Adam Garcia
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
N/A
Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia |
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THE COMING BOX OFFICE WEEKEND (OCTOBER 27-29, 2000):
May 08, 2001 4:19am ESTHOLLYWOOD, Oct 26, 2000 - Look for "Blair Witch 2" to do killer business this Halloween weekend. Artisan Entertainment's R-rated sequel "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2," opening at about 3,000 theaters, should scare up enough ticket sales to end "Meet the Parents'" three week reign in first place. "'Blair Witch' is going to play very young," explains an insider. "They ought to be able to open to $20 million." The original "Blair Witch Project," last summer's sleeper blockbuster, was made independently for about $35,000 and picked up by Artisan. It grossed about $140.5 million in domestic theaters. Directed by Joe Berlinger, "Blair Witch 2" stars Kim Director, Jeffrey Donovan, Erica Leerhsen, Tristen Skylar and Stephen Barker-Turner. Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents" should slide one slot to second place in its fourth week after finishing first with $16 million last weekend. "'Meet the Parents' dropped 24% last weekend," a distributor says. "If they drop that way again this weekend, they'll do $12-13 million." Directed by Jay Roach, "Parents" stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. There could be a close race for third place between Paramount's opening of its R-rated romantic comedy "Lucky Numbers" at about 2,500 theaters and 20th Century Fox's second weekend of its PG-13-rated comedy "Bedazzled." "Bedazzled" opened in second place to a better-than-anticipated $13.1 million. "Let's say they're down 35%," a studio source speculates. "That puts them at $8 million. 'Lucky Numbers' could do $8-10 million." Directed by Harold Ramis, "Bedazzled" stars Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. Directed by Nora Ephron, "Numbers" stars John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. Another battle is shaping up for fifth place between Buena Vista/Disney's PG-rated football theme drama "Remember the Titans," which finished third last weekend with $9.9 million, and Warner Bros.' PG-13-rated drama "Pay It Forward," which kicked off to $9.6 million in fourth place. "'Titans' was only down 24%. Let's say it drops another 24% and does $7.5 million," an insider speculates. "'Pay It Forward' will be doing good if it's down 23% or 24%. That's going to put both of them at around $7.5 million." Directed by Boaz Yakin and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman, "Titans" stars Denzel Washington. Directed by Mimi Leder, "Pay" stars Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment. The weekend's other wide release, New Line Cinema's PG-rated family film "The Little Vampire," probably won't sink its fangs into the Top Five, although it's opening at about 2,000 theaters. "I would look for 'Little Vampire' to be somewhere in the low single digits," predicts an insider. Directed by Uli Edel, "Vampire" stars Jonathan Lipnicki. Filling out lower rungs: "The Contender," "The Legend of Drunken Master," "The Exorcist" and "Lost Souls." On the expansion front, Fox Searchlight Pictures will start going wider with its R-rated drama "Bootmen." Directed by Dein Perry, "Bootmen" stars Adam Garcia and Sam Worthington. Also expanding is Miramax's R-rated drama "The Yards." Directed by James Gray, "Yards" stars Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron and James Caan. In limited release activity, Buena Vista's reissue of its 1993 PG-rated animated family film "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" will open at 72 theaters in select cities. Directed by Henry Selick, its voice talents include Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon and Catherine O'Hara. Lions Gate's R-rated drama "Once in the Life" opens in New York, L.A. and Chicago. "Life" was written and directed by Laurence Fishburne, who also stars in the film. Lions Gate's R-rated dark comedy "Stardom" goes into limited release. Directed by Denys Arcand, it stars Dan Aykroyd and Frank Langella. USA Films' R-rated dark comedy "A Room For Romeo Brass" opens exclusively in New York and L.A. Directed by Shane Meadows, "Romeo" stars Andrew Shim and Ben Marshall.
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B.O. ANALYSIS: This Weekend's a Tough Call
March 19, 2001 11:50am ESTPredicting this weekend's box office is enough to drive anyone a little "Nutty." If Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" has big legs, it stands to hold on to the top spot. The PG-13-rated comedy sequel from Universal and Imagine Entertainment could drop 50 percent from last weekend's $42.5 million opening and still place first with around $21 million. Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and Larry Miller. Columbia's opening of its R-rated sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man" at about 2,800 theaters is shaping up as the most solid competition "Nutty" faces. But there also will be high-profile openings for Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Coyote Ugly" at 2,650-plus theaters and Warner Bros. PG-13 sci-fi action adventure "Space Cowboys" at 2,700-plus theaters. "'Coyote Ugly,' 'Hollow Man' and 'Space Cowboys' are all looking pretty strong," says one insider looking at the midweek tracking scores for all three new arrivals. "'Hollow Man's first choice is 16 percent. 'Coyote Ugly' is 15 percent. And 'Space Cowboys' is 10 percent. You've got to figure 'Space Cowboys' is older (in its appeal)." Between "Coyote" and "Hollow," which should perform best? "I've got to think it's 'Hollow Man' (that will do the best of the three)," he speculates. "'Hollow Man' just feels broader to me. 'Coyote Ugly' feels like young girls - although there's certainly plenty for young boys to look at and enjoy. It's probably too close to call." Asked what sort of business to expect, a studio source replies, "They both could be in the high teens or even $20 million with this kind of first choice. Now, is that enough to beat 'Nutty Professor?' I don't know. 'Nutty Professor' could drop 50 percent and still do $21 million. I think right now you'd have to say 'Nutty Professor's' the favorite to be number one, but either 'Hollow Man' or 'Coyote Ugly' could give it some competition." With "Hollow" a likely second and "Coyote" a close third, "Space" should land in the fourth orbit on the chart. Given its adult appeal, how far "Space Cowboys" travels at the box office will depend in part on what happens to the adult appealed "What Lies Beneath." "It's going to be interesting to see what happens," an observer notes. "'What Lies Beneath' held up so well last weekend, down only 23 percent, because it was really the only movie for an older audience to go see. 'Space Cowboys' may cut into that, or the strength of 'What Lies Beneath' could really hurt 'Space Cowboys.' "But let's say 'What Lies Beneath' does take a bit of a hit, and they're down 30 percent this weekend. Then they'd still come in at $16 million, and that's right where I think 'Space Cowboys' is going to be. I think you'll see them both somewhere in the mid-to-high teens (in millions of dollars)." Directed by Paul Verhoeven, "Hollow" stars Elisabeth Shue and Kevin Bacon. Directed by David McNally, "Coyote" stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. Directed by Clint Eastwood, "Space" stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland. That would send DreamWorks PG-13-rated supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" (a co-production with 20th Century Fox, which is releasing it internationally) down three rungs to fifth place in its third weekend. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Beneath" stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" should X-it the Top Five in its fourth weekend. The PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure slid another 46 percent last weekend to $12.7 million. Directed by Bryan Singer, "X-Men's" cast is headed by Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen. Filling out lower rungs: "Scary Movie," "The Perfect Storm," "Disney's The Kid" and "The Patriot." On this weekend's limited release front: USA Films' PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Mad About Mambo" opens its first engagements. Directed by John Forte, it stars Keri Russell and William Ash. Fine Line Features' R-rated comedy "Saving Grace" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Nigel Cole, it stars Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson. Sony Pictures Classics' R-rated romantic comedy "The Tao of Steve" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Jenniphr Goodman, it stars Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. Looking ahead to Aug. 11, mid-week overall tracking numbers showed very little excitement over any of the three films scheduled to arrive then. Insiders said the early first choice tracking is 4 percent for MGM's PG-13 rated drama "Autumn in New York," 3 percent for Paramount's R rated suspense thriller "Bless the Child" and 2 percent for Warner Bros.' football action comedy "The Replacements." Tracking scores typically increase as films' openings get closer and more television ads run on their behalf.
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BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES FOR AUG. 18-20, 2000
March 19, 2001 11:50am ESTJennifer Lopez's "The Cell" easily locked up first place at this weekend's box office. The R-rated fantasy suspense thriller from New Line opened to a sexy ESTIMATED $17.2 million at 2,411 theaters ($7,134 per theater). "Obviously, we're thrilled with the opening," New Line distribution president David Tuckerman said Sunday morning. "It shows that Jennifer Lopez is a star and can open a picture. Also, the two Vinces - Vaughn and D'Onofrio - were very strong, as they always are." New Line clearly had perfect timing entering the summer marketplace with "Cell." "We picked the date at the beginning of this year," Tuckerman noted. "We've had great luck in August with our films (like 'Blade,' which opened to $17.1 million the weekend of Aug. 21-23, 1998). The picture itself is visually stunning and wildly inventive." On the marketing front, Tuckerman applauded the campaign done by New Line marketing president Joe Nimziki and his team: "As usual, Joe found a way to sell the picture in unusual ways. We had three different one-sheets in the theaters (hanging side by side in many houses). That's the way they were laid out to be. Obviously, in some theaters you can't get that done. But, for the most part, the theater owners cooperated and did it where they could. The trailer was spectacular, a great selling tool." Directed by Tarsem, "Cell" stars Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio. Paramount's R-rated Spike Lee documentary comedy "The Original Kings of Comedy" kicked off in second place with a hefty ESTIMATED $11.7 million at 847 theaters ($13,813 per theater). Its per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend. "This is great," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "Frankly, we were hoping to get a $10,000 per theater average, and we're about 33% better than that. That would have given us about $8.5 million. So we're very pleased." Will Paramount go any wider with "Kings?" "Only strategically," Lewellen replied. "If there are some theaters in some of the urban markets that we didn't cover - I don't really think there's going to be that much - and, perhaps, some of the smaller markets. But it will not be a 200 or 300 print increase." Directed by Spike Lee, "Kings" stars Steve Harvey, D. L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Warner Bros. PG-13 sci-fi action adventure "Space Cowboys" fell one orbit in its third week to third place, holding well with an ESTIMATED $9.9 million (-24%) at 2,870 theaters (+35 theaters; $3,449 per theater). Its cume is approximately $54.2 million. "I think it's going to go north of $80 million," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "It's great. The picture is exceeding the box office of 'Unforgiven,' and it's neck and neck with 'In the Line of Fire' (two prior Eastwood hits). Both of those movies did (over) $100 million." Directed by Clint Eastwood, "Space" stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland. Warner Bros.' PG-13-rated football action comedy "The Replacements" lost one yard in its second week, placing fourth and holding nicely with an ESTIMATED $7.52 million (-28%) at 2,754 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,729 per theater). Its cume is approximately $23.7 million, heading for $50 million. Directed by Howard Deutch, "Replacements" stars Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman. DreamWorks PG-13-rated supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" rose one rung in its fifth week to fifth place with a still solid ESTIMATED $7.1 million (-28%) at 2,760 theaters (-165 theaters; $2,557 per theater). Its cume is approximately $123.7 million. "Beneath" is a co-production of DreamWorks, which is releasing it domestically, and 20th Century Fox, which is distributing it internationally. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Beneath" stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. The weekend's other high-profile, wide opening, Sony Pictures Releasing's launch via its TriStar label of Toho Pictures' "Godzilla 2000," missed the top ten. "Godzilla 2000" arrived in eleventh place to an ESTIMATED $4.6 million at 2,111 theaters ($2,179 per theater). The film's modest opening looks better, however, considering the modest investment that Sony made to pick it up. "Basically, it cost us $300,000 to acquire not only North America, but several other worldwide territories like Latin America and the U.K.," Sony Pictures Releasing president Jeff Blake explained Sunday morning. "This is a picture made a year ago that really had no plans to be theatrically released. We got it at a very cheap price and we spent modestly on prints and ads - under $10 million. So despite being eleventh, it's probably one of the more profitable pictures on the board this morning. "We would certainly hope it could get to no worse than $12-15 million (in domestic theaters), which would be nothing but profit for us." Universal and Imagine Entertainment's PG-13-rated comedy sequel "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" dropped one peg to sixth place in its fourth week with a less funny ESTIMATED $6.41 million (-37%) at 2,969 theaters (-282 theaters; $2,160 per theater). Its cume is approximately $104.4 million. Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and Larry Miller. Columbia's R-rated sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man" skidded six slots to seventh place in its third week with a less visible ESTIMATED $6.1 million (-53%) at 2,956 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,064 per theater). Its cume is approximately $61.7 million, heading for a domestic theatrical gross in the low $80 millions. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, "Hollow" stars Elisabeth Shue and Kevin Bacon. MGM's PG-13-rated romantic drama "Autumn in New York" began to fall after its strong opening without reviews one week earlier. "Autumn" dropped four rungs in its second week to eighth place with an ESTIMATED $5.7 million (-48%) at 2,282 theaters (+27 theaters; $2,498 per theater). Its cume is approximately $21.2 million. Directed by Joan Chen, it stars Richard Gere and Winona Ryder. Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Coyote Ugly" dropped one notch in its third week to ninth place with a less attractive ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-37%) at 2,539 theaters (-125 theaters; $1,969 per theater). Its cume is approximately $43.8 million. Directed by David McNally, "Coyote" stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. Rounding out the Top Ten was Paramount's R-rated supernatural thriller "Bless the Child," down three rungs in its second week with a calm ESTIMATED $4.9 million (-48%) at 2,521 theaters (-3 theaters; $1,944 per theater). Its cume is approximately $18.1 million. Directed by Chuck Russell, "Child" stars Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits. Although DreamWorks' G-rated animated hit "Chicken Run" didn't place in the Top Ten, it enjoyed a milestone weekend. DreamWorks reported that it is now the studio's top grossing animated film, overtaking "Prince of Egypt." "Chicken's" domestic theatrical cume is now $101.9 million. "Prince of Egypt" did $101.2 million in 1998. Directed by Peter Lord & Nick Park, "Chicken" features such voices as Mel Gibson and Miranda Richardson. OTHER OPENINGS This weekend also saw the arrival of Lions Gate Films' R-rated drama "Steal This Movie" in limited release, placing 25th with a quiet ESTIMATED $29,000 at 11 theaters ($2,585 per theater). Directed by Robert Greenwald, it stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Janeane Garofalo and Jeanne Tripplehorn. SNEAK PREVIEWS There were no national sneak previews this weekend. EXPANSIONS On the expansion front this weekend, Fine Line Features' R-rated comedy "Saving Grace" widened in its third wee , placing 17th with an okay ESTIMATED $0.97 million at 255 theaters (+220 theaters; $3,800 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.9 million. Directed by Nigel Cole, it stars Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson. Artisan Entertainment's R-rated dark comedy "Cecil B. Demented" expanded in its second week, placing 21st with a solid ESTIMATED $0.16 million (+28%) at 30 theaters (+21 theaters; $5,445 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.4 million. Directed by John Waters, it stars Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff. WEEKEND COMPARISONS Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend -- took in approximately $96.83 million, down about 2.38% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $99.18 million. This weekend's key film gross was down about 4.64% from this year's previous weekend when key films grossed $101.54 million. Last year, Buena Vista's third week of "The Sixth Sense" was first with $23.95 million at 2,688 theaters ($8,910 per theater); and Universal's second week of "Bowfinger" was second with $10.61 million at 2,717 theaters ($3,905 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $34.6 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $28.9 million. STUDIO MARKET SHARES Based on business by key films (those grossing $500,000 or more), last weekend's top six distributors were: Warner Bros. was first with three films ("Space Cowboys," "The Perfect Storm" and "The Replacements"), grossing an ESTIMATED $19.35 million or 20.0% of the market. New Line was second with one film ("The Cell"), grossing an ESTIMATED $17.2 million or 17.8% of the market. Paramount was third with two films ("The Original Kings of Comedy" and "Bless the Child"), grossing an ESTIMATED $16.6 million or 17.1% of the market. Sony Pictures Releasing (Columbia and TriStar) was fourth with three films ("Godzilla 2000," "The Hollow Man" and "The Patriot"), grossing an ESTIMATED $11.7 million or 12.1% of the market. DreamWorks was fifth with two films("What Lies Beneath" and "Chicken Run"), grossing an ESTIMATED $8.06 million or 8.3% of the market. Universal was sixth with one film ("Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps"), grossing an ESTIMATED $6.41 million or 6.6% of the market. ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES (12)X-Men/Fox: Theaters: 1,619 (-526) Gross: $2.55 million (-39%) Average per theater: $1,575 Cume: $148.6 million (13)The Perfect Storm/Warner Bros.: Theaters: 1,417 (-521) Gross: $1.93 million (-30%) Average per theater: $1,362 Cume: $173.7 million (14)Scary Movie/Miramax/Dimension: Theaters: 1,501 (-443) Gross: $1.4 million (-45%) Average per theater: $930 Cume: $147.5 million (15)Disney's The Kid/Buena Vista/Disney: Theaters: 1,222 (-295) Gross: $1.3 million (-35%) Average per theater: $1,064 Cume: $64.5 million (16)The Patriot/Columbia: Theaters: 842 (-410) Gross: $1.00 million (-31%) Average per theater: $1,188 Cume: $110.0 million (17)Saving Grace/Fine Line: (See EXPANSIONS above) (18)Chicken Run/DreamWorks: Theaters: 1,002 (-312) Gross: $0.96 million (-27%) Average per theater: $955 Cume: $101.9 million (19)Thomas and the Magic Railroad/Destination Films: Theaters: 1,008 (-494) Gross: $0.6 million (-48%) Average per theater: $590 Cume: $14.6 million (20)Pokemon: The Movie 2000/Warner Bros.: Theaters: 638 (-785) Gross: $0.4 million (-58%) Average per theater: $685 Cume: $41.8 million (21)Cecil B. Demented/Artisan: (See EXPANSIONS above) (22)Blood Simple/USA: Theaters: 61 (-6) Gross: $84,000 (-25%) Average per theater: $1,380 Cume: $1.3 million (23)Wonderland/USA: Theaters: 25 (0) Gross: $45,000 (-31%) Average per theater: $1,780 Cume: $0.3 million (24)Alice & Martin/USA: Theaters: 14 (+1) Gross: $41,000 (-20%) Average per theater: $2,964 Cume: $0.3 million (25)STEAL THIS MOVIE/Lions Gate: (See OTHER OPENINGS above)
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B.O. ANALYSIS: This Weekend's a Tough Call
March 19, 2001 11:50am ESTPredicting this weekend's box office is enough to drive anyone a little "Nutty." If Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" has big legs, it stands to hold on to the top spot. The PG-13-rated comedy sequel from Universal and Imagine Entertainment could drop 50 percent from last weekend's $42.5 million opening and still place first with around $21 million. Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and Larry Miller. Columbia's opening of its R-rated sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man" at about 2,800 theaters is shaping up as the most solid competition "Nutty" faces. But there also will be high-profile openings for Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Coyote Ugly" at 2,650-plus theaters and Warner Bros. PG-13 sci-fi action adventure "Space Cowboys" at 2,700-plus theaters. "'Coyote Ugly,' 'Hollow Man' and 'Space Cowboys' are all looking pretty strong," says one insider looking at the midweek tracking scores for all three new arrivals. "'Hollow Man's first choice is 16 percent. 'Coyote Ugly' is 15 percent. And 'Space Cowboys' is 10 percent. You've got to figure 'Space Cowboys' is older (in its appeal)." Between "Coyote" and "Hollow," which should perform best? "I've got to think it's 'Hollow Man' (that will do the best of the three)," he speculates. "'Hollow Man' just feels broader to me. 'Coyote Ugly' feels like young girls - although there's certainly plenty for young boys to look at and enjoy. It's probably too close to call." Asked what sort of business to expect, a studio source replies, "They both could be in the high teens or even $20 million with this kind of first choice. Now, is that enough to beat 'Nutty Professor?' I don't know. 'Nutty Professor' could drop 50 percent and still do $21 million. I think right now you'd have to say 'Nutty Professor's' the favorite to be number one, but either 'Hollow Man' or 'Coyote Ugly' could give it some competition." With "Hollow" a likely second and "Coyote" a close third, "Space" should land in the fourth orbit on the chart. Given its adult appeal, how far "Space Cowboys" travels at the box office will depend in part on what happens to the adult appealed "What Lies Beneath." "It's going to be interesting to see what happens," an observer notes. "'What Lies Beneath' held up so well last weekend, down only 23 percent, because it was really the only movie for an older audience to go see. 'Space Cowboys' may cut into that, or the strength of 'What Lies Beneath' could really hurt 'Space Cowboys.' "But let's say 'What Lies Beneath' does take a bit of a hit, and they're down 30 percent this weekend. Then they'd still come in at $16 million, and that's right where I think 'Space Cowboys' is going to be. I think you'll see them both somewhere in the mid-to-high teens (in millions of dollars)." Directed by Paul Verhoeven, "Hollow" stars Elisabeth Shue and Kevin Bacon. Directed by David McNally, "Coyote" stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. Directed by Clint Eastwood, "Space" stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland. That would send DreamWorks PG-13-rated supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" (a co-production with 20th Century Fox, which is releasing it internationally) down three rungs to fifth place in its third weekend. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Beneath" stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" should X-it the Top Five in its fourth weekend. The PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure slid another 46 percent last weekend to $12.7 million. Directed by Bryan Singer, "X-Men's" cast is headed by Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen. Filling out lower rungs: "Scary Movie," "The Perfect Storm," "Disney's The Kid" and "The Patriot." On this weekend's limited release front: USA Films' PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Mad About Mambo" opens its first engagements. Directed by John Forte, it stars Keri Russell and William Ash. Fine Line Features' R-rated comedy "Saving Grace" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Nigel Cole, it stars Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson. Sony Pictures Classics' R-rated romantic comedy "The Tao of Steve" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Jenniphr Goodman, it stars Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. Looking ahead to Aug. 11, mid-week overall tracking numbers showed very little excitement over any of the three films scheduled to arrive then. Insiders said the early first choice tracking is 4 percent for MGM's PG-13 rated drama "Autumn in New York," 3 percent for Paramount's R rated suspense thriller "Bless the Child" and 2 percent for Warner Bros.' football action comedy "The Replacements." Tracking scores typically increase as films' openings get closer and more television ads run on their behalf.
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THE COMING BOX OFFICE WEEKEND (AUG. 4-6, 2000):
March 19, 2001 11:50am ESTPredicting this weekend's box office is enough to drive anyone a little "Nutty." If Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" has big legs, it stands to hold on to the top spot. The PG-13-rated comedy sequel from Universal and Imagine Entertainment could drop 50% from last weekend's $42.5 million opening and still place first with around $21 million. Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and Larry Miller. Columbia's opening of its R-rated sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man" at about 2,800 theaters is shaping up as the most solid competition "Nutty" faces. But there also will be high-profile openings for Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Coyote Ugly" at 2,650-plus theaters and Warner Bros. PG-13 sci-fi action adventure "Space Cowboys" at 2,700-plus theaters. "'Coyote Ugly,' 'Hollow Man' and 'Space Cowboys' are all looking pretty strong," says one insider looking at the midweek tracking scores for all three new arrivals. "'Hollow Man's first choice is 16%. 'Coyote Ugly' is 15%. And 'Space Cowboys' is 10%. You've got to figure 'Space Cowboys' is older (in its appeal)." Between "Coyote" and "Hollow," which should perform best? "I've got to think it's 'Hollow Man' (that will do the best of the three)," he speculates. "'Hollow Man' just feels broader to me. 'Coyote Ugly' feels like young girls - although there's certainly plenty for young boys to look at and enjoy. It's probably too close to call." Asked what sort of business to expect, a studio source replies, "They both could be in the high teens or even $20 million with this kind of first choice. Now, is that enough to beat 'Nutty Professor?' I don't know. 'Nutty Professor' could drop 50% and still do $21 million. I think right now you'd have to say 'Nutty Professor's' the favorite to be number one, but either 'Hollow Man' or 'Coyote Ugly' could give it some competition." With "Hollow" a likely second and "Coyote" a close third, "Space" should land in the fourth orbit on the chart. Given its adult appeal, how far "Space Cowboys" travels at the box office will depend in part on what happens to the adult appealed "What Lies Beneath." "It's going to be interesting to see what happens," an observer notes. "'What Lies Beneath' held up so well last weekend, down only 23%, because it was really the only movie for an older audience to go see. 'Space Cowboys' may cut into that, or the strength of 'What Lies Beneath' could really hurt 'Space Cowboys.' "But let's say 'What Lies Beneath' does take a bit of a hit, and they're down 30% this weekend. Then they'd still come in at $16 million, and that's right where I think 'Space Cowboys' is going to be. I think you'll see them both somewhere in the mid-to-high teens (in millions of dollars)." Directed by Paul Verhoeven, "Hollow" stars Elisabeth Shue and Kevin Bacon. Directed by David McNally, "Coyote" stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. Directed by Clint Eastwood, "Space" stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland. That would send DreamWorks R-rated supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" (a co-production with 20th Century Fox, which is releasing it internationally) down three rungs to fifth place in its third weekend. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Beneath" stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" should X-it the Top Five in its fourth weekend. The PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure slid another 46% last weekend to $12.7 million. Directed by Bryan Singer, "X-Men's" cast is headed by Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen. Filling out lower rungs: "Scary Movie," "The Perfect Storm," "Disney's The Kid" and "The Patriot." On this weekend's limited release front: USA Films' PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Mad About Mambo" opens its first engagements. Directed by John Forte, it stars Keri Russell and William Ash. Fine Line Features' R-rated comedy "Saving Grace" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Nigel Cole, it stars Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson. Sony Pictures Classics' R-rated romantic comedy "The Tao of Steve" opens in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Jenniphr Goodman, it stars Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. Looking ahead to Aug. 11, mid-week overall tracking numbers showed very little excitement over any of the three films scheduled to arrive then. Insiders said the early first choice tracking is 4% for MGM's PG-13 rated drama "Autumn in New York," 3% for Paramount's R rated suspense thriller "Bless the Child" and 2% for Warner Bros.' football action comedy "The Replacements." Tracking scores typically increase as films' openings get closer and more television ads run on their behalf.
