HOLLYWOOD LOOKS FORWARD TO SOME CHRISTMAS DESSERT.Byline: Marla Matzer Rose Staff Writer Is that the jingle of reindeer reindeer, ruminant mammal, genus Rangifer, of the deer family, found in arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America. It is the only deer in which both sexes have antlers. on the roof or of money being hauled into movie studio coffers? Going into the weekend, it's already clear that the year's overall film box office will be record-breaking. Christmas came early for the studios, but the Christmas weekend itself probably won't be a record-breaker for movie theaters. While the studios have already had their feast -- now, they're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. dessert. The studios' plum pudding is good holiday box office and the heightened awareness it can lend to their Oscar campaigns. Star-studded new hopefuls ``Man on the Moon'' (Jim Carrey “James Carrey” redirects here. For the murder conspirator, see James Carey. James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian actor and comedian. ) and ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' (Gwyneth Paltrow-Matt Damon), ``Any Given Sunday'' (Al Pacino) and ``Galaxy Quest'' (Tim Allen-Sigourney Weaver) are set to take on such powerful holdovers as ``Toy Story 2'' and ``The Green Mile.'' Thanks to a string of sure-fire blockbusters (``The Phantom Menace MENACE. A threat; a declaration of an intention to cause evil to happen to another. 2. When menaces to do an injury to another have been made, the party making them may, in general, be held to bail to keep the peace; and, when followed by any inconvenience or ,'' ``Runaway Bride'') and surprise hits (``The Blair Witch Project,'' ``The Sixth Sense''), total box office is expected to hit $7.5 billion by the end of '99. That's up 8 percent over last year and 18 percent over 1997, 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. Paul Dergarabedian, president of the Exhibitor Relations box office tracking firm. Box office observers expect the spreading of the wealth to continue this weekend, rather than one or two movies taking the lion's share of business. ``A lot of films are tracking pretty evenly,'' said Robert Bucksbaum, president of tracking firm Reel Source, predicting that ``Toy Story 2'' and ``The Green Mile'' will rank in the top handful of films this weekend, along with new releases ``Man on the Moon'' and ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.'' The week between Christmas and New Year's is always prime moviegoing time. This year looks to be no different, though the weekend is shorter with Christmas falling on a Saturday, which is expected to cut into moviegoing most heavily on Friday evening. Also two big films ''Ripley'' and ''Galaxy'' won't open until Saturday. Because of that, Christmas weekend traditionally one of the busiest at theaters may not be a record-breaker this year. ``I don't think this is going to come close to last year's record,'' said Bucksbaum, also pointing out last year's record-breaking Christmas weekend will be hard to top. Three powerhouses, ``Patch Adams,'' ``Stepmom'' and ``You've Got Mail'' led the way in 1998, as the weekend box office topped $147 million. One other small lump of coal among the studios' pretty presents: There are also fewer family choices at theaters than in other years. Dergarabedian added that this season's movie crop seems especially dark and serious, with a preponderance pre·pon·der·ance also pre·pon·der·an·cy n. Superiority in weight, force, importance, or influence. Noun 1. preponderance of R-rated films including Carrey's ``Man on the Moon,'' ``Mr. Ripley'' and ``Angela's Ashes.'' One reason for this is that studios tend to release their Oscar hopefuls, which tend to wax serious, late in the year. ``Last year, you had big hits like `Patch Adams' and `You've Got Mail' that were light family comedies,'' he noted. The abundance of heavy fare this season is expected to benefit the few movies that buck the trend Buck the Trend When a security goes against the prevailing trend of the overall market. Notes: A stock that goes up during a bear market is said to be "bucking the trend." See also: Bear Market, Contrarian , said Bucksbaum. `` `Galaxy Quest' (a sci-fi/action comedy) is the only non-R-rated film opening this weekend, and I think that will help it,'' said Bucksbaum, who pointed out that the live action/animated ``Stuart Little'' appears to have capitalized on this phenomenon as well. ``Little,'' based on a popular children's book, was the top movie last weekend with a box office take of $15 million. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Clockwise clock·wise adv. & adj. Abbr. cw. In the same direction as the rotating hands of a clock. clockwise Adverb, adj in the direction in which the hands of a clock rotate from top: Jim Carrey in ``Main on the Moon''; Al Pacino and Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959 in Williamsburg, Virginia), nicknamed L.T., is a retired Hall of Fame American football player. in ``On Any Given Sunday''; Alan Rickman, Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an Oscar-nominated American actress. Early life Weaver is the daughter of late NBC television executive Pat Weaver (d. 2002) and Elizabeth Inglis, a former British actress (d. in ``GalaxyQuest''; and Matt Damon in ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.'' |
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