Thursday, December 16, 2004

Quality vs Boxoffice

What is the measure of success? To some it is praise, to others the almighty dollar. When it comes to film, there are all kinds of measures of success. Every week we see the boxoffice numbers, and this time of year we see the daily parade of awards for the year's work. In many cases boxoffice hits will be big award winners, but this year we see two films with very modest boxoffice takes walking away with all kinds of praise. After the rampage that was Return of the King last year, I am refreshed by this.

Finding Neverland is a quiet, well acted, well written, well filmed piece that is a pleasure to experience. The film and it's cast are being showered with awards, yet this film has only grossed 14.2M.

Sideways is another gem that, interestingly, has grossed the same amount, and is probably neck-in-neck with Finding Neverland in the awards department. The magic? A good story, strong acting, clever writing and brilliant filming. You have to hunt this one down in the more obscure theaters, but it is worth the effort. (Did I mention that it's damn funny!?!?)

I think these two films show that quality film does not necessarily equal big bucks, but those who experience it are better for it.

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