Film "300" a Smash: BodogFight Capitalizes

Early showings of the Warner Bros film "300" was welcomed with massive success. For the Bodog Entertainment Group and its BodogFight MMA brand, the news could not have been better.

BodogFight joined forces with Warner Bros. Pictures in a unique on-campus promotional campaign for the highly anticipated action adventure movie "300".



max, the giant-screen movie chain, reported that all 57 of its 12:01 a.m. Friday screenings of the Warner Bros. film had sold out as its advance ticket sales for the weekend hit a new record for the month of March.

Many of the rest of the nation's 600 theaters with early morning shows also played to capacity crowds, said Dan Fellman, domestic distribution president for the Time Warner Inc.-owned studio.

"They were flocking everywhere, not just to Imax," he told Reuters.

BodogFight and Bodog Entertainment Founder Calvin Ayre said, "We are thrilled to do this promotion for '300'. Our fighters are some of the most exciting in all of mixed martial arts and our BodogFight production values are extremely high, so helping to promote this impeccably produced film with its thrilling fight scenes is a perfect fit."

"300" is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller about the Battle of Thermopylae (an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece).

The film is directed by Zack Snyder with Frank Miller attached as an executive producer and consultant, and was shot mostly with bluescreen to mimic the original comic book work.

300 stars Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, Andrew Tiernan and David Wenham. The film was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters in America on March 9, 2007.

300 has received positive and negative feedback. On Rottentomatoes.com, it has a 61% rating.

Mark Cronan of Comic Book Resources gave a positive review for the film. Cronan described most of the film as being "a bit of a cross between Gladiator and several scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies". He found the film compelling, leaving him "with a feeling of power, from having been witness to something grand". However, he admitted, "This is a chest thumping, dirty, writhing mass of violence at times... It is all quite stylized and probably less gory overall than Miller's other big screen success, Sin City. Still, it's there, and if you don't want to see men fighting and dying, do not see this movie."

IGN's Todd Gilchrist disagreed. Giving the film a score of five stars out of five, he said "Leonidas' relationship with his wife Gorgo offers a rare display of tenderness and devotion that is seldom seen in 'guy movies' like this one". He acclaimed Zack Snyder as a cinematic visionary as well as the visual sensibility of the film. George Rousch acclaimed the film, citing its visual appeal and Gerard Butler's performance.

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