By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All "Signs" point to a bumper crop for the new Mel Gibson thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan of "Sixth Sense" fame.

Their creepy collaboration, "Signs," reaped a surprisingly strong $60.3 million in its first three days at the North American box office, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.

The film marks the first No. 1 for Walt Disney Co. since "Monsters, Inc." opened last November. Going into the weekend, company officials had forecast an opening of $30 million-$35 million for "Signs."

It ranks as a record for both Gibson and Shyamalan, as well as for Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner, which released the film in 3,264 theaters across the United States and Canada. The only film to enjoy a stronger August bow was "Rush Hour 2," which opened with $67.4 million this time last year.

Things were not as rosy at the overall box office, with receipts for the top 12 films posting their third consecutive year-on-year decline. Duds such as "Stuart Little 2," "K-19: The Widowmaker" and "The Country Bears," as well as the disappointing "Road to Perdition" kept audiences away.

The two other new films in the top 10 were "niche" releases. "The Master of Disguise," a children's movie starring "Wayne's World" alumnus Dana Carvey as 36 characters, opened at No. 3 with $13 million. " Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat," an urban-targeted concert film featuring the noted comic, was fourth with $7.5 million.

'AUSTIN POWERS' AHEAD TO $143 MILLION

On the other hand last weekend's champion, "Austin Powers in Goldmember," has banked a shagedelic $143 million after just 11 days. The film is on target to surpass the $205 million total of its 1999 predecessor, said a spokeswoman for its distributor New Line Cinema, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc . However, its weekend haul of $30.2 million represents a steeper-than-expected 56 percent tumble from last weekend. Such popcorn films usually drop about 50 percent.

Observers expect strong business next weekend led by the massively hyped Vin Diesel action film "XXX." Additionally, Clint Eastwood's "Blood Work" should pull in older audiences and "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams" families.

"Signs," which stars Gibson as a clergyman whose family is plagued by crop circles, aliens and tragedy, played strongly across all demographics, Disney executives said.

The company's distribution president, Chuck Viane, credited the originality of writer/director/producer Shyamalan's script at a time when there is little challenging fare at the summer box office.

Shyamalan's two previous films, "Unbreakable" (2000) and "The Sixth Sense" (1999), opened with $30 million and $27 million respectively. Gibson's previous best opening was $34.2 million for "Ransom" (1996). Disney executives came up with their $30 million-$35 million target on the basis of these films, as well as the recent openings of adult dramas "Minority Report" ($36 million) and "The Bourne Identity" ($27 million).

A spokeswoman said the film was budgeted at $65 million-$70 million.

CARVEY 'MASTER' OF HIS DOMAIN

"Master of Disguise" cost a mere $16 million to produce, said a spokeswoman for the film's producer, Revolution Films. In a tough market for family films, it performed better than such recent releases as "Country Bears," "Crocodile Hunter," "Like Mike," "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Hey Arnold!" It was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp ( news - web sites).

A spokeswoman for Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit that released "Runteldat," was not available for comment. A defiant Lawrence returns to his stand-up roots to lambaste his critics and titillate his fans.

The three new releases pushed "Perdition," starring Tom Hanks as a 1930s gangster, down three places to No. 5 with $6.6 million in its fourth weekend. Its total to date stands at $77.2 million and observers believe it will struggle to reach $100 million. The film was released in North America by closely held DreamWorks SKG.

The century mark is nowhere near in sight for "Stuart Little 2." The costly talking-mouse adventure fell three places to No. 6 with $6 million in its third weekend, taking its total to $46.8 million. Columbia Pictures is targeting a total of about $70 million, half of what its 1999 predecessor made.

At least it will do better than Harrison Ford's submarine drama "K-19: The Widowmaker," a $100 million production that has totaled just $31 million after three weekends. The Paramount Pictures film earned $3 million this weekend, tied at No. 8 with Disney's "The Country Bears" (10-day total $11.7 million) and IFC Films' arthouse hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (108-day total $46.8 million). IFC Films is ultimately owned by Cablevision Systems Corp.

Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the August 2-4 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross

1. Signs .......... $60,117,080

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $60,117,080

2. Austin Powers in Goldmember .......... $31,119,108

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $141,678,328

3. The Master of Disguise .......... $12,554,650

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $12,554,650

4. Martin Lawrence ... Runteldat .......... $7,374,049

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $7,374,049

5. Road to Perdition .......... $6,600,143

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $77,153,318

6. Stuart Little 2 .......... $6,111,359

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $46,867,219

7. Men in Black II .......... $4,807,311

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $182,077,620

8. The Country Bears .......... $3,141,436

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $11,797,008

9. My Big Fat Greek Wedding .......... $3,002,241

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $40,172,975

10. K-19: The Widowmaker .......... $ 2,854,111

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $30,741,870

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  Another exciting week at the box office as three new movies have entered the top five and all of them better than they were predicted.  Martin Lawrence is back doing stand up with Runteldat (Run and tell that for the uninitiated) talking about his gun, dehydration, and basic insanity problems.  I guess it is his "Live on the Sunset Strip."  The beginning of the adventures of Pistachio Disguisey in "The Masters of Disguise" opened very well considering it received the worst reviews of the year.  Dana Carvey has a long way to go to reach Mike Myers levels though.  Of course the big release of the week was Joaquin Phoenix and Rory Culkin's movie Signs.  It was their biggest opening weekend gross ever.  They are now proven box office draws.  Full review of "Signs" is next.

SIGNS - FULL REVIEW

Crop circles have been an odd phenomenon for several years.  Are they just designs people created as some sort of natural graffiti or are they signals for extraterrestrial invasion?  The popular choice is that it is some intergalactic message.  I never quite understood the UFO angle because how are aliens supposed to make the circles if they need them for navigation in the first place.  If they could get here to make the circles then why do they need them and if they do need them how come no one ever sees them being created?  Maybe there are some human looking alien spies who design the fields as a message to say that it is okay to invade.  However, there has never been an alien invasion in real life so I guess the people with too much free time angle is the most likely.  There have been several news stories that show how a two or three "humans" can create these designs within a four hour period.  But, it is still fun to speculate what if crop circles are really messages for alien life forms.  To me they always looked like the underside of a flying saucer that had landed and it is the imprint burned into the ground in a way not to scorch the Earth.  Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan likes to write movies that take a common plot cliché like ghosts or superheroes and flip it over.  For Signs, Shyamalan wanted to make a science fiction movie that was different from the standard or classic sci fi of the past and present.  This movie has elements of "War of the Worlds," "Independence Day," and "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers," with a little bit of "In Search of..." and "Unsolved Mysteries" for good measure.  M. Night's movie takes the stand that crop circles are created as a guide for aliens and not as a prank by teenagers.  So, if you have seen the preview and was worried that Signs was not going to be about UFOs and ETs, well you can calm down.  Crop circles are real phenomenon in Signs.  However, the crop circle part of the story is not the only thing one is to get from the plot.  This is where Mel Gibson's Graham "don't call me Father" Hess comes in.  He is a an ex preacher who has lost his faith and seeing that his back yard has been targeted for conquest may not help him find his way back to God any sooner.  As usual, Gibson has a few kids to take care of all by himself since his wife had passed away.  Here's a tip for actresses in Hollywood.  If the script says that you will be playing Mel Gibson's wife in the movie, pass, because you will not survive to the end credits.  Just ask the ones who played his wife in Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, and The Patriot.  Girlfriends do better, but wives have a poor track record.  Gibson plays the role in his usual stuttery head bobbing manner, but he is very good here.  You feel for his plight to protect his family from harm and his struggle to deal with the difficult choices he had to make after the death of his wife.  His story is somewhat predictable, but well put together nonetheless.  The surprising thing about Signs though is that Gibson is not the best thing in the film.  That notice goes to Joaquin Phoenix as Gibson's brother Merrill, Rory Culkin as son Morgan, and the cutest thing since a Halle Eisenberg Pepsi ad, Abigail Breslin as Bo, Gibson's five year old daughter.  Phoenix may be a break out star with this role as he is much better here than he was in Gladiator.  His story about kissing a girl, his frightened look as he watches a news report on television, and his overall dialogue and facial expressions rule.  He will definitely make you laugh out loud several times.  In fact I may have laughed (in a good way) at Joaquin's antics in Signs than I did at Mike Myers in Goldmember.  Don't be surprised if a best supporting actor nomination comes from his performance.  Rory is the opposite.  He is will make you cry in a few scenes (in a good way) and in others may even freak you out with his wise beyond his age verbage.  Rory's Morgan becomes the family alien invasion researcher and at times you wonder if he may be being influenced by alien mind probing despite the foil helmets.  Rory is MacCauley Culkin's brother and shows similar talent that his older brother had 12 years ago.  Hopefully Rory will still be around to do more work.  Abigail Breslin is amazing for such a young actress.  She will break your heart as you see her struggle with the thought of the end of the world.  Her line about seeing a man outside her room can she have a drink of water is the "I see dead people" quote of the year.  M. Night has gotten great performances out of his main actors and bit players that show up for just one scene.  Look for the army recruiter guy's take on the whole crop circle drama.  His delivery is straight out of 1957 and is funny as hell.  When Signs is released on DVD, I plan to watch that part over and over again so I can memorize it.  The other bit to look for is the cola commercial count.  You will not look at soda pop the same way again.  Shyamalan himself shows up as a major character in Signs and for the first time Shyamalan does a good job acting on screen.  Also, for the first time a director cameo is more than just walking a dog or standing by a piano.  It is crucial to the story.  The main thing I got out of his three scenes was to never open pantry doors.  Signs is well put together and there are no wasted scenes.  The movie starts right out with the main plot of finding crop circles on your farm.  All character development is done naturally and to further the story.  In standard Shyamalan tradition, you must pay attention to every little detail because at the end of the movie there will be a flashback test similar to the ones in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.  I loved this movie and consider it the best of the year so far.  It is sci fi like they used to do it with ordinary people involved in extraordinary things.  What would you do if you woke up and saw what Graham Hess and his family saw?  The realism helps the more fantastical moments.  Sound is used very well here to creep you out and imagine what could possibly be out there.  You never get a good look at an alien or a spaceship in signs, but you get a good enough view to get a good idea of what they look like when they decide to creep around in unknown places.  The ending has been criticized by some as being too abrupt or leaving too many questions unanswered.  I don't know what movie they were watching because every pertinent query is covered by the time the end credits roll.  There is a point where the movie could have ended and it would have definitely been a disappointment, but fortunately it keeps going for another 10 minutes.  There is very little action in Signs, but it is never boring and always amazing to watch to see where this is going.  If you like science fiction movies more like Twilight Zone and Outer Limits instead of Iike Independence Day, or you like the M. Night Shyamalan thinking man's style then Signs is a must see.  If you like to see really good movies put together extremely well, then see Signs.  Signs is like a lot of movies, television shows, and books you may have read, but it is unlike anything you will see this year at the very least.  Final Review:  4 stars out of 5; 8 1/2 out of 10; A; thumbs up.  

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.    Austin Powers in Goldmember may have lost 56% of its business, but it still made more money in its second week than most films make in their entire runs.

2.    Master of Disguise defied the critics and earned $12.5 million more than most people thought it would.

3.    If this movie can make $50 million to $60 million I would not be surprised to see a sequel or even a tv series for Mr. Carvey of the further adventures of Pistachio Disguisey.

4.    Martin Lawrence did have a gun and he was near death several years ago as the pressure of being a movie star caught up with him.

5.    Road to Perdition is getting a lot of flack for not being another $200 million Tom Hanks mega hit, but people have to realize that without Hanks' name above the title it would have been lucky to get half what it has grossed so far.

6.    Too bad Stuart Little 2 could not be written by part one's writer, M. Night Shyamalan.

7.    Men In Black is a successful enough franchise to warrant a second sequel to help make up for the disappointing part two.

8.    The Country Bears will not be getting any lighters in the air love for their next performances.

9.    My Big Fat Greek Wedding is now officially a sleeper hit by having more staying power than a Harrison Ford action picture.

10.    Looks like Harrison Ford will not only be contacting Spielberg for the fourth Indiana Jones movie sooner than later, but I believe he might rethink that offer of playing Han Solo's father in Star Wars Episode III after K-19 sunk at the box office.

Be careful looking up Vin Diesel's new film XXX on the internet as you may get some sites that are not user friendly to all who might walk by.  Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams is part two in a proposed three part series by Robert Rodriguez.  Blood Work and The Good Girl are going to try to sneak in there somehow some way.  We will see.  Bye for now.