`SIXTH SENSE' PREVAILS - BUT YOU KNEW THAT.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Horror remained potent at the nation's multiplexes as the third weekend of ``The Sixth Sense'' easily led with an impressive $24.1 million at 2,688 theaters amid a moderate weekend overall at the box office, studio sources said Sunday. ``Sense,'' focused on an 8-year-old boy beset be·set tr.v. be·set, be·set·ting, be·sets 1. To attack from all sides. 2. To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack. 3. by supernatural forces, continued to obliterate o·blit·er·ate v. 1. To remove an organ or another body part completely, as by surgery, disease, or radiation. 2. To blot out, especially through filling of a natural space by fibrosis or inflammation. forecasts by losing only 6 percent from the previous weekend. The Disney release has now taken in an astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, $107.7 million in 17 days during a period when moviegoing traditionally falls off sharply. ``Sense,'' now the 13th 1999 release and 195th of all time to pass $100 million domestically, was so powerful that it outgrossed the combined total of the three new releases - ``Mickey Blue Eyes'' in third with $10.4 million at 2,573 theaters, ``Universal Soldier: The Return'' in seventh with $4.7 million at 1,639 screens and ``Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' in 10th with $3.3 million at 1,710 sites. ``This is a great bookend to the summer,'' declared Disney distribution chief Chuck Viane, who predicted ``Sixth Sense'' will hit the $200 million mark. ``It has the greatest legs of any movie since `Titanic Titanic (tītăn`ĭk), British liner that sank on the night of Apr. 14–15, 1912, after crashing into an iceberg in the N Atlantic S of Newfoundland. More than 1,500 lives were lost. .' We have a lot of people going to see it a second time to figure out what they missed the first time.'' Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source tracking service, said ``Sixth Sense'' has benefited from strong word-of-mouth among moviegoers. ``It's become the film to see twice, almost like eating potato chips,'' he added. ``Disney was very smart to recognize this was going to be a hit and move it into the summer from the fall.'' Industry tracker Arthur Rockwell noted ``Sixth Sense'' had managed to attract audiences from every demographic. ``When you add in those incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. pieces, that's when you have a hit film,'' he added. Disney added 293 theaters to ``Sixth Sense'' this weekend and that helped prop up an otherwise lukewarm luke·warm adj. 1. Mildly warm; tepid. 2. Lacking conviction or enthusiasm; indifferent: gave only lukewarm support to the incumbent candidate. weekend with overall business at $103 million, up 9 percent from the same weekend last year but a far cry from topping $150 million on consecutive weekends in late July and early August. With the opening of school on the minds of younger moviegoers, adult-oriented films took the next four slots led by the second weekend of Universal's ``Bowfinger'' with $10.7 million at 2,717 theaters as the comedy dropped 41 percent. Warner's opening of romantic comedy ``Mickey Blue Eyes Blue eyes are eyes that have blue irises (see eye color), and may also refer to:
MGM's third weekend of ``The Thomas Crown Affair'' continued to post respectable grosses in fifth with $7 million at 2,427 theaters. ``There's a lot of competition for the date-crowd audience right now,'' Bucksbaum noted. Artisan's sixth weekend of low-budget sensation ``The Blair Witch Project'' finished a close sixth with $6.9 million at 2,538 theaters, dropping 52 percent as the excitement over the offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. project began to fade. Still, ``Blair'' has become the most profitable movie in memory with overall gross now past $120 million. Sony's opening of ``Universal Soldier: The Return,'' with Jean-Claude Van Damme, fell short of expectations with $4.7 million and will finish nowhere near the $36 million total domestic gross from the 1992 original. But the project - costing a reported $20 million - should take in enough overseas to turn a profit. Disney's fifth weekend of ``Inspector Gadget'' came in eighth with $4.3 million at 2,144 theaters, edging Warner's fourth weekend of ``Deep Blue Sea'' with $4.28 million at 2,246 sites. Both finished far ahead of ``Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' with a disappointing $3.3 million as the high-school comedy-thriller debuted well under forecasts. Bucksbaum noted that the poor opening for ``Tingle,'' starring Katie Holmes Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes [1] [2] (born December 18 1978) is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. of the ``Dawson's Creek'' TV series, underscores the difficulty in marketing to the teen audience. ``They want either light comedies like `American Pie' and `She's All That' or horror films horror film n → película de terror or miedo horror film horror n → film m d'épouvante horror film horror n rather than an edgy comedy like this,'' he added. Universal's third weekend of ``Mystery Men'' finished 11th with $2.6 million at 1,954 theaters, followed by Warner's third weekend of ``The Iron Giant'' with $2.4 million at 1,943 sites and Universal's seventh weekend of ``American Pie'' with $2 million at 1,118 locations to go past $94 million overall. The summer season remains 20 percent above last year's record-setting pace. ``It is amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. how strong the box office was this weekend without any major contribution from the opening films,'' Rockwell said. ``It shows people will continue to go if they believe there are quality films for them to see.'' Bucksbaum predicted ``Sixth Sense'' will lead again next weekend with its closest challenge coming from Disney's opening of medieval epic ``The 13th Warrior,'' starring Antonio Banderas. Also opening will be Miramax's action project ``In Too Deep,'' Universal's ``Dudley Do-Right,'' Warner's family drama ``A Dog of Flanders A Dog of Flanders is a novel about a boy Nello and his dog Patrache written by Marie Louise de la Ramée under the pseudonym Ouida in 1872. It is widely read in Japan, and has among others been made into an animated cartoon. ,'' New Line's thriller ``The Astronaut's Wife'' and USA Films' ``The Muse,'' a comedy with Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born July 22, 1947) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, writer, comedian and director. Biography Early life Brooks was born Albert Lawrence Einstein and Sharon Stone. 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. ``The Sixth Sense,'' $24.1 million. 2. ``Bowfinger,'' $10.7 million. 3. ``Mickey Blue Eyes,'' 10.4 million. 4. ``Runaway Bride This article is about meanings of Runaway bride. For other uses of the word Runaway, see Runaway. A runaway bride is a bride who runs away from the wedding chapel, usually shortly before the ceremony, often due to so-called cold feet. ,'' $9.4 million. 5. ``The Thomas Crown Affair,'' $7 million. 6. ``The Blair Witch Project,'' $6.9 million. 7. ``Universal Soldier: The Return,'' $4.7 million. 8. ``Inspector Gadget,'' $4.3 million. 9. ``Deep Blue Sea,'' $4.28 million. 10. Teaching Mrs. Tingle,'' $3.3 million. CAPTION(S): Box Box: TOP MOVIES (See text) |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion