LOS ANGELES - Oh, the horror of it all.No one wants to get all mushy at Halloween. We want to cover our eyes at the terrifying sight of zombies slurping on fresh brains and ax-wielding maniacs slicing and dicing promiscuous teens.
Unfortunately for those with a dislike for boy bands, no such homicidal lunatics threaten to dismember 'N Sync's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, the stars of the romantic comedy On the Line. And Kevin Spacey may present himself as an alien in K-PAX, but he's just as cute and cuddly as E.T. So don't expect costar Jeff Bridges--as Spacey's psychiatrist-- to sire any gut-busting baby Martians.
Shred counter-programming? Or ill-fated endeavors?
Probably the latter.
Like Labor Day, Halloween is not known for generating huge box office results. Indeed, 1994's Stargate holds the Halloween opening weekend record with $16.6 million.
This year might be different, given that many parents are reluctant to take their kids trick or treating in light of recent anthrax-related events.
Still, Spacey and Bridges do not qualify as major draws. Spacey's 2000's Pay It Forward settled for a weak $9.6 million during its pre-Halloween opening. The sugary drama found itself preaching to the converted as it eventually made a modest $33.5 million. The Mirror Has Two Faces gave Bridges his best opening in years, but its $12.2 million tally ranked as a disappointment for a Barbra Streisand vanity project.
'N Sync's popularity--still strong, but waning--won't assist On the Line. The romance, starring Bass as an adman who spots the girl of his dreams on Chicago's L train, arrives at a modest 820 theaters. Distributor Miramax clearly sees no appeal for On the Line beyond the adolescent girls still hung up on the prefab five. Bass also has the misfortune to follow Mariah Carey's starring debut, Glitter, which earned a less-than-melodious $2.4 million at 1,202 theaters during its opening weekend.