Inland Empire a huge hit (relatively speaking, of course)

If I haven't written much about Inland Empire, it's only because I'm deeply ambivalent about it, both as a work of art and as a work for sale. I've seen the film just once, and though if I could bring myself to sit through it again, I might feel differently, I stand by my original impression: if Lynch was willing to part with about 45 minutes out of the middle, he'd have made a masterpiece. Still, I'm all for an artist like Lynch using his stature amongst actors and foreign financiers to get something like this made, and using his personal fortune to get it out there.

Now it looks like Lynch's self-distribution gambit is working -- at least, here in New York. The Reeler has the numbers for Inland Empire's first week at the IFC Center, and they're quite impressive. Not only has the film broken just about every box office record in IFC's 18-month history, but there seems to be a never-ending supply of Lynchmaniacs waiting for a peek at the film: "All evening shows of the film have sold out hours in advance, with hundreds turned away from capacity screenings and record numbers of advance tickets sold. Hungry ticket-seekers have offered up to $75 to buy tickets to sold-out shows."