Weekend Box Office Preview
July 3, 2002

By VARIETY STAFF

FIVE-DAY CHAMPS
Starting today, "Men in Black II" will seek to outdo previous five-day openers. Will Smith's summer turns "Independence Day" and the first "Men in Black" still rank among the top long-stretch bows.
Pic	5-day take*
The Phantom Menace (1999)	106
Independence Day (1996)	96**
Men in Black (1997)	84**
Jurassic Park 3 (2001)	81
Toy Story 2 (1999)	80
Lord of the Rings (2001)	75
*in millions of $      *includes previews

BOWING
Movie Title	Engagements
Men in Black II (Sony)*	3,557
Like Mike (Fox)*	2,410
The Powerpuff Girls (WB)	2,340
Group (Artistic License) NY	1
Lan Yu (Strand) NY	1
Me Without You (IDP) NY	1
Read My Lips (Magnolia) NY	1

YEAR TO DATE*
(in billions of $)
3.7 '01 (thru July 1)	4.4 +20% '02 (thru June 30)

	1. Men in Black II 2. Mr. Deeds 3. Like Mike 4. Lilo & Stitch 5. Minority Report	These are the top 5 most requested films from activity on Moviefone's Web site and requests from callers. The top five has historically been 80% accurate in predicting the weekend's top five movies at the box office.
Visit Moviefone	View opening films

RELEASE DATES AND CHANGES
As of July 2
Pic	New date	Old date
DREAMWORKS
Old School	1st quarter 2003	September 27
NEW LINE
Knockaround Guys	October 11	October 18
About Schmidt	December 25	November 8
Untitled Vin Diesel	January 10, 2003
How to Deal	February 14, 2003
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	December 17, 2003
PALM PICTURES
Sex and Lucia	July 12
The Last Minute	August 16
UNIVERSAL
The Emperor's Club	September 27
WARNER BROS.
Eight Legged Freaks	July 17	July 19
Welcome to Collinwood	October 4	September 13
White Oleander	October 11	October 4
Red indicates new entry                            All dates 2002 unless noted

Source: ACNielsen EDI FilmSource