CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN PRESTIGE FILMS JOCKEYING FOR AWARDS ARE OPENING NOW, AND SOME ARE GETTING LOST.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Moviegoers who decide to hit the megaplex today not only have the new wide release ``Catch Me If You Can'' and holdovers like ``The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and ``Gangs of New York'' to choose from, but also a daunting number of limited release films that are jockeying for Academy Award nominations and some word of mouth momentum.

In the last two weeks alone, ``Adaptation,'' ``About Schmidt,'' ``Evelyn,'' ``The 25th Hour,'' ``Antwone Fisher'' and ``Narc'' have opened in a small number of theaters. On Friday, the following films will open in selected Los Angeles and New York City movie houses: ``Chicago,'' ``The Hours,'' ``Max,'' ``Nicholas Nickleby,'' ``The Pianist'' and ``Sonny.'' In addition, George Clooney's directorial debut ``Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' bows Dec. 30.

Welcome to the movie industry's season of the ``platform release,'' which has the theaters so jammed with prestige movies vying for the same audiences that some are destined to get lost in the shuffle, industry experts said this week.

``All might do well in their exclusive runs, but if they don't get that Oscar nomination, they will be dead in the water,'' predicted box office analyst Robert Bucksbaum, president of Reel Source, Inc. ``It seems to me to be overkill with a lot of these films being cannibalized by each other.''

Studios acknowledge that the strategy of opening small with the hopes of expanding their distribution later is risky but necessary because historically, most potential Oscar contenders are released during the final weeks of the year.

For movies like Sony Picture Entertainment's ``Adaptation'' and New Line Cinema's ``About Schmidt,'' the strategy of opening in a small number of theaters to build buzz and collect awards seems to be paying off.

``We loved the idea of opening (``Adaptation'') early because it gave everybody a chance to digest the reviews and hopefully set us up for award consideration and that of course has gone just great for us,'' said Jeff Blake, Sony's president of distribution. ``There's always a risk, and you just have to believe in a film to do it this way. If you go out and you've got a picture on six screens with mediocre reviews and tepid word of mouth, you haven't even cheated an opening weekend and you are basically dead.''

``Adaptation'' has landed on several critics' top 10 lists and earned six Golden Globe nominations, including a nod for best motion picture- comedy and acting nominations for Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, after bowing on just six screens in Los Angeles and New York Dec. 6.

Blake said that, when a studio is positioning a film for a year-end platform release, there are several steps involved that all have to come together in order for the strategy to be a success, starting with good reviews and positive word of mouth.

After its initial six-screen debut, ``Adaptation'' took the second step of expanding to more than 100 screens last weekend, averaging a stellar $10,165 per screen average and earning $2.1 million to date. The next step comes on Jan. 10, when the film expands to 600-700 locations.

``The Golden Globe Awards are in January, and we want to still be around when the Academy Award nominations are announced in February,'' Blake said. ``We hope we get (an award) power pill coming our way every couple of weeks.''

New Line Cinema employed a similar strategy with ``About Schmidt,'' which has won widespread critical raves, awards for star Jack Nicholson and multiple Golden Globe nominations. ``Schmidt'' opened Dec. 13 on six screens in Los Angeles and New York to huge per screen grosses and expanded to 26 locations last weekend, where it sold out at most locations with an astonishing per screen average of $23,143. The film expands nationwide Jan. 3.

``We thought we would catch on, but it's always chancy going this time of year,'' said David Tuckerman, president of domestic distribution for New Line. ``The Golden Globe nominations set us apart from pack.''

Fox Searchlight, the specialty arm of 20th Century Fox, decided to open Denzel Washington's directorial debut ``Antwone Fisher'' in just 15 locations in major cities last Thursday, and it earned a total of $218,618, averaging a solid $14,001 per screen.

While the film was ignored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which announced its Golden Globe Award nominations last week, it has been receiving the highest marks from audiences of any film ever released by Fox Searchlight, said Steve Gilula, the studio's president of distribution.

``Fisher'' has been heavily promoted by Washington and other principals connected to the film, and expands to an additional 25 ci total of 180 theaters. It goes into nationwide wide release on Jan. 10.

``We felt we needed time for word to get out about what kind of film this was, because it's a very personal, emotional story that is not easily sold in 30-second TV spots,'' Gilula said. ``It also gives us time to allow the film to build in January after the heat has cooled off on some of the wide-release movies.''

Searchlight released two other Oscar hopefuls ``The Good Girl'' and ``One Hour Photo,'' with acclaimed performances by Jennifer Anniston and Robin Williams, respectively. The films had modestly successful theatrical runs earlier in the year but were ignored by the Golden Globes and most other awards.

Despite tireless promotion from star Pierce Brosnan, ``Evelyn'' has been ignored so far in the awards sweepstakes and the film - currently playing in 67 locations after opening up in 15 - has not been able to must up much of an audience, despite mostly positive reviews.

Even though Brosnan is coming off of his most successful commercial outing yet as James Bond in ``Die Another Day,'' his follow-up film averaged a paltry $1,941 per screen last weekend.

``If you don't have a strong selling film, you've got to platform, but if you don't do it when there is 50 other releases coming out at same time geared for same audience, it makes it impossible for them to distinguish themselves and for moviegoers to catch up with them all,'' Bucksbaum said.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) Nicolas Cage, left, is beside himself - literally - in the new Spike Jonze film ``Adaptation''; Jack Nicholson gives another strong, personal performance in the comedy-drama ``About Schmidt''; and Denzel Washington directs and co-stars - with Derek Luke - in the true-life story of ``Antwone Fisher.''