HORROR FLICKS HAVE OTHER FILMS RUNNING SCARED.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Horror films proved potent at the nation's multiplexes as ``The Sixth Sense'' edged ``The Blair Witch Project'' with an impressive $25.8 million at 2,161 theaters to lead the second-highest weekend overall at the nation's box office, studio sources said Sunday. Disney's ``Sense,'' with Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. as a psychologist helping an 8-year-old boy beset by unseen demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. , beat forecasts with the biggest August opening in history as it eclipsed by $2 million the record set in 1993 by ``The Fugitive.'' ``We had a huge mountain to climb with `Blair Witch' and the rest of the marketplace being so competitive,'' said Disney distribution chief Chuck Viane. ``Blair Witch,'' made for a miniscule min·is·cule adj. Variant of minuscule. Adj. 1. miniscule - very small; "a minuscule kitchen"; "a minuscule amount of rain fell" minuscule $60,000, continued to scare up to find by search, as if by beating for game. See also: Scare remarkable business with $23.5 million at 2,142 theaters as Artisan added 1,041 sites for the mock-documentary. Despite losing 19 percent from last weekend's total, the expansion of ``Blair'' from the art-house circuit to mainstream locales has been an unqualified success with total gross at $79 million. With ``Deep Blue Sea'' in fifth and ``The Haunting'' in eighth, horror films combined for 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, $67 million as the genre helped keep moviegoing at a sizzling siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. pace. Overall ticket sales hit $151 million, falling $5.4 million short of last weekend's all-time three-day record. Six films topped $10 million; the summer's cumulative total has nearly matched last summer's $2.58 billion with four weekends left. ``The overall business is just phenomenal,'' said Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source forecasting service. He noted ``Sixth Sense'' and ``Blair Witch'' had grossed nearly $50 million combined despite appealing to essentially the same customer, with ``Sixth Sense'' getting the edge due to strong performance in Middle American markets. Bucksbaum predicted ``Sixth Sense'' will take in $88 million overall while ``Blair'' could hit almost $120 million. Both have received strong critical support. Finishing a close third was Paramount's second weekend of ``Runaway Bride'' with $21 million at 3,161 as the romantic comedy fell 40 percent from its winning perch last weekend. ``Bride'' has taken in $74 million in 10 days and should easily match the $112 million gross for Julia Roberts' other summer movie, ``Notting Hill.'' MGM's opening of its updated version of ``The Thomas Crown Affair'' performed in line with expectations in fourth with $14 million at 2,427 theaters as the Pierce Brosnan-Rene Russo teaming took advantage of a lack of other adult-oriented fare other than ``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. .'' ``It's a fair opening for a major star vehicle,'' said industry tracker Arthur Rockwell, a former MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. executive. ``The studio was probably hoping for more but that's tough to do with all the competition.'' Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .' second weekend of ``Deep Blue Sea'' followed in fifth with $11 million at 2,901 sites as the shark-fest lost 42 percent from its previous weekend and pulled its 12-day take past $45 million. Universal's opening of ``Mystery Men'' came in sixth with a respectable $10 million at 2,136 theaters after the studio switched its opening date several times in hopes the quirky comedy would materialize as a sleeper hit This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since October 2007. . Disney's third weekend of ``Inspector Gadget'' finished seventh with a still-solid $8.4 million at 2,864 locations, topping DreamWorks' third weekend of ``The Haunting'' with $6.3 million at 2,881 screens as the latter plunged 58 percent from last weekend and went past $77 million overall. The weekend's major disappointment came from Warner's opening of ``The Iron Giant'' in ninth with $5.7 million at 2,179 theaters, as the animated project failed to generate much box office excitement despite strong reviews. ``Anyone who's seen this movie loves it, but it was hard to market because kids feel that it's just for kids and that's not what a lot of them want to see,'' Bucksbaum said. ``The Iron Giant'' results underscore the difficulty Warner has faced in trying to crack the animated market and represent its third such underperformer following ``Quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the Camelot'' and ``The King and I.'' ``Warner has had a very cold hand at doing feature animation,'' Rockwell said, noting that DreamWorks and Paramount have posted far more success at challenging Disney's kingpin status. Universal's fifth weekend of ``American Pie'' took the 10th spot with $4 million at 1,795 theaters to push its 31-day total past $85 million. The studio has high hopes for another comedy hit next weekend with ``Bowfinger,'' starring Steve Martin Noun 1. Steve Martin - United States actor and comedian (born in 1945) Martin and Eddie Murphy Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and comedian. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. . Sony's opening of Watergate comedy ``Dick'' was almost dead on arrival, in 11th with $2.2 million at 1,522 theaters, as customers ignored positive reviews. ``Dick'' faced the obstacle of being a political film - probably Hollywood's worst-performing genre in recent years - and appealing to a target audience of adults with teen-age stars Michelle Williams Michelle Williams may refer to an actress or a singer born in 1980:
The weekend also saw the first disappearance of ``Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace'' from the top 10, as the prequel pre·quel n. A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a preexisting work or a sequel. [pre- + (se)quel.] finished 12th with $2.1 million at 1,188 theaters to pull its 82-day total to $412.7 million, or $48 million short of ``Star Wars.'' Although ``Phantom Menace'' jump-started the summer box office, it has not led since its third weekend. ``Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged shag 1 n. 1. A tangle or mass, especially of rough matted hair. 2. a. A coarse long nap, as on a woolen cloth. b. Cloth having such a nap. 3. A rug with a thick rough pile. Me'' beat it the following weekend and, in a reflection of the diversity of the most popular movies, a different film has led every weekend since - ``Tarzan,'' ``Big Daddy,'' ``Wild Wild West,'' ``American Pie,'' ``Eyes Wide Shut,'' ``The Haunting,'' ``Runaway Bride'' and ``The Sixth Sense.'' Bucksbaum said that trend will likely continue next weekend with ``Bowfinger,'' forecast to top $20 million. Also opening will be Fox's prison drama ``Brokedown Palace'' and New Line's teen comedy ``Detroit Rock City.'' 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, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. 1. ``The Sixth Sense,'' $25.8 million. 2. ``The Blair Witch Project,'' $23.5 million. 3. ``Runaway Bride,'' $21 million. 4. ``The Thomas Crown Affair,'' $14 million. 5. ``Deep Blue Sea,'' $11 million. 6. ``Mystery Men,'' $10 million. 7. ``Inspector Gadget,'' $8.4 million. 8. ``The Haunting,'' $6.3 million. 9. ``Iron Giant,'' $5.7 million. 10. ``American Pie,'' $4 million. CAPTION(S): box Box: Top movies (see text) |
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