2001: Nippy News Release Articles

'Princess Diaries' Crosses $100M Milestone
submitted by: Lisa D.
source: Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter
Date: September 16, 2001

Keanu Reeves Baseball Film Leads Box Office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Hardball," a new baseball melodrama starring Keanu Reeves, led the North American box office at the weekend, when overall ticket sales were surprisingly strong given the distraction of last Tuesday's terror attacks in New York and Washington.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, the top 12 films tallied $54 million for the three days beginning Friday, up 43 percent from the year-ago period, when "The Watcher" -- a thriller also starring Reeves -- was tops amid competition from the summer Olympic Games.

"It's obvious that some people are a little stir crazy and need to get out of the house," said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures.

"Hardball" grossed an estimated $10.1 million in its first three days of release, according to Paramount Pictures, which distributed the film in North America. A spokeswoman estimated the film could have made between $12 million and $15 million if it had not been for the attacks.

The box office is traditionally weak at this time of the year, when studios burn off modest releases before rolling out their big fall projects. Indeed this weekend's tally was the lowest of the year for the second consecutive weekend, off 12 percent from Sept. 7-9.

Overall business on Friday was weak because of memorial services and candlelight vigils, but it bounced back Saturday and was expected to be similarly strong Sunday, said Wayne Lewellen, Paramount's president of distribution. Final data for the three-day period will be released on Monday.

In "Hardball," Reeves plays a baseball coach in inner-city Chicago. Paramount's publicity efforts were hampered by the television networks' commercial-free coverage of the attacks. Reeves had promoted "Hardball" at a press junket last weekend, but none of those stories have run yet, the Paramount spokeswoman said. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc.

"GLASS HOUSE" NOT A SMASH

Another new release, "The Glass House," grabbed the No. 2 spot with a weak $6.1 million. The thriller, starring Leelee Sobieski, cost about $22 million to make and should be profitable, said a Columbia Pictures spokesman. The Sony Corp.-owned studio adopted what he called "a very focused campaign" on younger females aged 13 and above. Sobieski plays a newly orphaned teen taken in by evil guardians.

Last weekend's champion, "The Musketeer," slipped to No. 3 with $5.3 million in its second round, taking its 10-day total to $17.6 million. The film, a swashbuckling take on Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers," was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal.

The sole wide new release next weekend is "Glitter," the feature headlining debut of pop singer Mariah Carey. Two other films scheduled for that date have been delayed because of the attacks. "Training Day," starring Denzel Washington as a corrupt L.A. cop, will now open on Oct. 5. "Big Trouble," an ensemble comedy starring Tim Allen, is still awaiting a new date.

While Americans have shown that they are prepared to take in new movies, some studio executives said promotional efforts would continue to be affected since actors and directors might feel uncomfortable resuming the usual publicity grind.

"I think it's pretty difficult for a major movie star to sit on a couch and talk about a new film," said Warner Bros.' Fellman.

At least in the case of Twentieth Century Fox's "Glitter," Carey has been out of the public eye for several weeks dealing with a mental breakdown.

Rounding out the top five films were the Nicole Kidman thriller "The Others" (Dimension) up one place to No. 4 with $4.8 million in its sixth weekend; and the urban romantic comedy "Two Can Play That Game" (Screen Gems) down three places to No. 5 with $4.7 million in its second weekend. Their respective totals are $73.6 million and $13.9 million.

Elsewhere, Julie Andrews' "The Princess Diaries" added $2.6 million to pass the century mark in its seventh weekend. The Walt Disney Pictures comedy, which slipped two places to No. 11, has pulled in $100.1 million to date.

Dimension Films and Walt Disney Pictures are units of Walt Disney Co. and Screen Gems is a unit of Sony Corp. Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc . Warner Bros. is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.

Americans play 'Hardball' in wake of tragic week

By Brian Fuson and Josh Spector

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- On the first weekend following Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, moviegoers turned out in relatively normal numbers, given that mid-September often marks a lull at the boxoffice.

Paramount's "Hardball," a PG-13 rated family film about an inner-city Little League team, directed by Brian Robbins and starring Keanu Reeves, took the top spot with an estimated $10.1 million. Sony's "The Glass House," a thriller starring Leelee Sobieski that opened in 546 fewer theaters than "Hardball," debuted in second place with an estimated $6.1 million.

Overall business was down Friday, probably because of observance of the national day of prayer and remembrance called for by President Bush, but rebounded Saturday -- with Sunday expected to follow suit.

Whether moviegoers were seeking to return to normalcy or just trying to escape the horrifying images permeating television, the estimate for the top 12 movies jumped nearly 43% from the comparable frame a year ago -- which was the lowest-grossing weekend of 2000. This weekend's top 12 took in an estimated $54.1 million, down 12% from the $61.5 million earned by the previous weekend's top 12.

In Los Angeles, the few moviegoers who made the trek to the multiplex echoed the same motivation: They were seeking a break from an emotionally draining week.

"I just felt like I needed to relax and get out of the house for a little while," said Peter Parungao, a Santa Monica College student who went to the Beverly Center on Saturday afternoon to see "Hardball." "They are just repeating the same news on TV."

Janel Rea, a Los Angeles resident who also went to see "Hardball" on Saturday afternoon, said she was not there simply to escape her TV set. "Ever since I saw the commercials for 'Hardball,' I wanted to come see it, so here I am," she said.

While such moviegoers might have prevented a dramatic decline at the boxoffice, exhibitors remain unsure of how the crisis will affect the industry.

"It hasn't been that drastic yet, but there has definitely been an impact," Cinemark USA vp marketing Terrell Falk said. "It remains to be seen how it will all play out -- will people get interested in movies again as things go back to normal?"

The short-term effect on the boxoffice does not seem to have exhibitors overly concerned -- this is traditionally a slow time of year for the business -- but Falk wondered if there could be long-term effects. "You have a lot of trailers for the big holiday movies which audiences would normally start to see around this time of year, and if they're not seeing them, that could have an impact down the road," he said.

Heartened by the opening of "Hardball," Paramount Motion Picture Group vice chairman Rob Friedman said: "It's a good family film -- very inspirational and emotional. It's a very appropriate movie right now." Friedman noted that the film's weekend gross was off slightly from the projected $13 million-$15 million that "Hardball" was tracking before Tuesday's attacks.

But Friedman was optimistic about the film's prospects. "Based on the superb exits and in light of the very limited competitive environment, I think we will have a great weekend next weekend," he said. Of the coming weekend's scheduled three wide releases, two -- Buena Vista's "Big Trouble" and Warner Bros.' "Training Day" -- have been postponed. Only Fox's "Glitter" remains on the schedule.

"Hardball" played 55%-58% female, and 55% of the audience was over the age of 25. It was a big draw Saturday for families, who comprised 50% of the matinee audience.

"Glass," which carried an estimated cost of $22 million, performed at the level Sony anticipated. "It's not an expensive picture," Columbia Pictures president of worldwide marketing and distribution Jeff Blake said. "It was targeted primarily at young females, with a moderate amount of prints and advertising, so we should come out fine."

The previous weekend's boxoffice champ, Universal's "The Musketeer," moved into the third spot with an estimated $5.3 million, down a harsh 49% from its debut. The action-adventure film has collected an estimated $17.6 million after 10 days.

Dimension's "The Others" moved up a notch to the fourth spot with an estimated $4.8 million, followed by Screen Gems' "Two Can Play That Game" with an estimated $4.7 million, down 39% from its debut.

The films that did best during the weekend were primarily comedies.

New Line's "Rush Hour 2," which declined by a relatively modest 24% despite losing 280 venues, captured the sixth slot with an estimated $4.35 million, moving its total to about $211.4 million. Paramount's "Rat Race" was off a scant 19% as its theater count dropped by 56. The comedy placed eighth with an estimated $3.63 million, moving its cume to about $47.8 million.

Universal's "American Pie 2" took the biggest slice in theater counts among the top comedies with 438 fewer locations but preserved a more-than-respectable 24% drop from the previous weekend. "Pie 2" grossed an estimated $3.6 million to take the ninth slot, raising its total to about $135.9 million. Buena Vista's "The Princess Diaries" earned an estimated $2.6 million, down a mild 23% with 255 fewer sites. The Garry Marshall-helmed comedy crossed the $100 million mark Sunday, becoming the 13th release this year to do so.

The lone exception to the comedy rule was "Others." The horror film starring Nicole Kidman dropped a modest 20% from the previous weekend, but unlike the top comedies, which all lost theaters, "Others" added 108 venues. Its cume stands at about $73.6 million.

Among debuts in the limited-release arena, Sony Pictures Classics' "Haiku Tunnel" opened in seven locations and grossed an estimated $39,341. The comedy averaged a solid $5,620 per theater and has taken in about $40,766 since its release in one theater in San Francisco on Thursday.

The sophomore frame of Paramount Classics' "Our Lady of the Assassins" added eight locations, bringing its count to 12, and tallied an estimated $54,000. The Barbet Schroeder-directed feature averaged $4,500 per theater and has collected about $126,000 to date.

The second weekend of "Soul Survivors" was similar to the first, grossing an estimated $550,000 from 604 theaters for a dismal per-theater average of $910. The cume stands at about $2 million.

National boxoffice during the week ending Sept. 13 rose 18% from last year's comparable seven-day period ($95 million vs. $80.4 million). The year-to-date total is holding steady with a 10% advantage on the comparable 2000 figure ($5.86 billion vs. $5.32 billion), while admissions are keeping pace with a 5% gain on last year's figure.