A SIZZLING SUMMER AT THE BOX OFFICE : HOT MOVIES SEND GROSSES SOARING TOWARD NEW HEIGHTS.Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Writer In case you haven't noticed, the summer movie season is heating up out there. But the competition for your entertainment dollars looks even hotter than the movies themselves. The first month of this year's blockbuster derby, which began with the barn-blasting debut of ``Twister'' on May 10, blew away box-office records. Sometime this week, ``Twister's'' gross receipts should surpass those of 1995's top movie, ``Toy Story,'' and the summer holds at least half a dozen movies with equivalent potential. Add the record-breaking Memorial Day week debut of ``Mission: Impossible'' to ``Twister's'' sustained energy, and movie moguls' predictions of an unprecedented, $2.5 billion summer haul seem inevitable. With the well-reviewed ``The Rock'' just out and the coming month promising such high-profile items as Jim Carrey's ``The Cable Guy,'' Arnold Schwarzenegger's ``Eraser,'' Disney's animated ``Hunchback hunchback, abnormal outward curvature of the spine in the thoracic region. It is also known as kyphosis and humpback, and in its severe form a noticeable hump is evident on the back. of Notre Dame,'' Demi Moore's revelatory ``Striptease,'' Eddie Murphy's Jerry Lewis retread re·tread tr.v. re·tread·ed, re·tread·ing, re·treads 1. To fit (a worn automotive tire) with a new tread. 2. ``The Nutty Professor,'' John Travolta's sentimental fantasy ``Phenomenon'' and the end of life as we know it Life As We Know It is an American television drama on the ABC network during the 2004-2005 season. It was created by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. The series was based on the novel Doing It by British writer Melvin Burgess. when aliens attack "When Aliens Attack" is episode twelve in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on November 7, 1999. This episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Brian Sheesley. on ``Independence Day,'' the box office should be buzzing madly. But so many big movies also entail big risks, and if a picture doesn't pay off for audiences in this overheated atmosphere, it's gonna get erased by the next big thing. Just look at what happened to ``Mission.'' Though it posted a shattering $75 million gross in its first six days of release, it took a whopping 52 percent attendance drop the following weekend. That's a bigger dip - albeit from a higher altitude - than most recent Memorial Day mega-openers have suffered, and was clearly the result of viewer dissatisfaction. What this means for the rest of the summer is, basically, that your movie better be good. Bad news, maybe, for the producers who spent ridiculous amounts of money unwisely, but good news for moviegoers, who'll have an ever-growing pool of attractive options as the warm days drag on. Although, as usual, the big guns will pretty much have blown out by the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. , there are plenty of pictures with potential scheduled from then on to Labor Day. Don't expect the action to abate too much after the Independence Day blowout. Still to come will be ``Courage Under Fire,'' a Persian Gulf War-related drama starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan; ``The Crow: City of Angels,'' in which Vincent Perez takes up the undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. hero's mantle left by the late Brandon Lee; Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman on the run in ``Fugitive'' director Andrew Davis' ``Chain Reaction''; and ``John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.'' It also looks like a summer when comedy will be king. Or at least there'll be ``Kingpin,'' the Woody Harrelson bowling farce from the guys who gave us ``Dumb & Dumber.'' Then there's Kevin Costner reteaming with ``Bull Durham'' director Ron Shelton for the golf goof ``Tin Cup,'' Michael Keaton co-starring with Michael Keaton in the cloning comedy ``Multiplicity'' and Robin Williams playing a big little boy - now there's an original concept - in Francis Ford Coppola's ``Jack.'' As for more serious matters, the latest John Grisham courtroom thriller, ``A Time to Kill,'' stars Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. For the senator from Indiana, see Samuel D. Jackson. Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor. and Matthew McConaughey. ``The Fan'' is Robert De Niro Noun 1. Robert De Niro - United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943) De Niro , a deranged de·range tr.v. de·ranged, de·rang·ing, de·rang·es 1. To disturb the order or arrangement of. 2. To upset the normal condition or functioning of. 3. To disturb mentally; make insane. knife peddler peddler or hawker, itinerant vendor of small goods. In rural America peddlers carried their packs or drove a horse and cart from door to door. who takes it personally when his favorite baseball player (Wesley Snipes) hits a slump. As for special-effects spectacle, Hollywood still has a few tricks left up its sleeve. ``The Frighteners,'' in which Michael J. Fox plays a charlatan char·la·tan n. A person fraudulently claiming knowledge and skills not possessed. charlatan (shar´l ghostbuster who finally has to take on some real supernatural nasties, is supposed to have more computer graphics shots than any previous feature (it's produced by ``Forrest Gump's'' Robert Zemeckis). There also will be humanoid animals (``Island of Dr. Moreau''), a live-action film about everybody's favorite living puppet (``The Adventures of Pinocchio''), and a real, live genie played by Shaquille O'Neal (``Kazaam''). CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Perennial box-office hero Arnold Schwarzenegger pack s the usual heat in this month's ``Eraser.'' |
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