The Spirit Clinging to Life at Box Office

Frank Miller's film adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit was soundly pummeled by Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson's dog (sans pony) show, Marley and Me, Christmas day. According to initial returns, The Spirit came in a distant seventh at the box office.

Of course, Christmas day brought a lot of heavy-hitters, including the Brad Pitt vehicle, The Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt; the Tom Cruise-ical Valkyrie; Jim Carrey's remake of Liar, Liar, Yes Man; and Adam Sandler's Disney outing, Bedtime Stories - all of which fared better than The Spirit. Miller's directorial debut could become a sleeper hit, but mixed reviews make it seem unlikely.

Perhaps it's a mixed blessing: if recent superhero movie performances are an indicator of audience taste, maybe the superhero movie fad is finally over; no longer will studios be able to churn-out cookie-cutter crap with a cape and expect big box office returns. Genuinely good movies, such as Iron Man and The Dark Knight, have proven the genre capable of delivering quality material - and it may well be that The Spirit will, in time, rise to such status, it may have just missed the boat. Only time will prove either theory true.

If The Spirit is a good film, it may have been overlooked in the wake of the superhero fad's (hopeful) death; it may (also) have been overcome by bigger box-office star-power; or it could just be a bad flick. Again, we'll just have to wait and see.

Interestingly, both The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Tale of Despereaux followed it on the charts. It may be safe to say audiences' love affair with all things comic has finally ended.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008