There’s Still Hope - the Ark Hasn’t Sunk Yet
To the ordinary onlooker, this picture might seem like a conversation between two men on a construction site. It is. But the site is Noah’s Ark, and the men are Congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) and God (Morgan Freeman). I’m not sure what they’re talking about, maybe box office results.
That’s the big news right now - that the box office hasn’t yet paid for the movie’s production costs. That number grows with each news article I read; it started out $170 million, then $175, then $200, and the latest number I’ve seen is $250 million.
According to Box Office Mojo, box office income from Evan Almighty has reached $47.3 million worldwide, which falls short of the production cost, regardless of which figure you use. In a quick comparison, Shrek the 3rd has brought in $480 million worldwide, but it’s been in release for 6 weeks, so it’s averaged about $80 million per week. If Evan keeps averaging around $31.2 million and stays in theaters for 6 weeks, it will make around $180 million, which takes care of production costs.
But another factor that hasn’t been discussed is the income from DVD sales. Many times the income from DVDs outpaces the box office and production companies are able to recoup their costs.
So it’s not a sinking ship - there’s still time to jump onboard and enjoy the ride.
