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Film: Mulholland Drive's LDS Connection, The Other Side of Heaven Starts Strong
DALLAS, TEXAS -- The biggest story in LDS Film this week is the
limited premier of Mitch Davis' long-awaited "The Other Side of
Heaven." Opening to the public on Friday, December 14th in just two
theaters (Jordon Commons in Sandy and Scera in Orem), the Tongan
missionary biopic took in $55,765 in just three days.
In Orem, "The Other Side of Heaven" began showing at the earliest
possible time that was permitted: at one minute past midnight on the
morning of December 14th. The theater was sold out with an
enthusiastic crowd.
The packed theaters in its opening weekend gave "The Other Side of
Heaven" the 2nd highest per-screen ticket sales in the entire
country, finishing only behind the heavily advertised film "The Royal
Tenenbaums," which opened in 5 theaters. "The Royal Tenenbaums"
boasts an all-star cast that includes Gene Hackman, Danny Glover,
Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen
Wilson and Alec Baldwin -- so the people behind "The Other Side of
Heaven" should be pleased with a second place showing behind it.
Also, part of the gap between the per-screen average for "Tenenbaums"
($50,813) and "Heaven" ($27,882) might be attributable to low Sunday
revenues for "Heaven." The Scera Theater is closed on the Sabbath.
There were no showings there on the Sunday, December 16th, one of
only three days included in the calculation.
"The Other Side of Heaven" is writer/director Mitch Davis' first
theatrically released film. But the film's producers already have had
a few successes at the box office. John Garbett was a producer of
"Shrek", which has grossed over $267 million domestically. And Jerry
Molen is the producer of films that have grossed over 1.7 BILLION in
U.S. ticket sales. (Well, make that 1.7 billion PLUS $55,000 from
this weekend's "Other Side of Heaven" showings.)
Also: With $22 million in ticket sales, "Ocean's Eleven" dropped from
first to second place this week, behind a new Tom Cruise/Russell
Crowe picture. The "Mormon twins" in the new "Ocean's Eleven" are a
nod to the Mormon character in the original Brat Pack version.
"Behind Enemy Lines" continued to do well, in 5th place. "Out Cold"
starring LDS actress A. J. Cook was in 11th place after 26 days in
release.
Also in the news: The influential New York Film Critics Circle Awards
were announced this week, and the bizarre David Lynch film
"Mulholland Drive" was chosen as the year's Best Film. The NY Film
Critics picks are always considered strong indicators of the year's
Oscar favorites. Although "Mulholland Drive" is widely considered a
pure Lynch-fest, it was actually the result of collaboration between
Lynch and Mormon writer/film producer Joyce Eliason. Eliason is
credited as the film's producer, but she was also the original
co-writer of the TV pilot which was re-worked into this film. If the
film receives any Oscar nods, it may help boosts the lackluster box
office performance of this strongly R-rated auteur flick.
Next week: "The Other Side of Heaven" opens up all in theaters all over Utah.
Also coming: The premier of Peter Jackson's monumental "The Lord of
the Rings." This is not a film by LDS filmmakers (interestingly
enough, author J. R. R Tolkien was a devout and serious Catholic).
But... what does the old BYU-produced Church video "The Emmett Smith
Story" have to do with Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings"? The whole
story, including comments from a rarely-seen Jackson interview --
next week.
Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross)
Weekend of December 14, 2001
Natl
Rank | Film Title
LDS/Mormon Filmmaker(s) or Actor(s) | Weekend Gross
Total Gross | Screens | Days |
| 2 | Ocean's Eleven
LDS characters: Malloy twins | $22,076,664
72,306,190 | 3,075 | 10 |
| 5 | Behind Enemy Lines
David Veloz (screenwriter) | 5,414,981
38,813,329 | 2,792 | 17 |
| 11 | Out Cold
A. J. Cook (female lead) | 694,866
13,245,127 | 1,183 | 26 |
| 33 | Mulholland Drive
Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) | 70,135
5,367,713 | 83 | 70 |
| 38 | The Other Side of Heaven (NEW)
Mitch Davis (screenwriter/director)
John G. Groberg (author/character)
Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) | 55,765
55,765 | 2 | 3 |
| 45 | Joy Ride
Paul Walker (2nd billed star) | 24,114
21,933,431 | 71 | 73 |
| 60 | China: The Panda Adventure
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 13,975
1,647,645 | 17 | 143 |
| 63 | Galapagos
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 11,385
11,976,880 | 8 | 780 |
| 68 | Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 9,840
12,938,153 | 7 | 591 |
| 73 | Island of the Sharks
Alan Williams (composer) | 6,243
10,554,048 | 5 | 962 |
| 75 | All Access
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 5,653
982,070 | 4 | 255 |
| 109 | Mark Twain's America 3D
Alan Williams (composer) | 66
2,136,468 | 1 | 1263 |
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