This past weekend was sterling for movies based on books.
Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, adapted from C.S. Lewis's work, which opened on Friday, grossed $67.1 million, the AP estimated.
Brokeback Mountain, based on an Annie Proulx short story, took in $544,000 at just five theaters, and Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the Arthur Golden novel, grossed $674,000 at eight theaters. In addition, Brokeback Mountain was named the year's best movie by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
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Chronicles of Narnia fever seemed to intensify, as spot checks around the country showed.
Although he wouldn't discuss numbers, Doug Lockhart, president and CEO of Zondervan, which has been selling Narnia items to Christian bookstores and gift shops, told the Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss., that the "very stable franchise" has had a "dramatic increase" in sales, "multiple times."
"We've stocked and restocked and restocked, and they keep buying," Rocky Henriques, an assistant manager at Lifeway Christian Stores in Jackson, told the Clarion Ledger. Audiobooks and the Narnia set particularly have been good sellers, he added.
Phyllis Thompson, manager of St. Andrew's Bookstore in Jackson, told the paper that sales began increasing a month ago. In addition to the book, customers have bought study guides, jewelry and other times.
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"There are some people who have shown up and don't know anything about the Chronicles of Narnia and they come to us and ask us about it," Joel Ruse, manager at the Tree of Life Bookstore and Cafe, Marion, Ind., told the Marion Chronicle-Tribune. "That gives us a chance to tell them the story and tell them to go see the movie. We've seen several people who had never heard of it before, and they'd either walk away with the book or the whole box set of the books."
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All 22 copies of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the Wichita Public Library were out as of the movie opening, and a waiting list had formed, according to the Wichita Eagle. "Because of the movie, we have noticed a spike in popularity, just as we do whenever there is a Harry Potter movie," Jennifer Heinicke, special projects librarian, said.
Also in Wichita, Watermark Books and Café has been trying to keep Chronicles titles in stock. "It has always been a good seller, but not as much as this year. The movie obviously is introducing the Chronicles to new readers," said marketing manager Beth Golay.
Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, adapted from C.S. Lewis's work, which opened on Friday, grossed $67.1 million, the AP estimated.
Brokeback Mountain, based on an Annie Proulx short story, took in $544,000 at just five theaters, and Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the Arthur Golden novel, grossed $674,000 at eight theaters. In addition, Brokeback Mountain was named the year's best movie by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
---
Chronicles of Narnia fever seemed to intensify, as spot checks around the country showed.
Although he wouldn't discuss numbers, Doug Lockhart, president and CEO of Zondervan, which has been selling Narnia items to Christian bookstores and gift shops, told the Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss., that the "very stable franchise" has had a "dramatic increase" in sales, "multiple times."
"We've stocked and restocked and restocked, and they keep buying," Rocky Henriques, an assistant manager at Lifeway Christian Stores in Jackson, told the Clarion Ledger. Audiobooks and the Narnia set particularly have been good sellers, he added.
Phyllis Thompson, manager of St. Andrew's Bookstore in Jackson, told the paper that sales began increasing a month ago. In addition to the book, customers have bought study guides, jewelry and other times.
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"There are some people who have shown up and don't know anything about the Chronicles of Narnia and they come to us and ask us about it," Joel Ruse, manager at the Tree of Life Bookstore and Cafe, Marion, Ind., told the Marion Chronicle-Tribune. "That gives us a chance to tell them the story and tell them to go see the movie. We've seen several people who had never heard of it before, and they'd either walk away with the book or the whole box set of the books."
---
All 22 copies of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the Wichita Public Library were out as of the movie opening, and a waiting list had formed, according to the Wichita Eagle. "Because of the movie, we have noticed a spike in popularity, just as we do whenever there is a Harry Potter movie," Jennifer Heinicke, special projects librarian, said.
Also in Wichita, Watermark Books and Café has been trying to keep Chronicles titles in stock. "It has always been a good seller, but not as much as this year. The movie obviously is introducing the Chronicles to new readers," said marketing manager Beth Golay.