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**Written by Doug Powers

News of the extreme lackluster box office for the new Matt Damon film about fracking, “Promised Land,” comes as a bit of a surprise. Normally movies about fracking do huge box office (“Frack! The Movie” and “Frackmageddon” being just two examples).

From The Hill:

Fracking gets natural gas out of the ground, but it isn’t bringing people into movie theaters.

Big stars and political controversy didn’t translate into a significant box-office haul as “Promised Land,” a new movie exploring environmental concerns about the gas-production method known more formally as “hydraulic fracturing,” fared poorly in its nationwide opening.

The film, which Matt Damon co-wrote and stars in, took just 10th place at the weekend box office, with $4.3 million in ticket sales, according to The Los Angeles Times.
[...]
“Promised Land,” which cost $15 million to make and was directed by indie pioneer Gus Van Sant, delves into fears about water pollution from fracking.

Industry insiders say concerned producers are considering temporarily pulling “Promised Land” and re-releasing it under a slightly modified title: “Texas Chainsaw 3D.”

As you might recall, this “fracking for natural gas in the U.S. could put lives in danger” movie was financed by one of the world’s largest oil exporters and producers of natural gas overseas:

Because there’s nobody you can trust more to lead the discussion about setting an energy policy in your country’s best interest than an OPEC member nation.

I haven’t seen the movie but I doubt they mentioned that U.S. carbon emissions were way down in 2012 due in part to you-know-what.

In the very unlikely event of a sequel, maybe Al Gore can help finance it with some of his foreign oil windfall.

(h/t Weasel Zippers)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe