Thursday, May 8, 2003

'X2' Speeds to $155 Million Worldwide Opening

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's lucrative summer box office season got off to an early start over the weekend as the comic book adventure film "X2: X-Men United" stormed cinemas worldwide in the biggest launch in movie history.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, the massively hyped sequel sold $85.9 million worth of tickets in its first three days of release across the United States and Canada. It also earned $69.3 million from 93 countries, taking its total to $155.2 million -- more than half of what the first movie, 2000's "X-Men," made in its entire run.

"X-Men" opened with $54.5 million in North America and went on to earn $157.3 million domestically and $294 million worldwide.

The new film, based on the popular Marvel comic books about a pack of ostracized mutant savants, ranks No. 4 on the list of North American openings. "Spider-Man," also based on a Marvel comic, holds the record with $115 million, followed by "Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Sorcerer's Stone" with $90.3 million and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" with $88.4 million.

"X2" was released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc. . The studio partnered on the film with Marvel Studios, a unit of Marvel Enterprises Inc. .

Fox's three-day estimate was actually lower than that of other studios, some of which placed the opening above $90 million. Final data will be issued on Monday.

'WE ALL ARE MUTANTS'

The film, which cost about $110 million to make, features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman (news) ("Wolverine"), Halle Berry (news) ("Storm") and Sir Ian McKellen (news) ("Magneto"). Their mutant characters try to defend a human world that rejects them.

"We all are mutants," said Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad, one of the film's producers. "And in every place and every situation, there's someone who thinks they're better than us."

Exit polls showed that a surprisingly high 44 percent of the audience for "X2" was female, Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said. Generally glowing reviews also brought in older audiences, with 52 percent aged over 25, he added.

In North America, the film played in a record 3,741 theaters, beating the old mark of 3,682 for last year's "Harry Potter" sequel.

Summer traditionally begins in Hollywood over the Memorial Day holiday weekend (May 23-26), but in recent years the studios have started releasing their big guns earlier to maximize returns in a crowded marketplace.

For Marvel, "X2" marks the company's sixth consecutive No. 1 release, after "X-Men," the two "Blade" movies, "Spider-Man" and the recently released "Daredevil." The run is likely to extend to seven with the June 20 release of "The Hulk," starring Australian actor Eric Bana (news) as the moody green giant.

'LIZZIE' AND 'BECKHAM' ALSO SCORE

The top 10 contained one other new release, "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," which opened at No. 2 with $17 million. The $25 million Walt Disney Pictures release stars Hilary Duff (news) as a plucky heroine who gets involved in assorted high-jinks on a class trip to Italy.

Duff also plays the title character in the hit Disney Channel cable TV series on which it is based. Predictably, the film's audience was young girls, said Chuck Viane, president of domestic distribution at Walt Disney Co. .

One film entered the top 10 for the first time in its eighth week of release. "Bend It Like Beckham," a British romantic comedy about a girl who seeks to play soccer despite her immigrant parents' misgivings, tied at No. 9 with "Bulletproof Monk." Both reported about $1.5 million. Playing in just 484 theaters, "Beckham" has scored $11 million to date. It was released by Fox Searchlight, Fox's art-house arm.

The top movies in North America -- May 2-4

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

Film Three-day Cumulative

1.    X2: X-Men United  .......... $85,558,731 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $85,558,731 

2.    The Lizzie McGuire Movie .......... $17,338,755 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $17,338,755 

3.    Identity .......... $9,423,662 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $30,187,230 

4.    Anger Management .......... $8,406,604 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $115,285,383 

5.    Holes $6,915,418 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $45,366,777 

6.    Malibu's Most Wanted .......... $4,023,235 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $28,948,620 

7.    Confidence .......... $2,530,868 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $8,495,774 

8.    It Runs in the Family .......... $1,645,115 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $5,227,195 

9.    Bulletproof Monk .......... $1,474,624 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $21,581,881 

10.   Bend It Like Beckham $1,470,396 

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $10,966,353 

John L.: It has begun.  The first week of May is now major blockbuster weekend, and X2: X-Men United has lived up to the mega hype by grossing in 3 days worldwide its entire North American Box office for the first movie.  Disney shows that its cable channel can produce successful franchises with the Lizzie McGuire movie opening very well.  I expect an X3 to open hopefully around this time in 2005 just before Star Wars Episode III.  Hoo ha.

Alright, the 2003 Summer Movie season has arrived with a bang. I know it's still springtime, but hey when your movie makes over $80 million in 3 days, you can call it anything you want. X2: X-Men United is the continuing saga of Charles Xavier's X-Men (and women) as they fight the good fight against those who wish to destroy mutant and humankind. The first movie was somewhat of a surprise hit in 2000 as it showed that these quirky characters can appeal to non comic book reading folks. The first movie was fine for what it was, but lacked in the character development for some key players like Storm and Jean Grey. That's all fixed now as most of the core group get major storyline upgrades this time around and get to show off the X-tremeness of their powers. The story of X2 is a bit complicated as it deals with a human, Stryker, who wants to destroy all mutants on the planet as sort of revenge for his own son's mutagenic problems. His evilness is so deep that it forces the X-Men to team up with their arch enemies Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). What is good about this movie is that it does not rely on big action sequences to hide a faulty story. There is plenty of time given to quiet moments to help you care about the characters on screen. This can also cause the film to seem boring in parts, but after watching the movie you appreciate the director, Bryan Singer, for doing that. The most impressive performance in X2XU is that of Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler. He officially steals the movie as everyone of his moments on screen is amazing to watch and acted extremely well. Nightcrawler is Kurt Wagner, circus outcast on a crusade for mutant rights. After a spectacular opening sequence of Nightcrawler trying to get his point across, this blue, German, 3 toed, acrobat tugs at your heart. The best moment in the film occurs during an awesome rescue attempt that was worth the price of Twizzlers. The interpretation of Nightcrawler is second only to that of Wolverine as it compares to the comic book. Hugh Jackman continues to dominate as the most popular mutant with the healing factor, claws, and indestructible bones. Jackman is a bit too tall for the part, but everything else is spot on. We get to learn more about Wolverine's origins without giving too much away so that sequels can have stories. The humor shown by Wolverine is done very well as is his attacks on those who threaten him. Along with the Hulk, Wolverine is not someone you want to make angry. Since X-Men came out in 2000, Jackman has worked steadily and become a big movie star. He was unknown 3 years ago, but now you can say Hugh Jackman without clarifying him as being the guy who plays Wolverine. I doubt it will happen, but a Wolverine solo movie should be made if not a series of them. McKellen and Romijn-Stamos are also excellent in this movie. McKellen's screen time is about half that from the first film, but he still rules it on screen with every line of dialogue or wave of his hand. He has this cool way about him, but at the same time you know he is fully insane and wants to rule mutant kind without humans around to get in the way. But, McKellen is only my fourth favorite in the film with Nightcrawler being number one, and Wolverine being number 2. The third best is Romijn. Her Mystique role is tripled in size and scope in this one as she shows different sides of her shape shifting character. How Stamos can move around in that outfit without exposing us to the promised land is beyond me. For her good work, she even gets a couple scenes to appear as her regular supermodel self. The best thing about the Mystique character in X2 is how she is always there even when she looks like someone else. Even when Mystique is disguised as a man, notice how the man still walks like a woman with a slight sway of the hips and a softer glide. Little things like that help make X2 a lot better than it will get credit for. Halle Berry is better as Storm in X2 than she was in this film. Berry has had quite the career upgrade since the first movie, winning an Oscar and all, and her increased experience helps here when she has her special moments with getting Nightcrawler assimilated into the X-Men fold. I still wish she would use the African accent of the comic book character as well as show her origin, but maybe they will do that in X3. Famke Jansen is still the wrong actress for Jean Grey, but she still does a better job in this movie than before mainly because she has more to work with. Her relationship with Wolverine is explored more, and is done well for a movie like this, but her relationship with Cyclops is a mess and is laughable as shown on screen. Fortunately, it is not a main focus of the film as Jean gets to use her powers to a great extent that will have major repercussions on future X-Men movies. Iceman, Bobby Drake (Shawn Ashmore) and Rogue (Anna Paquin) develop a romance while avoiding being killed. I like these two characters, but they never get to really use their powers against bad guys. Iceman makes an ice wall and stops a bully, but Rogue only uses her powers on other X-Men. Her comic character has the ability to fly and has super strength, but the story to get to that is going to be hard to show in a regular film since it involves a superhero not introduced in the movies and not very well known in the comic world. The movie also has minor cameos by other X-Men like Colossus, Shadowcat, Hank "Beast" McCoy, and Siryn with blink and you miss it one to Gambit, Rogue's true love in the comics. The foundation for X3 and X4 is soundly established in X2. Comic book movies are becoming a well respected genre of film that has not been felt since Superman the Movie in 1978. Marvel Comics is coming out with some decent versions of their classic characters. Even Daredevil was okay. The Hulk is coming soon and even though the animated Hulk looks a little goofy, it should still turn out okay (knock on wood). If you are a fan of the comic book or the first movie, go see it. If you know nothing of the comics, but have seen the first film and liked it, go see it. Actually, knowing the comic too much hurts the viewing of the film. Don't compare them because they are very different. Comics can take the time to ad layers upon layers of nuances that the movies can't possibly do. You are dealing with nearly 40 years of plot here. X2 is entertaining, funny, thrilling, and even a bit moving. I have to say that X2: X-Men United is a very good film. Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 1/2 out of 10; B+; thumbs up.

1. Little girls love movies about teenage girls who have romantic adventures in Rome.

2. Hilary Duff hopes to have her own album out in the fall to ride the success of her starring role as Lizzie McGuire.

3. Identity fell a bit this week after it was learned that this whodunit is more of a whatthafucdunnit.

4. The producers of Anger Management have nothing to be upset about as this movie is a huge hit.

5. Holes was a popular Newbery award winning book, but it is no Harry Potter in terms of box office.

6. More people have seen Malibu's Most Wanted than watch the Jamie Kennedy Experiment television show, fo shizel, my nizel.

7. I don't have much confidence that "Confidence" will do much for Ed Burns' career.

8. People thought just putting three generations of Douglas's on film would be enough to get a good box office performance out of "It Runs in the Family" forgetting that a plot is still very important to have.

9. I hear Posh Spice's favorite movie is "Bend it Like Beckham" for some reason.

10. Looks like Bulletproof Monk continues to get shot down at the box office.

The box office report is back baby. Hopefully my computer will continue to work. Bye for now.