Director Oliver Stone's historical epic movie Alexander has failed in its bid to conquer the box office, entering the US film charts only at number six
Alexander the (not so) Great
Los Angeles, Nov 29 — Director Oliver Stone's historical epic movie Alexander has failed in its bid to conquer the box office, entering the US film charts only at number six.
The film, uses a high degree of historical accuracy, along with some poetic licence and a huge canvas to tell — in 2 hours and 50 minutes — Alexander's story from his birth in 356 B.C. to his death in 323 B.C., a month shy of his 33rd birthday.
The swords and sandals blockbuster, rumoured to have cost more than $150m (£79m) to make, earned just $13.5 (£7m) over three days at the US box office.
Irish actor Colin Farrell has a tattoo on his left forearm, along with a black cross. It reads: Carpe Diem, which means seize the day. Farrell did just that on Alexander, Oliver Stone's $150-million, three-hour epic about the legendary Macedonian king Alexander the Great. With Angelina Jolie playing his scheming young mother Olympias, Farrell plays the title role.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the film opened on Wednesday, bringing its total takings to $21.6m (£11.4m).
Top of the box office for a second week was action movie National Treasure.
The family adventure, starring Nicolas Cage, took $33.1m (£17.m), ahead of animated comedy The Incredibles - now in its fourth week in the charts - which took $24.1m (£12.7m).
Last week Oliver Stone's film met with scathing reviews from US critics.
The film is about one of history's most celebrated leaders - a relentless and arrogant warrior who conquered much of the known world by the age of 25.
In particular, its portrayal of Alexander as a bisexual has met with a hostile reception and the threat of legal action from Greek lawyers.
In Sweden last Thursday, to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the Stockholm International Film Festival, Stone expressed the hope that Alexander might be better appreciated in Europe.
"One of the reasons I am being honoured here is Europeans tend to see me a little differently than they do in the US," said the director behind JFK, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.
He added Alexander "was not an easy movie, but then I've never made easy movies".
