New Line adaptation looks 'Golden' as lone wide opener

December 07, 2007 From the time New Line acquired rights to British author Philip Pullman's children's literary series "His Dark Materials," there has been talk that the resulting film "The Golden Compass" could launch a lucrative franchise for the mini-major. Toting a production budget of $180 million and another $60 million or so in marketing costs, execs will need to eke out every theatrical dollar possible if this "Compass" is to prove golden, let alone any sort of franchise starter. New Line bows the first in this potential series of family fantasies in more than 3,500 domestic locations today, with "Compass" also unspooling in 27 international territories.

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