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Film: 'The Singles Ward' Debuts
DALLAS, TEXAS -- The big news this week in LDS film was the premiere
of Kurt Hale's new comedy "The Singles Ward." The gala benefit
premiere was on Wednesday, January 30th, after which the film opened
in eleven theaters on February 1st. The budget has been reported as
$425,000 or $450,000. Either way, it made over 10% of its budget back
in box office ticket sales in its opening weekend, with a 3-day total
of $46,649. This gave "The Singles Ward" a per-theater average of
$4,241, which was enough to put it on the Top 10 list nationwide for
per-theater revenue. (It was number 10.)
"The Singles Ward" ranked 44th nationwide in total box office
revenue, and 5th on this list of films by and/or about Latter-day
Saints/Mormons.
Critical reaction to "The Singles Ward" was mixed. Audiences seemed
to love it, as did some of the critics. The Utah Statesman gave it an
enthusiastic "A", and the Ogden Standard-Examiner gave it a favorable
review and 2 1/2 stars. Eric D. Snider of the Utah County Daily
Herald proved once again that he doesn't play favorites with locals,
giving it a C- . The Desert News gave it 2 stars and the Salt Lake
Tribune gave it 1. (Tribune critic Sean Means thought the humor might
be too "inside" for people outside Utah/LDS culture to enjoy. Of
course, nobody has actually watched the film with an "outsider"
audience, so this seems like conjecture.)
With two Mormon casino bandits, "Ocean's Eleven" is STILL the top
money-maker of this list, dropping from 11th place last week to 15th
this week after 59 days in release. "Behind Enemy Lines" dropped
slightly from 27th to 29th place nationwide -- quite respectable
considering the film has been out over two months.
"The Other Side of Heaven" and "Mulholland Drive" were in 36th and
37th place nationwide for the second week in a row. "Heaven" is
essentially only playing in Utah, Idaho and Austin, Texas (where one
of its major investors lives). The Austin Chronicle reviewed "Heaven"
favorably and gave it 2 1/2 (out of 4) stars. As the movie continues
to open around the rest of the country it MIGHT become the top
grossing film in the short history of modern "LDS Cinema" (movies
made by AND about Latter-day Saints). But it still has a ways to go
before it catches up to "God's Army."
LOOKING AHEAD: We're just two weeks away from the release of "Out of
Step" the Canadian-Utah-New York film about a Latter-day Saint dancer
in the Big Apple. "Out of Step" was produced by Cary Derbidge,
directed by Ryan Little ("The Last Good War"), and stars Jeremy
Elliott ("Testaments") and Michael Buster ("Elder Kinegar" from
"God's Army"). Buster also co-wrote the screenplay.
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST: Latter-day Saint filmmaker McKay Daines is
currently filming "Dream Catcher," a major feature film written,
produced and directed by him. The executive producer (and one of the
stars) of this Native American romantic comedy is Ray Tracey, the
Navajo Latter-day Saint actor who, as a BYU student, was discovered
by Kieth Merrill and later starred in "Joe Panther" and the
documentary "Indian." The film features an all Native American cast
and is being filmed on reservations near Phoenix, Arizona.
[If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a
mono-spaced font, such as courier - Ed.]
Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross)
Weekend of February 1, 2002
Natl
Rank | Film Title
LDS/Mormon Filmmaker or Actor | Weekend Gross
Total Gross | Theaters | Days |
| 15 | Ocean's Eleven
LDS characters: Malloy twins | $2,056,615
178,908,056 | 1,541 | 59 |
| 29 | Behind Enemy Lines
David Veloz (screenwriter) | 252,458
57,802,467 | 409 | 66 |
| 36 | The Other Side of Heaven
Mitch Davis (writer/director)
John H. Groberg (author/character)
Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) | 91,297
1,292,907 | 35 | 52 |
| 37 | Mulholland Drive
Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) | 81,305
6,545,178 | 72 | 119 |
| 44 | The Singles Ward (NEW)
Kurt Hale (writer/director)
John E. Moyer (writer)
Dave Hunter (producer)
Cody Hale (composer)
Ryan Little (cinematographer)
Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young
Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne
Michael Birkeland, Bob-O Swenson
Lincoln Hoppe, Tarance Edwards
Michelle Ainge, Gretchen Whalley
Sedra Santos | 46,649
46,649 | 11 | 3 |
| 51 | Out Cold
A. J. Cook (female lead) | 30,018
13,850,403 | 88 | 75 |
| 66 | Galapagos
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 11,151
12,256,938 | 3 | 829 |
| 73 | China: The Panda Adventure
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 6,624
1,897,615 | 5 | 192 |
| 80 | Island of the Sharks
Alan Williams (composer) | 3,821
10,625,038 | 3 | 1011 |
| 91 | Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Reed Smoot (cinematographer) | 1,215
13,056,971 | 2 | 640 |
| 103 | Mark Twain's America in 3D
Alan Williams (composer) | 499
2,147,730 | 1 | 1312 |
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