Serenity: second weekend box office

Serenity didn't do so hot the second weekend:

Wallace Shines, But Waiting, The Gospel Real Winners at the Box Office

relevant paragraph:

In at ninth is Joss Whedon's Serenity, which needed a solid follow up weekend but unfortunately didn't get it. Serenity couldn't play past the built-in audience, and it grossed $4.9 million this weekend. That's a drop of 51%, hurting Universal's chances of recouping the $40 million spent on this one. So far, Serenity has earned $17.6 million, and will struggle to earn $35 million.

It appears as if the optimism I expressed in a previous entry that the other two Serenity movies would be made was a little premature. That sucks.

I was listening to the Kojo Nnamdi Show today, they had a segment on movies in which Serenity was discussed. Someone (either a listener's email, or possibly just a question from Kojo) asked if there was going to be a big sci-fi blockbuster this fall. To which one of the reviewers basically exploded. I quote from memory:

There was supposed to be a sci-fi blockbuster happening right now! It's called Serenity! All you people who wasted all that money on Revenge of the Sith should get up off your butts right now and go see it. It's better written, better acted, and better directed. etc. etc.

Obviously, he liked it and, like me, thinks it should be doing better than it is. He and the other movie reviewer discussed that Universal relied too heavily on the internet and the fans to market it. Also they said that since Josh Whedon kept the entire cast from the TV show there was no big star that they could sell it with. They agreed that the cast was great, but that it made marketing it harder.