`AUSTIN POWERS' BOX OFFICE TOTALS REALLY `SHAGADELIC'.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Moviegoers proclaimed ``Yeah, baby!'' as ``Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged shag 1 n. 1. A tangle or mass, especially of rough matted hair. 2. a. A coarse long nap, as on a woolen cloth. b. Cloth having such a nap. 3. A rug with a thick rough pile. Me'' dominated business at the nation's multiplexes with a stunning $54.7 million at 3,312 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday. The goofy Goofy bumbling, awkward dog; originally named Dippy Dawg. [Comics: “Mickey Mouse” in Horn, 492] See : Awkwardness sequel smashed the record for best opening by a comedy and fifth-best Friday-Sunday debut ever. The New Line release, with Mike Myers Mike Myers may refer to:
``People in the business were expecting big numbers for `Austin Powers' but this is well above expectations,'' said movie analyst Arthur Rockwell. ``It obviously had a huge cross-over audience beyond teen-agers and young adults.'' ``The Spy Who Shagged Me,'' which also took in $2.5 million at Thursday night preview screenings, has already outgrossed the 1997 original's total box office of $53.9 million and could wind up with $185 million by the end of its run, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source forecasting service. The film's massive promotional push highlighted Austin Powers catch phrases ``Shagadelic,'' ``Oh, behave,'' ``Yeah, baby!'' - and turned the expected box office dominance by ``Phantom Menace'' into a positive by running ads spoofing (1) Faking the sending address of a transmission in order to gain illegal entry into a secure system. See e-mail spoofing. (2) Creating fake responses or signals in order to keep a session active and prevent timeouts. the ``Star Wars'' prequel pre·quel n. A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a preexisting work or a sequel. [pre- + (se)quel.] . ``It was by far the best publicity campaign this year,'' Bucksbaum said. ``You can't say enough about New Line and how it's gone from rags to riches.'' New Line, which made its name in low-cost horror films, has become a major Hollywood player over the last five years. Time Warner Inc. bought New Line in 1995 as part of its deal for Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (often abbreviated TBS Networks or TBS, inc.) is the company managing the collection of cable networks and properties started by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner from the mid-1970s to the late-1990s. . ``We had a lot of fun with `Star Wars' and I think people picked up on that,'' said New Line distribution chief Al Shapiro. ``The numbers are beyond our wildest expectations and we think a lot of people want to see it again. We're not facing a direct challenge as a light, fluffy comedy until Sony opens `Big Daddy' in two weeks.'' The weekend total for ``The Spy Who Shagged Me'' trailed only ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park,'' ``Phantom Menace,'' ``Mission: Impossible'' and ``Godzilla'' for biggest Friday-Sunday opening. It smashed ``The Waterboy's'' record of $39.4 million for a comedy opening by 38 percent. The overall weekend box office turned in a robust performance with ``Phantom Menace'' posting a still-impressive $25.4 million at 3,024 theaters to hit $296.7 million after 26 days. The 20th Century Fox release, which will become the ninth member of the $300 million club today or Tuesday, continued to show holdover hold·o·ver n. One that is held over from an earlier time: a political advisor who was a holdover from the Reagan era; a family tradition that is a holdover from my grandparents' childhood. Noun 1. power with a weekend-to-weekend decline of only 23 percent. Even with Disney's ``Tarzan'' and Paramount's ``The General's Daughter'' opening Friday, ``Phantom Menace'' will pass ``Independence Day,'' ``Return of the Jedi'' and ``The Lion King'' by the end of next weekend and will be near the No. 5 all-time spot held by ``Forrest Gump'' at $329.5 million. `` `Phantom Menace' is clearly going to travel well into the rest of the summer,'' Rockwell said. ``Right now, it looks like we're going to have a tremendous summer.'' Bucksbaum noted that the power of the top two films, which took in about two-thirds of the overall weekend box office, had led to a gain of 25 percent over the same weekend last year when ``Six Days and Seven Nights'' opened with $16.5 million. ``This is not usually a big weekend for opening movies,'' he added. Also continuing to perform well was Universal's third weekend of ``Notting Hill'' with $11.2 million at 2,780 theaters as the romantic comedy lost only 25 percent from its previous Friday-Sunday. Disney's action-adventure ``Instinct'' posted moderate totals in fourth with $6.8 million at 2,087 theaters in its second weekend, followed by Universal's sixth weekend of ``The Mummy'' with $5.1 million at 3,098 theaters, pushing it past $135.9 million to 83rd on the all-time list over 1996's ``101 Dalmatians.'' Fox's seventh weekend of ``Entrapment'' finished sixth with $2.6 million at 2,147 sites to top $79 million overall, followed by Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .' 11th weekend of ``The Matrix'' with $2.1 million at 1,907 sites to reach $161 million. Sony's third weekend of ``The Thirteenth Floor'' continued its fast fade with an unimpressive $1 million at 1,815 theaters, followed by Fox's 10th weekend of ``Never Been Kissed'' with $880,000 and Fox Searchlight's fifth weekend of ``A Midsummer Night's Dream'' with $800,000. Final results for the Friday-Sunday period will be released today. TOP MOVIES Estimated grosses for Friday through Sunday at North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. theaters: 1. ``Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,'' $54.7 million. 2. ``Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,'' $25.4 million. 3. ``Notting Hill,'' $11.2 million. 4. ``Instinct,'' $6.8 million 5. ``The Mummy,'' $5.1 million. 6. ``Entrapment entrapment, in law, the instigation of a crime in the attempt to obtain cause for a criminal prosecution. Situations in which a government operative merely provides the occasion for the commission of a criminal act (e.g. ,'' $2.6 million. 7. ``The Matrix,'' $2.1 million. 8. ``The Thirteenth Floor The levels of a multi-story building are numbered sequentially, from "one" or "ground" upwards. In some countries, the number 13 is considered unlucky and building owners will sometimes purposely omit the thirteenth floor. ,'' $1 million. 9. ``Never Been Kissed Never Been Kissed is a 1999 comedy directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, Leelee Sobieski, John C. Reilly, Jessica Alba, Marley Shelton, James Franco, Giuseppe Andrews, Jeremy Jordan and Garry Marshall. ,'' $888,000. 10. ``Tea With Mussolini,'' $800,000. CAPTION(S): box, photo Box: Estimated weekend movie grosses (see text) Photo: Mike Myers as Austin Powers |
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