Nikke Finke writes:

That heavy snowstorm and its clean-up in the U.S. Northeast depressed Friday's and Saturday's ticket receipts. Nevertheless, box office was still up again over last year because of blockbuster 300. Warner's bloodbath marched into 1st place with a big $31.6 million from 3,270 theaters, or -58% from last week's haul. The CGI extravaganza made $10.3 mil Friday, $12.5 mil Saturday and an estimated $8.8 mil Sunday (not quite the $38 mil expected before the white stuff came down in major moviegoing metropolitans like New York and Boston). Its new cume is an amazing $127.8 mil after only one week out -- meaning this $60 million epic-on-the-cheap shot in two months with no stars will turn a hefty profit for Warner Bros.

But seriously: 300 is a popcorn film with few stars but loads of action and knock-out special effects. It's coupled with a positive story and a tone that's out of step with the cynicism of the rest of the movies. It's made positive in-roads with a fan base that's typically under-served by Hollywood. Combined, that's a contrarian formula for success that can really sneak up on the cast-in-the-mold movies that Hollywood turns out, especially when it's entrenched in long-term anti-war political statement mode.

Just ask George Lucas.