'Black Swans' Risks Pay Off

A horror movie set in the world of ballet? Small budget? Darren Aronofsky? It's an unlikely recipe for a smash hit, and its success is surprising even its makers.

"Black Swan" star Natalie Portman has emerged as a front-runner for this year's lead actress Oscar. The awards parade for the film could begin at Sunday night's Golden Globes ceremony, where Portman, co-star Mila Kunis and director Darren Aronofsky are all nominated, as is the movie (for best dramatic picture). (Niko Tavernise / Fox Searchlight)

January 16, 2011E-mail Print Share Text Size It was just before 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Los Feliz, and the assorted filmgoers that had gathered to see "Black Swan" sounded as if they were attending different movies.

Nas Moinee, 23, had come for the dancing and the costumes and was dreading the film's scares. Peter Garcia, a longhaired, ball-cap-wearing 12-year-old attending with his mother, said he was looking forward to jumping out of his seat at the movie's spooky scenes.