Pitt stars in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a long-delayed drama about the notorious American outlaw.

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In this movie, as in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, " the physically slight, baby-faced actor is called upon to soak up a lot of patronizing put-downs.

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Before the premiere, Pitt picked up an award that he won in Venice last year - the best actor's prize for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

BBC: Pitt and Clooney at Venice debut

Either way, from there the sales of HD DVDs really drop off, so much so that the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Crawford only sold 6.45-percent as many copies as Beowulf.

ENGADGET: Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending March 2nd, 2008

During the same period, Pitt spent time both in front of the camera (Oceans 13, The Assassination of Jesse James) and behind it (The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, A Mighty Heart and Tree of Life).

FORBES: Magazine Article

It will be interesting to see if the drawing power of Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt (in the forthcoming "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") can buck that trend.

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