Peter McKnight Not Confused by Expelled

Peter McKnight, writing in the Vancouver Sun, gives a clear-headed appraisal of the crackpot documentary Expelled, which has just opened in Canada. Among the best tidbits, Ben Stein is reported to have replied, "It's none of their f---ing business" when McKnight asked him about the ADL statement on Expelled.

I predict that Expelled will flop even more egregiously in Canada than it did in the US. Reasons: there are not as many far-right religious crackpots in Canada; Canadians don't really care so much about US church-state battles; it's only playing in a relatively small number of theatres; and the producers are so desperate they're giving tickets away to a freethought group.

Expelled a Failure!

Well, no surprise to anyone who's followed the story, but the ID documentary Expelled is essentially dead in theatres.

According to Box Office Mojo, not even creationists are dumb enough to pay good money to watch this turkey. After its opening weekend, Expelled attendance fell off exponentially in weekend gross, with each weekend earning less than 1/2 the previous. Theatre count also decreased each week; only 83 theatres nationwide are showing this loser now. Similarly, the amount taken in per theatre decreased each week, down to this week's $423/theatre. You could probably get more by showing Battlefield Earth.