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Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, this movie stars Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce in what will most likely be a dark, gritty interpretation of the classic story. The early indication is that it is not a contemporary retelling but a historically faithful realization. This means that the film will not be an action movie but a dark and violent film.

Couple the subject matter with the setting of the story and you really are limiting your audience. Without having seen any footage or having any idea of where the marketing of this film will go, it's easy to doom it to failure. The big "however" here is that this is the perfect time of the year for a dark, suspenseful movie. While this movie can't, and probably won't, rely on star power, it can still leverage the subject matter to present an intriguing story. The last period piece that comes to mind is last year's Quills, and it seems to be a perfect fit for this movie. More footage and an idea of how it will be advertised will obviously give us a better clue as to what to expect. (Walid Habboub/BOP)

August 23, 2001
The film's debut has been pushed back to next February. Speculation surrounds the rationale behind the move but under any circumstance, it is clearly for the best to put distance between this title and The Musketeer. If Guy Pearce finds success with The Time Machine's release in December, The Count of Monte Cristo might see a small bump in popularity with exhibitors so the move to next year does makes a lot of sense. Generally, a six month delay is a danger sign but this particular one doesn't specifically indicate that the film is in trouble. (David Mumpower/BOP)

December 27, 2001
According to Count of Monte Cristo's official Web site, the film has now been moved up one week to a January 25, 2002 release. It had been moved to the February date from a planned October open. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for The Count of Monte Cristo Main Cast James Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris Supporting Cast James Frain, Dagmara Dominczyk, Michael Wincott, Luis Guzman Director Kevin Reynolds Screenwriter Jay Wolpert Distributor Buena Vista Pictures Trailer Click Here for Trailer Rating PG-13 Running Time 131 minutes Screen Count 2,211 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for The Count of Monte Cristo
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Gladiator	5/5/00	34.82	38.95	2938	11852.00	12753.5	186.61	208.76	5.36
Mask of Zorro	7/17/98	22.53	28.96	2515	8958.00	11078.1	93.83	120.63	4.16
Time Machine, The	3/8/02	22.50	23.39	2944	7609.00	7609.0	56.68	58.93	2.52
Man in the Iron Mask	3/13/98	17.27	22.20	3101	5569.00	6887.0	56.96	73.23	3.30
Three Musketeers, The	11/12/93	10.62	15.46	2069	5133.00	7191.2	53.45	77.84	5.03
Angel Eyes	5/18/01	9.23	9.85	2375	3884.00	3987.1	24.04	25.65	2.50
Gladiator (1992)	3/6/92	3.31	4.80	1295	2556.00	3572.2	8.21	11.92	2.48
Memento	5/4/01	1.22	1.30	445	2733.00	2805.6	25.93	27.67	13.56