Wednesday, December 6, 2000

''Grinch'' leads U.S. box office for a 3rd time

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jim Carrey's ``Grinch'' comedy easily snatched the North American box office lead for the third consecutive weekend as overall ticket sales succumbed to the traditional post-Thanksgiving holiday slump.

With no wide releases entering the marketplace, the rankings for the top 10 were virtually unchanged from last weekend, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.

``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (Universal) grossed $27.1 million for the three days beginning Friday, taking its 17-day haul to $172 million. Universal distribution President Nikki Rocco predicted the film would wind up with ''well over'' $250 million domestically.

Observers also expect ``Grinch'' to lead the list next weekend, when it faces competition from new entries ``Proof of Life,'' starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe; the mountaineering drama ``Vertical Limit,'' starring Chris O'Donnell; and ``Dungeons and Dragons,'' a film based on the cult role-playing game.

The Bruce Willis supernatural thriller ``Unbreakable'' (Touchstone) held steady at No. 2 this weekend with $15 million, followed by ``102 Dalmatians'' (Walt Disney Pictures) with $8.2 million, ``Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' (Paramount) with $6.5 million and ``Charlie's Angels'' (Columbia) with $5.2 million.

Tracking firm Exhibitor Relations reported the top 12 films this weekend grossed a combined $83.2 million, off 50 percent from last weekend, but up 17 percent from the year-ago weekend, when ``Toy Story 2'' ruled the charts.

After 12 days each in release, ``Unbreakable'' has grossed $66.7 million and ``102 Dalmatians'' $36.5 million. ``Rugrats in Paris'' has pulled in $55.6 million after 17 days, and ''Charlie's Angels'' $115.6 million after 31 days.

Universal Pictures is a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd. Touchstone Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures are units of Walt Disney Co. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the Dec. 1-3 weekend, according to studio estimates collected Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued Monday.

1 (1) The Grinch ... ............... $27,096,630

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $171,996,090

2 (2) Unbreakable .................. $14,440,935

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $66,346,208

3 (3) 102 Dalmatians ............... $8,295,041

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $36,603,358

4 (4) Rugrats in Paris: The Movie .. $6,506,221

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $55,574,878

5 (5) Charlie's Angels ............. $5,020,164

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $115,422,099

6 (6) Bounce ....................... $4,415,726

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $30,326,487

7 (8) Men of Honor ................. $4,176,811

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $41,211,622

8 (7) The 6th Day .................. $4,011,583

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $30,563,207

9 (9) Meet the Parents ............. $3,823,050

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $153,198,610

10(10) Little Nicky ................. $2,223,324

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $36,748,272

NOTE: Last weekend's position in parenthesis.

``Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas'' and ``Meet the Parents'' are released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd.

``Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' is released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

``Charlie's Angels'' and ``The 6th Day'' are released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.

``Unbreakable'' is released by Touchstone Pictures, ``102 Dalmatians'' by Walt Disney Pictures, and ``Bounce'' by Miramax Films, all units of Walt Disney Co.

``Men of Honor'' is released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc.

``Little Nicky'' is released by New Line Cinema, a unit of Time Warner Inc. REUTERS

John L.:  No new movies released this week, so this will be a short box office report.  Let's just jump to the top 10 in 10 list.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.    The Grinch - Monster hit for Carrey and Howard.  This movie is not only critic proof since it received some of the worse reviews of the season, but it is also regular public proof.  Many people who saw this movie disliked it, but it seems the kids that it is meant for is driving the box office.  However, I don't see Tim Allen as the Cat in the Hat yet.

2.    Unbreakable - This movie is not doing Sixth Sense box office.  The word of mouth is pretty good, but since the movie turns out to be more fantasy than drama, it may be turning off the average movie going fan that is turned off by the whole comic book premise.  Also the slow pace and whispering of the actors doesn't help either.  It will probably just barely make a $100 million when it is all said and done.

3.    102 Dalmations - This movie is fading away.  The kids are all going to see the Grinch and Rugrats.  This was a movie that did not need to be made and Hollywood had to learn the hard way this time.  Sequels only work when a logical progression of the story can be made.  Arthur was a great movie, but Arthur 2 on the Rocks was stupid and pointless.  Look for Scary Movie 2 to have similar problems next Summer.

4.    The Rugrats -  These characters are still pretty popular and can continue with yearly sequels.  However, it may be more profitable for the studio if they went with the special straight to video/dvd Rugrat movies.  Disney realized this with Lion King, Alladdin, and Little Mermaid.

5.    Charlie's Angels - This movie did very well, but is not as big a hit as it looks compared to its production cost.  But, since the success of the movie was in question, it has done better than expected and it also has a pretty good soundtrack.  This movie warrants a sequel because of its premise and can become a franchise that can put in new cast members at any time one of the girls get a fat head.

6.    Bounce - Paltrow and Affleck are very well known actors who don't make a lot of people excited when one of their films come out.  Their real life romance has been over for a long time, but they like to tease each other and the public all the time.  However, that real life tension does not mean good on screen chemistry.  Just ask Tom and Nicole.

7.    Men of Honor -  The true story of a military hero usually can get big box office.  However, the movie seems to have attracted only a small adult audience that may have been alive during the time period of the movie.  The young audience that has no idea of the history of the movie prefere Gooding and his money and Deniro and his strange cat.

8.    The 6th Day - You have to feel bad for Arnold.  His new movie is making less money than Junior for gosh sakes.  This was a good movie and had a very good script.  The problem is the action in the movie is very generic Arnold Schwarzenegger.  It is also tamed down so much that any hardcore fans he might still have avoided the film.  The whole clone story was fleshed out well, but the action around it seems to have not been strong enough.

9.    Meet the Parents - What more can be said about Meet the Parents?  It is definitely one of the big sleeper hits of 2000.  The surprising thing about this movie is that it is PG-13 and still extremely funny when R-rated comedy seemed to be the only way to go to get a large box office.  This movie does not  need a sequel like 102-D, but the idea of meeting the parents of the Ben Stiller character could work if it is not just a straight repeat of the first film.  MTP2 could be like Crocodile Dundee 2 which was the same as one, but just in reverse.

10.    Little Nicky - Adam Sandler is getting a reality check.  He has learned that he can't come out with crap all of the time.  LN is making pre Wedding Singer money and 4 years ago this would have been considered a successful film like Happy Gilmore.  Jim Carrey had a huge misfire last year with Man on the Moon, but he has come back fully this year.  Sandler is not in any trouble.  His next movie, if the premise is good and his voice is tolerable, it should do well and cause his devoted fans to see the movie multiple times instead of once.

Next week will be a huge one at the box office.  Lots and lots of movies like Vertical Limit, Proof of Life, and the one I am looking forward to, Dungeons and Dragons.  Grinch has a good chance of 4 peating next week, but if it doesn't, Vertical Limit might take the top spot.  Proof of Life will show whether Russell Crowe can put an ass in a seat or if his torrid affair with his costar Meg Ryan will cause Dennis Quaid fans to boycott the film which of course could be devastating to its box office.  Dungeons and Dragons is about 17 years too late.  My recommendation is to rent Mazes and Monsters with a young Tom Hanks instead.  Bye for now.