finished in fourth place this weekend with $16 million. It has earned $103.5 million, which surpasses Dreamgirls to become the seventh most popular musical of all-time. Why do you think Les Mis has achieved such spectacular success for a musical?

Bruce Hall: Les Miserables is a well done adaptation of one of the most beloved stage musicals of all time, which in turn was adapted from one of the greatest novels in the English language. It is well delivered by a well known and well respected cast, and it has a moving, egalitarian message that can't help but resonate with an audience full of ordinary people, living in extraordinary times. Right place, right story, right cast, right time.

And it's a musical. Good word-of-mouth counts double when you can set it to music.

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