WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2000

De Niro fends off new Liz Hurley film in U.S.

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller remained champs of the North American box office for the third consecutive weekend as their hit comedy ``Meet the Parents'' survived challenges from three new movies headed by English actress Elizabeth Hurley's ``Bedazzled.''

``Meet the Parents'' (Universal) grossed about $16.3 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, taking its 17-day total to $81 million. The film could end up in the $130 million range, according to Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal, which is owned by Seagram Co. Ltd.

In a sign that critics do not account for much at the box office, the best reviewed new release, Jackie Chan's ``The Legend of Drunken Master,'' opened at No. 5 with just $3.7 million. It was well behind ``Bedazzled,'' which bowed to mixed reviews at No. 2 with $13.7 million and the critically eviscerated ``Pay It Forward'' at No. 3 with $10.2 million.

Overall ticket sales rose for the second consecutive weekend, when compared with the year-ago weekend. According to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 films grossed a combined $72.6 million, up 14 percent from last year, when ``The Best Man'' opened at No 1 with $9.0 million. However sales were about two percent lower than last weekend.

Box office observers expect ``Meet the Parents'' to be toppled next weekend when the horror sequel ``Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2'' opens. Other new releases on Oct. 27 include ''Lucky Numbers,'' starring John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow, and the children's comedy ``The Little Vampire.''

In ``Bedazzled'' (Twentieth Century Fox), a remake of the 1967 Dudley Moore-Peter Cook Faustian cult comedy, Fraser's nerdy character must wrest his soul from Satan (Hurley) after he has been granted seven wishes.

The film received some unwanted publicity at its world premiere last Tuesday when protesters yelled ``scab'' at Hurley. They were upset that she had crossed the picket line to make a commercial in defiance of a five-month actors' strike against advertisers. She apologized countless times and donated $25,000 to a strike relief fund.

``Bedazzled'' enjoyed wide appeal at the box office and Fox was happy with the results, said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at the studio. Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc.

The tear-jerker drama ``Pay It Forward'' (Warner Bros.) stars Oscar winners Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey, along with Haley Joel Osment, who was Oscar nominated for ``The Sixth Sense.''

Osment plays a schoolboy whose classroom assignment to think of a way to change the world mushrooms into a widespread altruistic movement.

The Wall Street Journal advised its readers ``to avoid this toxic treacle like the plague'' while USA Today warned that ``the urge to gag will be overwhelming.'' Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

On the other hand, Chan's ``Drunken Master'' received nearly unanimous praise from leading critics. The reissued version of a film originally released six years ago in Cantonese stars Chan as a reluctant warrior who fights best when he's nearly blotto. The chopsocky comedy was released by the Dimension films banner of Miramax Films, a unit of Walt Disney Co.

The No. 4 slot this weekend went to Denzel Washington's racially driven football drama ``Remember the Titans,'' which fell two slots with $10.0 million. After 24 days in release, it has scored $77.4 million. It was released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures unit.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

The top 10 movies at the box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the October 20-22 weekend, according to studio estimates collected Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued Monday. .

1 (1) Meet the Parents .............. $16,015,185

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $80,723,025

2 (+) Bedazzled ..................... $13,106,526

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $13,106,526

3 (2) Remember the Titans ........... $9,920,460

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $77,355,579

4 (+) Pay It Forward ................ $9,631,359

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $9,631,359

5 (+) The Legend of Drunken Master .. $3,845,278

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $3,845,278

6 (5) The Contender ................. $3,486,109

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $10,553,191

7 (3) Lost Souls .................... $3,237,772

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $12,878,237

8-(6) The Exorcist ..................$2,910,788

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $34,822,423

9-(4) The Ladies Man ................ $2,813,168

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $9,633,128

10 (7) Dr. T. & The Women ............ $2,379,758

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $9,000,146

NOTE: Last weekend's position in parenthesis. ``+'' - new release.

``Meet the Parents'' is released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd..

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

``Remember the Titans'' is released by Touchstone Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. ``The Legend of Drunken Master'' is released by Miramax Films, also a unit of Disney.

``Pay It Forward'' and ``The Exorcist'' are released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. ``Lost Souls'' is released by New Line Cinema, also a unit of Time Warner.

``The Contender'' is released by DreamWorks SKG, which is privately held.

``The Ladies Man'' is released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc..

``Dr. T. & The Women'' is released by Artisan Entertainment, which is privately held.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

John L.:  This may be the first time in Robert DeNiro's career that he has had movie be number on 3 weeks in a row.  Maybe he made a deal with the Devil.  There are still no movies that are really capturing the imagination of the public.  It also seems that if the crititcs say a movie is really really good, the general public ignores it in mass.  Of the new movies that came out this week, Jackie Chan's Drunken Master had the best reviews and made very little money.  However, bad reviews of movies that had good preview notices also keeps people away.  Spacey and Osment are coming of big hits, and Helen Hunt is trying to establish a film career with her second movie in 2 weeks.  So far, Hunt is still hunting for another movie that is as good as it gets.  Where is Sly?  Where is Kate? 

Seven wishes instead of 3. That's new.  I always hated the Genie and the three wishes deal because three is never enough.  In the new movie, Bedazzled, with Brendan Fraser and the almost Mrs. Hugh Grant play wisher and wishee.  Elizabeth Hurley plays the or a Devil who wants to fool with the life of Fraser as he tries to get the girl.  I think it would have been easier if he just asked the girl out and not trip over his own two feet while doing it and he would come out okay.  I don't think it is necessary to become an albino basketball player or a Columbian drug lord to get the hot babe at the office.  This movie has opened well since it has the best ad campaign of the 3 new movies in the top 10.  The trailers established the plot and showed Hurley as being very hot so it garnered a bit of interest.  It is no blockbuster, but it has probably earned more than the studio or the predictors thought it would.  Bedazzled is a remake of a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook flick which is based on the old Faust play.  However, these Devil will give you anything you want as long as when you die your soul goes to Hell for all eternity.  For some unknown reason the suckers always take that bet to become rich, rock stars, or chick magnets.  Girls never do the devil deal I guess.  But every wish has a catch.  For example if you wish to live forever, you end up getting life in prison.  You wish for a dead relative to come back from the dead, they do, but they are still embalmed and are screaming in agony.  You know, monkey's paw type of crap.  No one seems to be able to come up with the perfect wish.  Wishing for more wishes is also denied for some reason even though it should not.  You ask to be rich and then taxes or some other problem like being a drug dealer or gangster is how you get the money and then are shot at all of the time.  You ask to get any date you want and the date turns out to be a total pain in the buttocks to live with.  You learn that the person you have a crush on has annoying habits that you can't stand, but since you wished it, you are stuck.  There seems to be no perfect wish.  So, if for some reason you do get the chance at 3 or 7 wishes here are some ideas of what to and not to do.  Do not ask for immortality.  It is never works like you think and you just end up outliving all of your friends and family and having to explain this to the rest of the world.  Never ask for infinite amount of money since the IRS will be all up in you faster than you can say "open sesame." Never ask to be irresistible to the opposite sex because that would just be annoying and you would end up attracting ugly or just plain sorry people you would never get with.  Oh, and never be altruistic.  Do not say world peace or end hunger.  Basic suffering is part of the human condition and helps people become better when they are able to overcome it naturally.  Artificial help will not solve the problem.  Making the weather always 75 degrees will just ruin the planet.  Also the planet cannot sustain a population that does not get thinned so to eliminate hunger, poverty, crime, violence, disease, war, etc. will just destroy the planet anyway.  Basically the only thing you can wish for are superficial material things like cars, maybe a nice house, a finite amount of cash that you acquire by knowing what all of the lottery numbers are and win lotteries at anytime.  Be careful of that since if you win too many times, then people will become suspicious.  Asking for a home computer or some basic health fixings like stopping arthritis pain or constant migraines.  Keep it simple.  If there is a person you are attracted to, wish that they notice you and are willing to date you, but then after that the rest is up to you to keep it real.  So, do not ever think big win wishing on a star, it just ends badly.  Keep it simple and your wishes have a better chance of coming true.  The best advice however is if Satan says he/she will give you anything you want in exchange for your soul, say no.  You will be screwed and living in Hell is not a cool thing at all.

When I first heard the title "Pay it Forward" I could not understand what it meant.  Then I read the premise and it means that when you do something a favor, instead of paying BACK the favor, you pay it FORWARD by helping someone else, or as the plot says in the movie, help 3 more people.  Haley Joel Osment comes up with this idea in his social studies class being taught by Kevin Spacey who has burn scars all over his face and is very sensitive about it.  Helen Hunt shows up as Haley's mom who gets roped into this forward paying game.  This movie had some great word of mouth months before it opened.  It was said that this was another Oscar nominating/winning performance by the 3 stars.  It seemed like a perfect feel good movie with some sort of high class substance that might even start a real life trend of people paying it forward.  For example I would walk a lady across the street, buy a dinner for a homeless person, and then mow a neighbor's lawn.  Then like a shampoo commercial from the 1970s, they can tell 3 people and so on and so on and so on.  Sounds a little too complicated to me.  This movie was gearing up to get a bunch of 4 star reviews from the critics.  However, it is getting horrible critical responses.  I was a bit shocked.  I was hesitant myself to go see it because it looked a bit too schmaltzy and high faulting.  Every review I have read says it sucks because it is too preachy.  Also, it differs in key areas of the book.  This movie had good but limited publicity, but many people did not know about the movie like Bedazzled.  For this movie to make more than the $9.6 million it did, critics needed to embrace it, and they did not.  Movies that look obviously bad but tolerable tend to make money like Bedazzled did.  Movies that look like they might be really good but get bad critical reviews tend to bomb.  Also movies that look too much like critical darlings and become critical love doveys, tend to bomb too.  See the "Almost Famous" box office totals.  PIF has an interesting story but its only hilight seems to be Helen Hunt running around in her bra while Osment puts deodorant on her armpits.  Spacey and Osment are still stars and will survive.  Hunt is still trying to make it in films and has struck out twice in 2 weeks.  She has 2 more chances to be in a hit film in the near future with "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson and her small role in "Castaway" with Tom Hanks.  Those movies should do better, but I doubt it will be because Hunt appears in them.  Maybe that "Mad About You" reunion movie can still be made.

The attack of the ancient Chinese Jackie Chan movie is in the fifth place spot this week.  The Legend of Drunken Master was made in 1994 and has finally made it to the American cinema.  Like all dubbed Jackie Chan movies, this one opens poorly.   His English language movies like Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon do pretty well, but the American audiences tend to ignore his more hardcore Hong Kong works.  The dubbing is more distracting on the big screen I guess.  On TV it is easier to take I guess.  Now, the preview of this shows some good fight scenes and from what I have heard this film has some of the best Chan ones ever filmed.  The problem though is Chan has to be drunk to fight really well in the film and that seems to look more annoying than interesting.  I saw the previews and all of the alcohol consumption bits looked very poor.  I like Jackie C., but his movies tend to be very boring until he starts jumping around and hurting his hands in fights.  He's the Carrot Top of karate.  Chan's gimmick is that he uses props and his general environment to beat up the bad guys. My favorite is the ladder fight he had in that First Strike movie.  He is more of a stunt man/ballet dancer than a Bruce Lee or Jet Li type.  I am not even sure if he could kick someone's ass in a real fight like those other two can.  Chan is like the biggest star in Asia but is still not that popular here in the states.  Mostly guys into karate and chop sockey flicks dig his work, but the average movie goer does not seem to get it.  Dubbing has been considered a bad thing ever since Milli Vanilli, and old Chan movies are suffering for it.  Lip syncing is a four letter word.  I think Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, and Chow Yun Fat should do a movie together and fight to the death.  That is a fatal four-way I would love to see played out.  John Woo could direct.  Here is a tip.  Never promote a foreign actor as the most popular actor in his/her country.  That is the kiss of death to an out of the country actor.  Just look at Gerard Depardieu, Yahoo Serious, Paul Hogan, Chow Yun Fat, Roberto Benigni, and Jackie Chan.  Many Americans have seen their movies, but are not willing to support them just to make them prove themselves here and not ride their native fame.  The key of course is to do an English language film with no dubbing or subtitles and you may have a chance.  It is hard, but it can be done.  Just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.      Meeting the parents is quickly becoming the thing that wouldn't leave.

2.      Don't be surprised if MTP is still number one next week since it's biggest competition will be an unnecessary Blair Wich sequel and a delayed John Travolta movie.

3.    It is amazing that Remeber the Titans is the feel good racial movie of the year.

4.     I wonder if RTT will be remembered at Oscar time to give Washington another acting nomination that he will end up losing.

5.    The Contender is still trying to compete, but it is not doing too well.

6.    Gary Oldman does not like the movie and is getting his wish by it not being a box office success.

7.    Lost Souls is still higher up than the Exorcist in the top 10, but I think the 1973 film will still be in the top 10 when LS is long gone.

8.    The Exorcist is now the 4th most successful re-release after Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

9.    Ladies Man's poor box office  means that Tim Meadows will soon be going back to his Saturday Night Live dressing room and looking for old Ike Turner impersonation bits.

10.    Dr. T. and the Women is making less money that the last Mr. T. movie.

That is all for this week's box office report.  I should have a full review of the new Blair Witch movie and a special guest may make a reappearance.  If I am feeling really frisky, I might even have a video nose pick of the week of a very popular but somewhat controversial film of 1999.  Oh, and my report on marketing violence to children should be out the week after the Presidential election.  Bye for now.