Brokeback Buzz

Who's afraid of a couple of gay cowboys? Not moviegoers, who helped "Brokeback Mountain" post the highest per-screen average over the film-flush holiday weekend.

Link.

That's the first time I've seen that stat: the per-screen average. Why not use the regular form of measurement: box office receipts? The article explains later: the distribution company wants a "rolling start" (kinda like Bush II in Iraq), just a few theaters at first and then expand.

So Brokeback is doing well in the Bay Area, Massachusetts, and other like-minded communities. And stories like this one, with flashy headlines, are saying it's a popular success. But it's not a popular success yet. Why say it is?

My hunch: They want to give the impression that everyone is going to see it, so everyone goes to see it.