This film is getting a lot of hype but the January release date says it did not test well with focus groups. If it did they would have saved it for a June release.

But I have long thought focus groups cannot tell everything about a narrow focus film like this one. This should do well as the bits of it I have seen look first class.

Historical films where the ticket buyer already knows the ending are a tough sell, but one thing Hollywood has always done well is take the viewer to someplace they could never go on their own. This film follows in that tradition.

But as far as the January release date goes: January and February are the times that poorly tested films are released since this is the lowest attendance period of the year due to cold weather and snow. But it might do Hollywood watchers well to remember that Blackhawk Down was released wide in January and it seemed to do quite well with a total take of $174.000.000 after 15 weeks.