UK

Gay Cowboy Film’s Million Pound UK Opening

 
 
 
Photo © courtesy Focus Features, USA		  
 


 


LONDON, January 10, 2005  –  Brokeback Mountain, the ‘gay cowboy romance’ starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, opened strongly in the United Kingdom last weekend and last night was named Best Picture at the 11th annual Critics' Choice Awards in America..

Despite a limited release in major cities, the weekend ‘gross’ was just under £1m from the 125 screens.

And in much the same pattern as was the case in the United States, Brokeback Mountain’s ‘take’ of £8,000 a screen was higher than the current UK and Ireland blockbusters King Kong and Narnia.

King Kong topped the Screen International UK and Ireland box office chart with £2.16m, edging out Narnia (£2.13m) and Just Friends (£1.75m).

Brokeback’s gross of £987,261 earned the film fourth place in the chart, ahead of Just Like Heaven (£934,650)/

“We are naturally very pleased with the figures,” commented a spokesperson for the film’s UK and Ireland distributors, Entertainment Film Distributors.

In Santa Monica last night, the film picked up "Best Picture" at the Critics' Choice Awards.  Ang Lee was Best Director and Michelle Williams was Best Supporting Actress (shared with Amy Adams for her part in Jitterbug)

■ Brokeback Mountain opens nationally on Friday (January 13).

SEE ALSO

Brokeback Mountain: A Gift of Superb Acting.  By Dan Wentzel.  An openly gay actor in Southern California on "Brokeback Mountain" which opened in major UK cities last weekend and opens nationally on Friday January 13..

LINKS

There is an interesting Brokeback Mountain discussion forum run by Dave Cullen. Click the banner below to visit.  It is open to anyone to read, but you will need to register (free) to post.

For UK readers, we recommend the Guardian's Film Section.  It has three separate "search" facilities and a number of articles on the film, including Peter Bradsaw's review.

The original short story, Brokeback Mountain by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, was first published in the October 13, 1997, issue of The New Yorker.  Anthony Lane's review of the movie from the December 12, 2005, issue is HERE

Official Brokeback Mountain website

 
 

Recent Articles
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for full archive search)

January 10: 
Estonia:  First Test of Tolerance and Common European Values in Estonia for Gays.  Days before Christmas, the Ministry of Social Affairs in Estonia called for a public debate on same-sex relationships.  In many ways, it was a ‘seasonal gift’ to the country’s gay community – but it turned out to be short-lived as Estonia could be heading in the same direction as their Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania.

January 9: 
USA:  Operation ‘Mockingbird’:  County Rallies to Aid Dying Lesbian.  In the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch stands alone to do the right thing.  Today, people across the world are standing with Laurel Hester, a dying lesbian New Jersey police officer, by sending copies of the classic book To Kill a Mockingbird to the officials in Ocean County, who are refusing to grant pension benefits to Hester and her partner Stacie Andree.

January 6: 
Jamaica:  Tragic End to Attempted Gay-Bash Attack in Kingston.  A young Jamaican man has died, allegedly after being hounded through the streets of Kingston by a homophobic mob who believed he was gay.

USA:  Gay Soldier Attacked at Fort Huachuca is Discharged From US Army.  Kyle Lawson, the 19-year old Army Private who was recently attacked by a fellow soldier who learned Lawson is gay, was discharged yesterday from the Army.

Film:   Brokeback Mountain: A Gift of Superb Acting.  By Dan Wentzel.  An openly gay actor in Southern California on "Brokeback Mountain" which open in major UK cities today.

January 5: 
Poland:  The “Battle of Poznań”:  Court Dismisses Charges Against Equality March Protesters.  Criminal charges against 53 participants – which included gays and lesbians – in the ‘Equality March’ in Poznań last November have been dropped.

January 4: 
UK:  Muslim Leader Urged to Drop Homophobia.  It is sad to see the leader of the Muslim community attacking the gay community, Peter Tatchell of the gay human rights group OutRage! said today following comments made yesterday by a Muslim leader on BBC Radio.

January 3: 
Russia:  Gay Pride March in Moscow Will Be Under Watchful Eye of International Community.  Commentary.  The Russian gay and lesbian community are convinced that 2006 will be a watershed year.  Some have said that the projected Moscow Pride – the first-ever in the city – is doomed to failure.  Russia, they say, is just not ready for a “Pride” event, let alone the accompanying “cultural” festival.

 

Posted: 10 January 2006 at 16:00 (UK time)

 

 

 
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