U.S. bishops pull "Golden Compass" review

Some "Golden Compass" news updates:

* Yesterday, the USCCB yanked Catholic News Service's controversial "Golden Compass" review from the CNS public Web site and from the USCCB Web site. No reason was given for the review withdrawal, although if you scroll down on this blog or click on this link you can get some insight into the ruckus that the review caused.

* The film undersold big box office projections by doing $25.8 million on its opening weekend. While that's a very respectable number, films with a $180 million budget like this one usually need an opening weekend of twice that to build enough momentum to eventually recoup production costs. A weekend of $50 million or more would have caused New Line to proclaim the film a hit. But for those who don't want to see the second and third films get made, don't celebrate just yet. There is still the likelihood that any U.S. box office shortcomings will be made up overseas, which means the second film may still be made. Don't forget that "The Da Vinci Code" did more than $540 million overseas, ensuring that more Dan Brown novels will be turned into films. If "Golden Compass" doesn't do $180 million worldwide, then maybe the second film won't get made.

[12-12 UPDATE: As expected, the early reports from overseas show the film to be a bigger hit than in the U.S., taking in $51 million outside America. So the film has grossed $80 million worldwide in its first weekend. That will perk up studio ears. Don't be surprised to read in the next month or so that the second film will be greenlit.]