The Ghost World movie, which is based on the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, earned a very respectable $128,000 in its second weekend of release on just eight screens.  The film is just playing in New York and Los Angeles now, with a rollout to other top markets set for August 3 (see 'Ghost World'). In spite of its relatively low profile, the film has garnered almost universally excellent notices, including a full page rave from Richard Corliss in the July 30 issue of Time Magazine, 'Finally! After a rash of teen comedies that promote adolescence as a frenetic party...here comes the genre's cleansing antidote -- Ghost World, the Heathers of the new century, the movie that shows how morose and furtive an ordeal growing up can be.'   In addition to all the great reviews, The New Yorker ran a glowing five page-profile of Ghost World creator Dan Clowes in its July 30 issue.

With all the strong reviews of Ghost World in major publications, retailers should be bringing in copies of the Ghost World graphic novel and the Ghost World Screenplay now, even if the film is yet to play in your community.  The kind of high profile praise that Ghost World has received from professional critics like Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper and from high profile television personalities like Craig Kilbourne is sure to pique interest in this fascinating and very different film.  In fact the Ghost World books should be strongly considered for a window display in stores with strong street traffic. Critical praise cannot ensure success at the box office, but the early indications from Ghost World's limited run in New York and Los Angeles are very positive.  Movie-savvy types are already well aware of Ghost World, although those who don't shop at pop culture stores may not know how where to obtain the books.  Outreach efforts ranging from ads in alternative news weeklies to a simple window display can be very effective in drawing new customers to your store, especially when they are tied to a property that has received as much attention as Ghost World.

The Ghost World books and Clowes' Eightball collections and back issues are available from ColdCut, Diamond, FM International, and directly from the Clowes' publisher, Fantagraphics Books.