Is 5 years later still too soon for Sept. 11 films?

When the trailer for "United 93," one of two 2006 films dealing with the subject of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was shown in New York-area theaters in January, it was met with choruses of boos, as well as cries of "Too soon! Too soon!"

When the film was finally released in April, it was met with positive critical reviews but a less-than-stellar $11 million opening weekend. And its total earnings of some $31 million seemed to lend some credence to those early complaints.

Maybe it was too soon for a 9/11 movie.

Four months after the release of "United 93," along came Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," which opened Aug. 9 with an opening-weekend take of $18 million. So far the film has earned $65 million — but since it cost the same amount to make (still tip money by Hollywood standards), there is some question about whether it will go into profit, and it certainly won't reach blockbuster status. On the other hand, because the production costs for "United 93" weren't much by Hollywood standards — $15 million — it will make money and won't be considered a failure. Still, it didn't bring in the audience that was expected.

The numbers for both films call into question whether audiences want to see movies about terrorism and tragedy only five years later.

It should also be noted, however, that "World Trade Center," which drew the larger audience, is quite uplifting, while "United 93" is more downbeat.

"There's no real trend on these (types of) movies doing well or not," said Gitesh Pandya, editor of the Box Office Guru Web site at www.boxofficeguru.com, which tracks movie-ticket sales.

Historically, however, releasing films within a few years of a tragic event is nothing new. According to local film historians, movies about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, for example, started showing up within five months of that event.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was in December 1941 and led to the United States entering World War II. The first movie about that event was "Remember Pearl Harbor," released in May 1942.

For the most part, films about World War II were not critical of U.S. foreign policy. Hollywood's portrayal of wartime events, especially when the war was still going on, were uplifting and "patriotic."

It probably wasn't until a decade later that mainstream movies took a more jaded view of war, with such films as "One Minute to Zero" (1952), starring Robert Mitchum, which offered a jaundiced look at the Korean War.