Tuesday,  July 11, 2000

''Scary Movie'' thrills US moviegoers

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES, July 9 (Reuters) - A week after the expensive prestige projects ``The Perfect Storm'' and ``The Patriot'' vied for moviegoers' attention, the low-budget horror spoof ``Scary Movie'' opened in North American theaters and blew them both away.

According to studio estimates issued Sunday, ``Scary Movie'' grossed $42.5 million in its first three days of release, making it the second biggest opening of the year after ``Mission: Impossible 2'' ($57.9 million).

``Scary Movie'' cost about $19 million to make, said a spokesman for Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) Miramax Films, which released the movie through its Dimension Films banner. ``Storm'' and ``Patriot'' each reportedly cost in the $140 million area, with Mel Gibson pocketing a $25 million pay check for the latter.

George Clooney's ``Storm,'' last weekend's champion, slipped to No. 2 in its second week of release with $27 million, followed by ``Patriot'' with $15.5 million. ``Disney's The Kid,'' starring Bruce Willis, opened at No. 4 with $12.5 million.

The strong slate helped the overall box office, which has been struggling this summer. According to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 grossed $136 million, up nine percent over last weekend and up 26 percent from the year-ago weekend when the teen comedy ``American Pie'' opened at No. 1 with $18.7 million.

``Scary Movie,'' directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and starring his two younger brothers Shawn and Marlon, combines elements of the hit ``Scream'' and ``I Know What You Did Last Summer'' franchises, and throws in homages to such works as ''Shakespeare in Love'' and ``The Usual Suspects.''

Film critics mostly applauded the film, which offers gratuitous male nudity, raunchy dialogue and chronic drug use. Industry observers scratched their heads at Miramax's ability to get the R-rated film past the ratings board.

``If people want to laugh this is the movie they're going to,'' said Miramax spokesman Dennis Rice.

Exit polling indicated that adults over 25 comprised 30 percent of the audience, a surprisingly high figure for a young- skewing movie, said Rice. The core audience was aged 18-24, and men made up 55 percent of the total.

The movie played on 2,912 theaters, vs. 3,407 for ``Storm'' and 3,061 for ``Patriot,'' and averaged a stunning $14,595. In opening at No. 1 with $41.3 million the previous weekend, ''Storm'' had averaged $12,129.

Based on Sebastian Junger's bestselling book about a fishing boat lost at sea, ``Storm'' had good news of its own. After 10 days in release, it has grossed $100.1 million, said Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman.

Only two other WB movies have reached a century in 10 days: 1989's ``Batman'' and the third installment, 1995's ``Batman Forever.'' Fellman predicted ``Storm'' would have ``a good shot'' at reaching $200 million.

The film's producer, Gail Katz, declined to be pinned down on a number, but noted the movie was tracking way ahead of ''Storm'' director Wolfgang Petersen's ``Air Force One,'' which grossed just under $175 million. WB is a unit of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news).

``Patriot,'' released by Sony Corp's (6758.T) Columbia Pictures, has grossed $65.5 million after 12 days. The American Revolutionary War saga should reach ``no less than $125 million,'' said Jeff Blake, the studio's president of distribution. He added it was ``beside the point'' to compare its performance with that of ``Storm.''

``Disney's The Kid'' stars Willis as a workaholic image consultant who gets a lesson in life by encountering his childhood self (played by Spencer Breslin). The film opened within expectations, said the studio's distribution president, Chuck Viane. He noted that the movie has the family audience virtually to itself until July 28 when the ``Nutty Professor'' sequel opens. It averaged a decent $5,768 from 2,167 theaters.

In its third week of release, DreamWorks' hit claymation comedy ``Chicken Run'' slipped two places to No. 5 with $9.5 million, bringing its 19-day total to $63.3 million.

Jim Carrey's ``Me, Myself & Irene'' fell three places to No. 6 with $8.0 million, taking its 17-day total to $68 million. The poorly performing comedy should end up with $85 million, said Tom Sherak, chairman of Twentieth Century Fox's domestic film group. Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. (NYSE:FOX - news).

Further down the chart, the 11th ranked ``Mission: Impossible 2'' became the first film of 2000 to pass the $200 million mark, doing so on Wednesday, said Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIA - news) Paramount Pictures. After 47 days, the Tom Cruise thriller now stands at $204 million.

Opening in limited release was ``But I'm a Cheerleader,'' a comedy about a teen-aged girl (played by Natasha Lyonne) sent to a special camp when her parents worry that she may be a lesbian.

It pulled in $60,000 from four theaters, two each in New York and San Francisco, said Lions Gate Films' co-president Tom Ortenberg. The film played strongly to gay audiences, but was also very popular with young females, he added. The film goes into national release on July 28. Lions Gate is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. (AMEX:LGF - news).

The sole wide new release next weekend is Fox's ``X Men,'' an ensemble action movie based on the popular comic book series.

(TWX.N) (6758.T) (FOX.N) (DIS.N) (LGF.A) (VIA.N).

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 July 7-9 weekend, according to studio estimates collected Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued Monday.

1 (+) Scary Movie ............ $42.5 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $42,500,000

2 (1) The Perfect Storm ...... $27.0 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $100,100,000

3 (2) The Patriot ............ $15.5 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $65,500,000

4 (+) Disney's The Kid ....... $12.5 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $12,500,000

5 (4) Chicken Run ............ $9.5 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $63,300,000

6 (3) Me, Myself & Irene ..... $8.0 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $68,000,000

7-(6) Shaft .................. $4.1 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $62,000,000

7-(7) Big Momma's House ...... $4.1 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $104,000,000

9 (5) Rocky and Bullwinkle ... $4.0 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $16,200,000

10 (8) Gone in Sixty Seconds .. $3.8 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $86,700,000

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

``Scary Movie'' is released by Dimension Films, a unit of Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) Miramax Films. ``Disney's The Kid'' is released by Walt Disney Pictures, and ``Gone in Sixty Seconds'' by Touchstone Pictures, also units of Disney.

``The Perfect Storm'' is released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news).

``The Patriot'' is released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp. (6758.T).

``Chicken Run'' is released by DreamWorks SKG, which is privately held.

``Me, Myself & Irene'' and ``Big Momma's House'' are released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. (NYSE:FOX - news).

``The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' is released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd. (Toronto:VO.TO - news).

``Shaft'' is released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA - news)

JOHN L.:  An action packed week at the local cinema this time around.  It was probably one of the busiest post July 4th weeks in history.  Scary Movie opened huge not only in terms of its gross to cost but in terms of any movie.  You are looking at a movie that had a great ad campaign that people were excited about and could not wait to see if the trailer just showed some and not all of the best parts.  I saw SM this weekend, and I have a full review of whether or not it was worth it.  Bruce Willis has returned and he has brought another little boy with him.  This is like his third movie in which he has co-starred with a little kid.  Sixth Sense everyone knows, but there was also Mercury Rising with Miko "Gage" Hughes that bombed a few years back.  The Kid looks like it may not end up doing that well.  Also this weekend I checked out Chicken Run and I will finally post a review of this clay animation allegory about war prison camps.  Lots to cover this week so let's get to it.

SCARY MOVIE - FULL REVIEW

Probably my favorite type of comedy is spoof and satirical humor.  Things that are taken seriously being goofed on makes me laugh.  This goes back to the Airplane!, Top Secret, Naked Gun, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, and Hot Shots!  I keep track of lots of different types of entertainment and current events so I get the jokes most of the time when these movies make fun of other movies, politicians, history, diseases, sex, violence, runny noses, whatever.  Scary Movie or "Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell On Friday the 13th" as the Wayans originally wanted to call it or "Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween" as the original writers named it is a spoof of those classic teen slasher pics of the late 1990s, Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.  SM is more of a remake of those 2 movies than an actual spoof.  This new movie re-enacts the entire plots of Scream 1 and IKWYDLS.  In doing so, they expand or put a crazy twist on a famous scene from the originals.  For example, Carmen Electra is in the opening bit where she receives a call from the ghost faced killer like Drew Barrymore did in Scream 1.  In Scream, the killer asks her what her favorite scary movie is and she says something like "Halloween."  In Scary Movie the killer asks the same question, but Carmen's answer not only is funnier, but probably the better answer.  Of course I won't spoil the punchline.  Other scenes are the garage door attack from Scream and the hitting the man on the road bit from I Know What You Did.  The sets look just like the ones in the original and most of the time the jokes are very funny.  However, the main problem with Scary Movie is that it follows those other 2 movies so closely that if you have not seen them, the movie makes no sense.  The main girl, Cindy, playing a hybrid of the Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt characters from their movies spins around and says "what are you waiting for, huh?" and then something outrageous happens.  If you have not seen IKWYDLS you miss half the joke.  This goes for the other movies the make fun of as well like the "I see dead people" line form Sixth Sense, the Matrix fight sequences, and my personal favorite, the Blair Witch Project confession video.  If you know the movies, those seens will have you falling on the floor laughing, but if not, you may chuckle or go eww.  The Sixth Sense bit was not that funny, and the Matrix fight was prominent in the preview, but the Blair segment is 10 times funnier in the the movie than what the preview shows.  Even if you have never seen the Blair Witch Project, that scene is funny.  Keenan Wayans, the director of Scary Movie is famous for his satires like I'm Going to Get You Sucka and his In Living Color television sketch show in the early 90s.  Jim Carrey became famous because of the Wayans family and after looking at Carrey have massive success without ever giving props to the Wayans, it must make Kennan, Marlon, and Shawn proud to see their movie open higher than Carrey's "Me, Myself, and Irene." Revenge is sweet when its served with a slice of a breast implant and a side of broken leg.  To put it bluntly, the white boy finally got his.  Scary Movie is extremely funny, but in several parts very graphic.  It came very close to receivng an NC-17 rating with all of its raunch which includes more male nudity than female, and I mean full frontal male naughty bits.  There are several references and performances of fellatio and anal activity.  If that sort of stuff is hard to handle, stay away.  It is as graphic as I have ever seen in an R-rated film.  There are at least 4 instances where I fell out of my seat I laughed so hard.  I will only say look for the gym teacher and Sidney's love scene.  I literally had tears running down my face during those segments.  I will also make special mention of the stunt man/actor who played the Scream masked killer and voice.  He was very funny with his mannerisms and voiceovers.   His killer is violent, but is also hilarious in many scenes.  The killer's mask changes shapes depending on the mood and those expressions are hilarious.  Scary Movie is not for everyone.  It is very low brow, near pornographic, and incomprehensible to those who are unfamiliar with all of the pop culture references.  But if you have a sick sense of humor, enjoyed "There's Something About Mary," and "American Pie's" gross outs then SM is your kind of flick.  Final reveiw:  3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 out of 10; B; thumbs up.  Funniest movie of the year, and make sure you sit through the entire end credits because there is an extra scene at the end that cannot be missed or you will miss a major unexplored plot point. 

Bruce Willis is a very inconsistent actor in terms of how his movies do at the box office.  He has more bombs than hits, but when he hits, he hits huge.  Die Hard, Armageddon, and The Sixth Sense are 3 of the most successful movies ever made, but movies like Mercury Rising, Breakfast of Champions, and Color of Night failed miserably.  Last year, the ex Mr. Demi Moore had was in his most successful movie ever, "The Sixth Sense."  It made about $296 million and is very popular on video.  It made a little unknown kid who was best known as Forrest Gump's kid into an Oscar nominated actor at age 11.  Hollywood sees that Willis works well with kids, so they green light the continued production of "Disney's The Kid" where Willis plays a somewhat angry and frustrated man who finds himself talking to himself... his 8 year old self to be exact.  How that occurs is in the movie, but judging by the preview, hilarity was sure to ensue.  The kid mimics Willis, goofs on his life, goofs on his age, gets him girlfriends, and maybe convinces him to eventually get a dog.  The preview was pretty good and showed several funny and allegedly cute and heartwarming scenes between Willis and Spencer Breslin who plays the 8 year old Bruce.  However, this did not attract that many people to the theater.  I think Disney thought that lightning would at least strike in the near vicinity of 6th Sense's opening, but it did not really come close.  The plot was a little too fantastic and not gripping enough to intrigue the general audience.  Also, it is coming off the success of Willis teaming with a kid before.  Been there done that folks.   This shows how the Hollywood mentality is whacked.  It thinks that if a movie is successful means that the mass audience wants to see more movies like that.  Most times when that second movie comes out, people say ehh and ignore it if it is a blatant cashing in of a hot topic.  Also, Hollywood thinks that if a movie is not successful, that means no one wants to see that type of movie ever.  For example, X-Men is being looked at closely as a judge of whether it is worth it to make movies based on comic books.  Hollywood needs to realize people will see a movie if they find it to be a good movie on its own and will not pay attention to how it resembles or does not resemble something else.  If the movie is good, then it will be successful.  What is considered good by the public is a strange talent to try to predict.  It really cannot be done.  The entertainment magazines and tv shows had reviews of The Kid this past week and paid little to no attention to Scary Movie.  The entertainment gurus figured Willis would out gross Wayans, but they were wrong.  The Wayans out grossed and OUT GROSSED "Disney's the Kid" in every way possible.  Looks like Willis will be looking at those Die Hard 4: Jungle Warfare, Armageddon 2:  How the hell did Harry Stamper survive?, and The Seventh Sense:  I see dead Fox executives who financed Titan A.E.  scripts when The Kid leaves the theater by the beginning of August.

CHICKEN RUN - FULL REVIEW

Chicken Run is an entertaining movie about the plight of a coop of chickens trying to escape the Tweety Farm before they are turned into chicken pies.  The uprising is led by Ginger, voiced by Julia Sawalha, who fails at every attempt to get by Mr. Tweety and his 2 drooling dogs as well as the psycho Mrs. Tweety.  Ginger's plight is supposed to be similar to those soldiers and victims of World War 2 especially Stalag 17 which is honored in Chicken Run by coop 17 being the main hiding spot for the chickens when they are discussing escape strategies.  When all looked hopeless, from the sky falls a messiah of a sort who looks to be sent down to free the chickens of their egg laying and feather plucking lives.  He is Rocky the Flying Rooster, voiced by that very busy actor, Mel Gibson.  Rocky says he can fly and can teach the other hens how so they can fly over the fence to the green grass of freedom.   However, as everyone knows, roosters as well as hens can't fly worth a gosh darn.  How Rocky can get out of his predicament and not disappoint the chickens makes up the majority of the film.  While this is going on, the Tweetys are trying to get their chicken pie making machine to work, and when it does, all of the chickens will be shipped off in boxes to be cooked in the ovens of homes across the country.  All of this is fine and good and has several moments of light chuckles and some genuine laughter.  I enjoyed my time watching CR, and the end sequence when the chickens make one final stab at freedom is quite exciting and worth the time spent in the theater.  However, the movie has some problems.  Its pacing is a little off causing one to drowse off every once in a while during the first half of the film.   It is not boring but the clay animation style and the slightly hypnotic British accents of the characters can get a little tiresome.  The movie is rated G and is geared toward children, but its tone, dialogue, and action scenes are a little too out there for kids to really understand what is going on.  The main chickens as well as an old "wise" rooster are amusing with their antics, especially the one hen, Babs, voiced by Jane Horrocks, who is always knitting and  worrying about going on "holiday."  Mr. Tweety is also a good character with his bumbling actions. Mrs. Tweety does not get interesting unitl near the end when she takes over the spot of the main adversary of the chickens.  The weakest character and voice actor is Mel Gibson.  His Rocky is not very likable because you know he is lying for almost the entire film and Gibson does not seem to put a lot of effort into the role.  It is better than his John Smith work in Pocahontas though.  Gibson pretty much is playing his "Entertainment Tonight" goofy interview look how the ladies love me mode.  You can see him constantly moving his head around so much it could make George Clooney dizzy.  I think Gibson was added to the movie to get it  a big name star attatched to it since Miranda (Mrs. Tweety) Richardson has yet to light up the box office.  Overall, I liked Chicken Run and would recommend it to adults more than kids who might find it somewhat boring until the last 15 minutes.  Oh, and like "Scary Movie," make sure you watch the entire end credits because there is a discussion about what came first, the chicken or the egg and they make some very good points that may help you come up with an answer.  Much of this is voice over on the end credits, but after those are over there is one more scene.  I will say this.  It is better than Scary Movie's ending.  Final review:  3 stars out of 5; 6 1/2 out of 10; B-; thumbs up.  May disappoint some, but is still pretty good in general.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.    Perfect Storm is on its way to becoming George Clooney's highest grossing movie ever.

2.     It is ironic that Clooney's movie's quick $100 million is similar to the Batman movies.

3.    Mark Wahlberg is also riding a "wave" of success with his movie career.

4.    Patriot is being protested by Spike Lee for not representing slavery realistically.

5.    Slavery is mentioned in The Patriot, but for some reason every black person shown in the movie says "he be free" and is just working the fields by their own choosing.

6.    However, if you get your history from Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich movies, then you are in sad shape.

7.    Looks like Jim Carrey maybe going back to his old rolodex and look up Keenan Wayans again for a job.

8.    Shaft and Big Mommas House are being touted as proving that black actors can be the main lead in a movie without a sidekick and still make it a financial success.

9.    Jason "Boris Batanov" Alexander like Carrey and Willis will soon be looking for his previous employer, Jerry Seinfeld, in hopes of saving his fading career.

10.    Gone in 60 Seconds is not a blockbuster, but it is making enough dough to get Nicholas Cage back on track to making movies that make a decent showing at the box office.

Next week is X-Men week.  I am a big fan of the comic book, and have been very curious about how this movie was going to turn out.  Marvel Comics characters have had a history of movie failure while the DC characters like Superman and Batman have had better success.  The movie looks better in its previews than I thought when I first saw them. I shall see since I plan to see it this weekend and post a full review.  I will also make a list of the best superhero movies and some of the worst.  Big comic style box office report next week.  Bye for now.