Will the Catholic Church boycott Angels and Demons and make it a hit?
Ron Howards upcoming sequel and adaptation to his huge global hit The Da Vinci Code, is already stirring controversy as reports are trickling in from the Vatican newspaper that they may boycott Angels and Demons, as they simply stated that they “cannot approve” of the film. The last time this happened it resulted in the film being boycotted in the end, and most recently happened with The Golden Compass. While this may seem like a horrible thing for a film to be labeled as “banned” by the Catholic Church, in the end all the negative press for the film ends up bringing the film more into the spotlight than ever and causing the film to earn more money in the end than it normally would.
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While the Catholic Church many times tries to stay outside of popular media, many times they have also tried to recoup a bit of the spotlight as was done back in 1995, when during the 100th anniversary of motion pictures, the Catholic Church decided to announce their list of the 45  ’great films’ which they conveniently broke up into three categories: Religion,Values and Art. Some of the films put on the list include: The Seventh Seal, Ben Hur, Nosferatu, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Ghandi.Â
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You can also access the full list of the 45 films HERE
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Some of the films in the past that have been boycotted by the Catholic Church include: The DaVinci Code (for ’slanderous’ offenses against Catholicism), The Golden Compass ( due to its ‘atheist agenda’ ) and The Last Temptation of Christ Christ (for being “historically false”). Now aside from the actual boycotts from the Vatican itself there are even those in The Catholic League who try to boycott everything under the sun from such films as Priest and Dogma to that of Rosie O’Donnell herself ( we can only assume the distaste for O’Donnel resulted from the film Last Exit to Eden.)
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With the films mentioned do you think an actual boycotting of the film will do more good than harm? Check out the box office count for the boycotted films.
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The Last Temptation of Christ-8.3 Million (only released in 123 theatres at its highest theatre count)
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The Da Vinci Code- 758 Million
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The Golden Compass- 372 Million. This film is rather interesting in that there was a huge onslaught of controversy and ‘boycotting’ of the film by the catholic league discussing how unsuccessful the film was HERE,yet of course with a budget of 180 million and a worldwide gross of 372 million, you have to wonder who is really to blame for the films success. The boycott or the actual popularity of the film.
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Now I certainly am not against the practices the church and its subsidiaries attempt to do with the films. I just wonder if all the negative word on the films will in the end come back and make the film even more money in the end regardless on the films actual merits. As they say in the end, all press is in fact good press.
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Don’t forget The Catholic League once tried to boycott Miller Beer, so a little perspective must be taken when film boycotts such as these have take place.
Morons…. Morons with nothing better to do than exploit their weak minded beliefs upon the general public. That’s why I belong to the Church of the Godzilla Christians for a Better Tomorrow.
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Edvard VonLeizwich Reply:
May 12th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Weak minded?? Have you ever heard of Halon’s Razor…That is the tone of your statement….The Catholic Church…Started by Christ…is the one Church founded in tradition and Scripture…the Mass alone has more scripture in it then any other Protestant or other church sect of its kind. I was a Baptist, then a Presbyterian…then almost a mormon. If you were to truly read the doctrines of the Catholic Church and understand the true history of the Church…you would be shocked as I was to find it is by far the only TRUE Church founded in Jesus and the Eucharist. These movies are so Hollywood…based on theory, bloviated by misinterpretation, and founded in fiction. I could take 5 events and history that I knew happened…and then find mystical and interesting ways to connect them. Its called story telling…and Dan Brown is very good at story telling. Just look at the Divinci Code….The priory of sion which the movie tells us was a very old faction “fraternity” that protected the royal bloodline of Jesus. The fact is the this organization wasn’t developed till 1956. Woo-hoo…I think Dan Brown was off by oh…500 years. That is story…and Angels & Demons is just the same… Everybody like a conspiracy, and love to put down anything that has TRUTH and POWER…and the Catholic Church does have both. Granted…the Church has had its problems…all Church’s do…but the one thing the Catholic Church has never done…is change it dogma on the sacred liturgy in the EUCHARIST…the BODY OF CHRIST!! Which is the Source and Summit of all Christian LIFE. God Bless You my brother in Christ and you Find God in all His Glory!
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If I die before I wake I pray godzilla my soul to take.
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Mariette Reply:
May 20th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I pray that Jesus will save your soul.
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courtney Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 12:06 am
ok but what about the devil
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Indeed when a film is boycotted by a body like the Catholic Church, the movie becomes more alluring as people really want to check what was the reason behind the ban. This way the movie gains a lot of popularity and becomes a super hit at times.
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Wow! You are a website that supposedly is knowledgeable about the movie industry. Yet you seem to think that when they say a budget for a move is $180 million that that is all it cost and anything above that in revenue is profit. You clearly don’t understnad how movies work then. First of all, add a few tens of millions to that budget for promotion. Esepcailly for a big budgetr movie like that. Second..the prints do’t make themselves. Nor do they get to the theaters themselves either. For a wide release movie with 3000-4000 theaters at a time, several more millions are spent. Plus hte foreign market adds cost. Oh and when a movie makes $375 million in revenue..are you really so ignorant as to think that the studio gets all that?
Ifthey had it to do over again, knowing what they know now, Golden Compass would NOT have been made. Yes…it was a flop. It was expected to make FAR more than $70 million or whatever in the US. But it flopped. I am not saying the boycott was th reason, but you are idiots to claim it was a hit.
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WriterWriter Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 am
@JKfan87; do you think you could stick to the subject matter, please?
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matt Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Well if you want to get technical JKfan, Hollywood is never honest about the budget of their movie. It is typically inflated close to 500%. But besides that if the budget really was $180 million…I seriously doubt the P&A costs were another 195 million. Any way you look at it, the movie was more than likely profitable. Maybe not an epic hit like Hollywood is typically trying to achieve…but it did not lose money.
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stalkerstalker Reply:
May 14th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
First, i want to appologize, for my english,it is not my native language.I do mistakes.So i am sorry.Ok.Here is the explenation about Golden Compas numbers.Production budget is estimated around 180 million and print and advertisement budget was about 60 million.It makes 240 million.Now.Studio gets about 50% of gross.It means that every movie must make about twice more money in compare to money invested into movie to be proffitable.So Golden Compas is one of the biggest flops in history.It did no make 480 million to make it even.Now, there is still a chance to be saved in this kind of case.DVD market.To promote DVD release of blockbuster takes about 20 millions.Golden Compas had DVD gross about 60 millions.In DVD market, 2/3 of gross goes to studios.So It means, that DVD made profit for them about 30 million.Final result, they lost about 70 million.They can make another about 20 million by selling TV rights in 5 years after DVD release.So now you see.Thanks for reading.
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Sam Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
What an idiot.
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@JKfan87: Spell check – right after “engage brain.”
Who cares what the Vatican has to say about anything at all? The Vatican and all religious organisations – and their ‘leaders’ – are anachronistic and serve no modern purpose beyond comedy and to remind humans of their infantile early belief systems.
There’s no god. Now quit worrying and enjoy your life.
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kumar Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
LOL spell check right after engage brain…. that is fucking funny
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a Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Why do people always have to bash the Catholic Church… It actually is a great church!
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Of course, they would dismiss this film. That was a no-brainer. Mostly when people talk about budgets they are just talking about production costs, little is known how much the prints, posters, marketing all costs with the production budget.
I disagree yet agree with all of you. I think it is somewhat important to know what the Vatican says about this film. for one, it’s rooted in their faith. I don’t know if they really ever endorse a film based within their faith. “Passion of the Christ” was touted as “it is what is was” by Pope John Paul. That’s not really a ringing endorsement. I feel a film like “The Exorcist” proudly displays the characteristics of the faith in a positive manner…good over evil, etc., yet they forbid perishers to read the book.
So in terms of if the Vatican matters, well, does it matter to you. I think they have certain insights yet want to protect the name of their religion, so they will oppose anything that they feel might hurt it. I fully believe “Passion” and “Last Temptation of Christ” are great examples of why we should follow Jesus’ word, if you’re a Christian.
Just remember the Vatican gets picked on because no other religion has movies based on it. Hindu, no. Buddhism, no. Muslim, heck no! So calling them idiots is incorrect thing to do, yet their opinion is biased.
Just enjoy the film or not, have your own personal religious beliefs guide you.
Anyway, Killer Film enjoys these discussions!
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The fact is that “Angels & Demons” is a work of fiction. Period. I doesn’t matter if they portray the church in a positive or non-positive manner. Personally I think that if you don’t want to see a movie, then don’t see it. Anyone that uses their money and power to influence the weak are morons.
WORK OF FICTION.
Think about that for a while people. Also, before everyone starts fussing because I called people weak, please take a moment to think about it. If your going to let anyone, even a priest (also known as a human being) make your decisions for you, then by definition your are weak. Just pick up the book or view the movie yourself, and if you still think it’s a violation of your faith then by all means let your family and friends know how you felt about it. And if you don’t want to watch it at all then don’t, but please, I beg you, think for yourself.
Religion is a privilege and a freedom that our forefathers fought to grant us, but it’s not a governing body, or a supernatural force that should do your thinking for you. Think for yourself and pray for those that don’t have the willpower to do the same.
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Well this seems like a balanced discussion for the most part. OK maybe not balanced in the sense that there are equal numbers on both sides of the discussion but that common sense is taking hold.
Just because our ancestors didn’t understand nature well enough they created gods and demons to explain the problems in their lives doesn’t mean we need to continue to believe in them.
Zeus was made up, but many have changed the name over the years.
So why does it matter if the vatican says anything about the work of fiction coming from america? They could always make their own movies and then be content with the content
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I saw the ‘Da Vinci Code’ after reading the book and am looking forward to ‘Angels and Insects’. Do I believe in whether something is based on fact? No. My interest in this is the entertainment value and the understanding of possibilities and what-ifs.
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I forgot about Scorsese “Kundun” which follows the Dalia Lama.
It, meaning “Angels and Demons” isn’t like it’s “Religulous”, so it is kinda of retarded getting up in arms over a fictitious story. don’t they have any, more pressing matters, to worry about than a movie?
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The author’s ignorant:
NO MOVIE HAS EVER BEEN BANNED BY THE VATICAN.
Before you read the rest of this comment, read that sentence one more time.
Where did Daniel Herrera get his journalism “degree”? In a Wheaties box? Learn your history, Daniel.
On top of it, he takes “cannot approve” and “may boycott” and makes it sound like the Vatican’s got the final word on the release of this movie. They may not endorse it, but they’re not in charge, either.
Take your flamebait, sensational articles and go start a blog, Daniel.
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In the same way movies can get you thinking wrong things too. So can some of the good books you might read.
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Back when the movie THE GOLDEN COMPASS was in theaters conservative christians boycotted the movie cuasing it to become a big time flop in the box office and this is another film that should be boycotted and lose a cool million or more for its director RON HOWARD
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@Donny : Angels & demons is a mix of fact, fiction and conspiracy. Problem is that they are some people (especially those who do not belong to the Catholic faith and maybe including you) who cannot distinguish one from the other. Some people are stupid enough to believe what they see on the big screen. let us not forget that not everyone on this earth is educated or has enough exposure. The film clearly is anti-Catholic. Religion is a delicate subject and there are numerous topics under the sun, why choose to make a movie that steps on other peoples belief systems? So as a Catholic i am very much offended that people would want to advocate something that I believe in and respect. I think same goes if one made an offensive film about Islam. However, nobody dares to do that.
@people who bash/ed the Catholic faith: when the time comes that you’ll be judged,I dare u to say that you worshiped Godzilla..
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j.r. Reply:
May 26th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Mariette, why do you feel you are superior to Donny. He can believe in whatever he likes, just as you do. It is our right to do so in this country. I respect the fact that you are a catholic and that you believe in Jesus Christ. That does not give you ANY right to push your beliefs on ANYONE. EVER! It would be like me saying, PEOPLE WHO EMBRACED CATHOLIC FAITH: WHEN THE TIME COMES, YOU MIGHT JUST BE WORM FOOD. Didnt like that i bet. Next time, if you truly are religious, believe in whatever you like, but act accordingly.
I loved the movie, I know it was fake, most movies are. It was still very entertaining.
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C. Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Funny. What’s the reason for boycotting? Was it that the movie influenced people’s view on catholic. If faith is so strong, if their beliefs are strong, why would a movie, a fiction, change their mindsets, their beliefs? Rubbish! What’s the fuss over a movie? It’s fiction that’s it. People who choose to believe in catholic will do so even if the movie was anti-catholic.
Boycotting this movie is so childish. It’s like someone calling you a dog and you sue him to court. Are you a dog in the first place. NO! It’s your thinking that matters. From what I thought, catholic as a religion is supposed to teach people good moralities. If catholics are being taught to forgive and forget or whatever good moralities, why do all these rubbish? Back to the example. If you are being called a dog, you can just bloody hell ignore that, because you are NOT.
I have nothing against catholics, just a personal opinion about the issue.
Kiddish issue!
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