I guess small budget, lack of funds for promotion which is why Rob and noone else for that matter other than Christina Ricci promoted this film (didn’t see Uma or Kristin pounding the streets) leads to low box office.  Oh and of course the harsh reviews  because I forgot Edward can only sparkle and not act.   I know people are quick to jump on the – it’s a flop bandwagon – but it’s playing arthouse cinemas, sometimes only one screening per day and I’m not blaming the cast for their lack of promotion.  It costs a lot of money to promote and have a premiere.   I  understand the distributors of indie films can’t justify spending millions to promote when they know it’s not the kind of film that is going to reimburse those efforts.  You get what I’m saying – it’s further proof too of what Rob’s been saying during the Cosmopolis promotion – it’s hard to find directors/studios who will take this kind of risk because it’s not always about financial success.  And no I’m not making excuses – bigger budget films have had less box office success than Bel Ami in comparison – yeah I’m side eyeing a few of them now.   Well at least we can thank Russia for getting behind this film, but Russians more than likely love period dramas since they really do only appeal to a small minority … like me.   Oh I’m rambling … anyway here’s some stats:

Box Office Mojo – US – $38,018 (15 cinemas over 3 days … 15 cinemas?)

Box Office Mojo – International – $7,467,691 (are my calcs but I didn’t double check and we know the Aussie figure is wrong).

UrbanCine – Australia – $684,726 (dropped out of Top 10 and is sitting at no. 13 and screening at 84 cinemas)

On a side note – at this stage it hasn’t met budget.  And I think the formula for what Hollywood considers a success is that a film needs to make 2.5 times its production costs or something like that … yeah.  Oh well – onwards and upwards.  I enjoyed it … that’s all that matters to me.

As we know, Bel Ami opened in selected US theatres on June 8 & with that comes more reviews.  I really love this one from Movie Fanatic.  They have some wonderful praise for Rob, LOVE seeing that.

Robert Pattinson has officially moved past Edward in the Twilight series. The British actor is downright fierce in the film adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel Bel Ami. Pattinson is Georges Duroy, the son of a poor farmer, who finds himself in 1890′s Paris after serving as a soldier in Africa. Barely able to put two coins together for a meal, he heads out one fateful night and meets Charles Forestier (Philip Glenister) — an officer who took a liking to him on the fighting fields.

Immediately he is thrust into the upper crust world of Parisian high-end social circles. Georges lands a job as a writer for the most powerful newspaper in the city, led by Rousset Walters (Colm Meaney). Although the men he encounters appreciate him, it is their wives who seem to find him more fascinating than what they have at home.

Georges uses that “in” to manipulate and connive his way up the social ladder.

Pattinson brings a shyness meets slyness to the role and sizzles on every frame. The young actor has truly arrived with Bel Ami as he inhabits every scene of the movie with a panache that shows what Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke first saw in him when she cast him as Edward. The entire film would not work if not for the choices Pattinson makes as a performer throughout. The audience pulls for his character, even if he is less than morally sound.

The supporting cast is stellar with Christina Ricci, Kristin Scott Thomas and Uma Thurman as his romantic conquests. Each plays their role efficiently and even though Bel Ami is the Robert Pattinson show, the trio of female leads makes the entire screen experience feel more like an ensemble than the one-man show it could have been. She is always fantastic, so it should hardly be a surprise, but Thomas astounds as the wife of Rousset. Her wife is lonely, but happy. And it is not until Pattinson’s Georges sets his sights on her that the actress truly brings the power. How her character alters in a matter of moments is a lesson in the art of acting.

It is clear after witnessing Bel Ami that the work is based on a book. Maupassant’s Paris has such intricate detail, that screenwriter Rachel Bennette had half her work already done by the author’s uncanny account of the French capital of that time. Movies based on classic books can either disappoint or invigorate. Bel Ami does the latter and makes us want to return to Maupassant’s pages for more.

4.5 stars.

I cannot wait to own Bel Ami on DVD so I can see Rob as Georges again.  He is just fantastic in the role – absolutely magnificent.

According to Urbancinefile Bel Ami is sitting at no. 8 dropping 2 places since it opened at no. 6 last week.  It’s grossed $551,303 in 100 cinemas Australia wide.  I really don’t know what to say … I guess it’s still top ten … for now.

So the Ritz Cinema Randwick is offering $8 tickets for Bel Ami if you “LIKE” their Facebook page (and to the naysayers it’s not just for Bel Ami, but that’s the one I”m most interested in).

What are you waiting for – click “like”.  For session times click here

According to Urban Cinefile Bel Ami grossed $264,757 in 3 days, opened at no. 6 in the top 10 (well at least it made top 10) and was only screened in 100 cinemas.   Not that anyone would know about the screenings because seriously advertising in Australia has been pretty minimal if not non-existent.    I don’t know – it’s almost like they don’t want anyone to know it’s been released.   Look how good the promo was in Russia and they got results.  Anyway – I’ve seen it twice and both screenings had a decent attendance.  Let’s see what happens.

I love all these Bel Ami promotions.  Dusk offers the following:

Thanks to ephie for the info & link.