Focus Features is going at it faster than we thought. Brokeback Mountain, the much-lauded love story that we know you’ve already seen or are planning to see, is heading to more theaters than originally planned. And faster. The decision was made after Focus head James Seamus saw strong numbers from a theater in Plano, Texas, the same theater where Mel Gibson’s very queer-free The Passion of the Christ did about as well.

Focus distribution head Jack Foley told the Times that the film's strong opening at the Cinemark Legacy in the Dallas suburb of Plano "was a revelation about the accessibility of this movie. This is not gay-dependent. Attendance at those theaters indicates the film has the attention of suburban moviegoers." Brokeback Mountain has taken in an estimated $3.3 million in its first 10 days of release.

We eagerly anticipate the expected rise in protests by right-wingers that will surely raise the movie’s profile even more. Sit back and pop some popcorn ‘cause this is gonna be good.

Brokeback bullish on burbs in wider release [The Advocate]