`BEAN' READY TO CONQUER AMERICA; U.K. COMEDY A WORLDWIDE HIT LIKE NO OTHER.

Byline: Janet Weeks Daily News Staff Writer

It's a one-word juggernaut, an unlikely smash hit on the fast track to box-office history as the movie that made the most money before a single American bought a ticket.

It's a dinosaur slayer, drawing a bigger audience in Paris than Steven Spielberg's multimillion dollar spectacle ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park.''

It's a bona fide international sensation that has instantly elevated its star character to a pop-culture reference in a dozen languages.

It's ``Bean.'' And the question floating above its U.S. opening Friday is this: Will it rake in magical loot here, as it has overseas, or will it run out of gas?

``Bean,'' the kooky little slapstick comedy about a rubber-faced simpleton who defiles masterpiece paintings, rides into theaters this weekend on a rush of steam that would make El Nino proud: It's the first film this decade to earn more than $125 million before its U.S. release.

``It's been a very curious phenomenon to watch,'' says Russell Schwartz, president of Gramercy Pictures, the film's U.S. distributors (Gramercy is a division of PolyGram, which produced the movie). ``Something's happening.''

In some markets - like Australia and Germany - ``Bean's'' draw can be attributed to audience recognition of actor Rowan Atkinson's bumbling character. The film was spun off the successful British television show ``Mr. Bean,'' which is popular around the globe.

But even in places where the TV show has never aired - places like Hong Kong - the movie is luring big audiences, baffling other studios and the film's makers as well.

``I've no particular explanation for the success,'' says Atkinson. ``Although I believed it would be successful, the scale of its success is genuinely surprising. The good thing about it is that we've arrived here in a relatively relaxed mood. There's no doubt that the success here will be the icing on the cake rather than the cake itself.''

Not everyone associated with the film is calmly awaiting the ``icing,'' however. Schwartz says he's sweating the U.S. opening more now that ``Bean'' is a worldwide craze.

``Everyone is looking at me saying, `Well, Let's see how well you do, Russell,' '' Schwartz says, laughing. ``We're sort of cautiously optimistic.''

That optimism has led to a major promotional push. Gramercy has backed ``Bean's'' opening with four-page, full-color newspaper ads, TV trailers and multiple buzz-inducing advance screenings. The company also plans to release ``Bean'' to 1,700 screens - an enormous number for a foreign film.

``We decided to really go for it,'' Schwartz says.

Gramercy's research shows the film is most anticipated by kids 6 to 17 years old. In the big cities like Los Angeles and New York, those kids already know about Bean from runs of the TV show on PBS and specials on cable networks such as HBO and Comedy Central.

Sales of ``Mr. Bean'' videos, in fact, have outpaced sales of ``Absolutely Fabulous,'' a better-known British sitcom.

To play up that recognition among the young, Gramercy is working hard to position ``Bean'' as a ``fun, family comedy,'' says Schwartz. The company also has been ``Bean-a-fying'' the States by running one-minute clips from the film in theaters. Those trailers began airing in May. The result? A year ago, only about 33 percent of Americans polled said they were aware of the Bean character. As of last month, that figure had more than doubled to 75 percent.

Atkinson, who first brought Bean to the British stage 16 years ago, speculates that children love Bean because the character is childlike.

``There's something universally identifiable about the character,'' he says. ``I suppose it's this childish anarchy that people find funny and find amusing, and I suppose that's the same in Brazil as much as Ireland. Children see their own species acting up in front of them.''

By his behavior, Bean also allows adults to feel superior as they chuckle at his bumbling missteps, Atkinson continues.

``It's funny to watch someone who doesn't know how to behave. The anarchist is funny to watch because you would never dare to behave like that, but it's fun to watch somebody who does.''

Mel Smith, ``Bean's'' director, attributes its appeal to the simplicity of Bean's comedy. Indeed, most of the character's laughs come from physical stuff; he speaks so few words that he is nearly a mime.

``It's not dumb, but it's very simple,'' he says. ``It's based on a very simple premise that you can follow and you can sort of share in. There's a thing about Bean which I think is true of a lot of good comedy, which is that you love not being him.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) `Bean' there

Rowan Atkinson's unique character is now taking on America

(2) Television viewers in Britain and Australia are well-acquainted with Rowan Atkinson's bumbling, rubber-faced Mr. Bean, a childlike character who's always getting himself into messes.