Can Fellowship Best Harry Potter?

Entertainment Weekly asks if Fellowship of the Ring can beat Harry Potter’s box office. Since Potter will take in $300 million, there’s no certainty that FOTR can beat that. The thing I don’t buy in this article is the quote: “Fantasy is box office poison,” he says, citing such duds as ”Dungeons & Dragons,” ”Dragonheart,” and ”The 13th Warrior.” Why must people always do this? Fantasy is not box office poison.

Bad movies are box office poison. So many glitzy big releases are filled with horrible plots, inane dialog and half-dimensional characters. Those movies often open big, but they fall off right away. FOTR is, by nearly all accounts, an excellent film. Take a well-known story, add in superb visuals, mix in a bunch of hype, and top it off with a real shot a big awards and I think you’ve got a movie that will pull in the money.