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PAGE 6A
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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'300' sequel rules box office with $45.1M debut
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The shirtless warriors of the "300" sequel "Rise of an Empire" ravaged the post-Oscars box-office weekend with a domestic debut of $45.1 million, but an even bigger international haul of $87.8 million.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Eva Green in the film: "300: Rise of an Empire."
Seven years after the original "300" became an unlikely, ultra-stylish, blood-soaked sensation, Warner Bros. "3-D follow-up showed considerable might at the box office. While "300: Rise of an Empire" didn't come close the North American debut of Zack Snyder's 2007 original ($70.9 million and without the benefit of 3-D ticket prices), it performed like a blockbuster overseas.
"Rise of an Empire," which with flexed torsos and R-rated bloodshed further chronicles the ancient battles of the Greeks and Persians, led a busy box-office weekend that also saw an Academy Awards bump for "12 Years a Slave" and one of the highest perscreen averages ever for Wes Anderson's European caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Though "300: Rise of an Empire" is excessively macho, Eva
Green — the film's fiercest presence — may have drawn females for what was always going to be a male-centric release. Whereas the female audience for the first "300" was only 29 percent, it was 38 percent for "Rise of an Empire."
"Talk about female empowerment," said Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., of the "Casino Royale" actress.
Noting the popularity of 3-D and IMAX screenings for the movie, Goldstein credited the visual panache of producer Snyder (Noam Murro took over directing), who drew directly from Frank Miller's graphic novels: "He brings a lot to the screen that mesmerizes you."
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak, said the "300" franchise "translates to virtually every culture. Every country can appreciate the visuals of these movies."
The week's other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's animated "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," opened in second with $32.5 million. Though the performance was better than some expected, it's a relatively low total for a film that cost about $140 million to make.
The film is based on the cartoon about a time-traveling boy and his brilliant dog from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show." Some of the family film market was likely taken by Warner Bros.' hit "The Lego Movie," which added $11 million in its fifth weekend.
The Liam Neeson thriller "Non-Stop" slid to third place with $15.4 million in the Universal release's second weekend after topping the box office last week.
In limited release, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" made an astounding average of $200,000
on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. Fox Searchlight will expand the film by 65 to 75 theaters next week.
The specialty studio also celebrated the best picture Oscar win for "12 Years a Slave" with a notable bump of $2.2 million, even though it was released on DVD and video-on-demand
Tuesday. That was up 123 percent on the prior weekend for the film, which first opened in November.
"12 Years a Slave" drew even more international interest, where it made $9.1 million as moviegoers flocked to see the Academy Award winner.
VISION
Polygamous Utah family feels liberated by TV appearance
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brady Williams' five wives, from left to right, Robyn, Nonie, Rhonda, Rosemary and Paulie, live in a polygamous community outside Salt Lake City. The newest Utah polygamous family are featured in a reality TV show.
SALT LAKE CITY — The newest Utah polygamous family featured in a reality TV show says sharing their story with a wide audience has been liberating.
Brady Williams and his five wives were a bit apprehensive ahead of the airing of a pilot episode in September, but they said this week an interview with The Associated Press that it felt liberating to be open about who they are and what they believe.
"It really is like coming out of the closet," said Brady Williams, 43. "It's very liberated."
His wives feel the same way, including his second, Robyn Williams, 40, who said, "I feel more free to just be who I am and not be so afraid."
The first of nine episodes of the show, "My Five Wives," airs Sunday on TLC. It chronicles
the life of Brady Williams, his five wives and their 24 children who live in a small rural community outside of Salt Lake City dominated by a branch of the fundamentalist Mormon church.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The family once belonged to the group, known as the Apostolic United Brethren, but withdrew during the mid-2000s after re-evaluating their core beliefs. Now, they practice polygamy not because they think they must to get to heaven, and avoid hell, but because they prefer the lifestyle.
the state. The ruling decriminalizes polygamy, making only bigamy — holding marriage licenses with multiple partners -illegal.
Their show begins airing in a social and political climate that has softened significantly toward plural families in recent years.
A federal judge in Utah struck down key parts of the state's polygamy laws in December, marking a victory for the Williams and hundreds of other polygamous families in
The family that brought that lawsuit against the state of Utah, Kody Brown and his four wives from TLC's "Sister Wives," is credited with helping create greater acceptance for plural families. Their show, which debuted in 2010 with footage of the family at their house in northern Utah, was ground-breaking in demonstrating to viewers across the country that not all polygamists are child predators like Warren jeffs, the imprisoned leader of a polygamous sect on the Utah - Arizona border.
The Williams family members said they don't expect viewers to be surprised by much, other than maybe how similar they are to non-polygamous families. It's normal
times five, the family jokes. Viewers will see tears, joy and quarrels, they said.
TLC is banking on viewers being fascinated by the unique dynamics of a plural family: regular family sit-down meetings among the adults where Brady Williams follows an
agenda written on a notepad; side-by-side multiplexes where they live and nightly family dinners where the children line up like kids in a school cafeteria to get their food.
Then there's the always-intriguing dynamic among the wives who share a husband.
"There haven't been any overt acts of disapproval," Brady Williams said. But he added, "We want to be able to feel comfortable in our own skin."
KANSAN COMICS
Presented by: Jayhawk Buddy System
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