Forecast
Uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer mounts an earnest production with Remember the Titans after a summer of sensory assault with Gone in 60 Seconds and Coyote Ugly. His last attempt was the dreadful Dangerous Minds, which was a late summer smash in 1995 opening to $14.9 million and closing with $84.9 million. This time, he enlists his Crimson Tide star Denzel Washington, who's on a minor roll with his last two pictures The Bone Collector and The Hurricane being fair sized hits. Titans is the kind of picture that Washington is known for, though some may be tired of seeing him in yet another message movie.
Opening this picture in the midst of the football season may mute its opening, as many may opt to see the real thing or the close of the Olympics instead. Previous football flicks to open at this time of year include The Program with $6.8 million, Necessary Roughness with $6.5 million and Rudy with $5 million. The genre's never been prone to powerful openings, and its biggest recent hits came at the end of the season. Any Given Sunday and Varsity Blues each had winter openings of $13.6 and $15.2 million respectively.
Though not terribly aggressive, the ad campaign is effective for a picture so blatantly formulaic. The trailer opens with a trademark Washington scene of him, as the coach, playfully chastising one of his smug players. Moments of levity are strewn throughout, funnier than The Replacements, which opened to $11 million seven weeks ago. Potential ticket-buyers are further pumped up with triumphant music and action-packed, glossy shots such as the closing one of Washington and Will Patton lifting up a trophy together. The all-inclusive PG rating and generally positive reviews are pluses as well. Clashing at 1,865 fields, Titans could rush to the top spot with an opening in the low teens.
Fledgling studio Destination Films marches its sixth picture, Beautiful, out to the box office slaughter. After getting whooped by Whipped's paltry $4.2 million gross earlier this month, they now seem to realize their products' limited commercial appeal. Instead of their usual ubiquitous print and ad campaigns, they're opening Beautiful at just 646 theaters, marking their first release not to go wide. The ads stink of desperation. For instance, the best quote they could come up with was from Rosie O'Donnell. They try to hide how unlikable Minnie Driver's character reportedly is, using a number of mushy pop ballads that have been heard ad nauseum. Rather awkwardly, the voiceover of the daughter doesn't match the Pepsi moppet on screen. Last year, another beauty pageant picture Drop Dead Gorgeous, opened to just $4 million from nearly twice as many screens and with broader appeal. Beautiful, of course, is pure chick flick, appealing to the same audience as the similarly reviled Duets from two weeks ago. That one opened to $2 million from 581 venues. With a lower profile and lower star power, Beautiful could have an even uglier opening in the $1 million range.
The Exorcist repossessed a stunning $8.2 million from ticket buyers. Those "Tubular Bells" chimed again at just 664 theaters, for a whopping $12,313 average. Recently, major re-issues have taken steep hits in their second outings, such as the 57% drop of Grease in 1998. However, this weekend, 486 play dates are being added to Exorcist's run for a total of 1,150, significant enough to allow a decent hold or around $7 million.
Almost Famous rocked $6.9 million from 1,193 theaters last weekend, though it's not expanding nearly as well as DreamWorks stablemate American Beauty did last year. It rolls into another 442 venues this weekend for a total of 1,635, and appears like it could come in the same range again.
Needless to say Urban Legends: Final Cut's reign of terror will be short-lived. The $15 million slasher flick opened to a modest $8.5 million last weekend, well behind the first one's $10.5 million in 1998 (or around $12 million in 2000 dollars). It should fall in line with genre and sequel traditions and suffer a precipitous drop to the sub $5 million range.
Over the same frame last year, Double Jeopardy abating by 27% to $17 million, topping the chart for the second weekend in a row en route to a $116.7 million total. Settling for second place, Three Kings pillaged $15.8 million from 2,942 venues, ultimately harvesting $60.7 million in gold bouillon. American Beauty expanded to 706 theaters, enjoying a 38% bump to $8.2 million and third place. Meanwhile, teen flick Drive Me Crazy opened to a sedate $6.8 million from 2,222, stalling at $17.8 million. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland tickled $3.3 million from 1,210 daycare centers, infecting $11.7 million total. Hockey flick Mystery, Alaska checked $3.1 million at 1,673 rinks, slipping at $8.9 million total.
