Leapin' lizards launch at $38M

Disney's 'Dinosaur' debut is year's biggest

By DADE HAYES

It took a decade of development and plenty of coin, but Disney finally hatched its boffo-saurus. “Dinosaur,” the Mouse House’s mid-year tentpole, piled up a studio-estimated $38.6 million in its debut weekend.

That’s the biggest bow of the year so far, third-highest of any animated pic and No. 20 on the all-time list.

Toon’s take more than doubled the weekend estimate for “Gladiator,” DreamWorks’ reigning B.O. emperor.

But despite a studio-record 3,257 playdates, it undershot launches of “Toy Story 2” and “The Lion King.”

With “Mission: Impossible 2” due Wednesday and five other animated pics coming in the next two months, “Dinosaur” faces a bit of an uphill climb to earn a place in the gem-studded Disney pantheon. But execs like their chances.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” said Mouse House distrib chief Chuck Viane. “Getting it open was Phase One. Phase two is next weekend, when we should come very close over four days to what we did this weekend.”

Phased out was Warner Bros.’ “Battlefield Earth,” which mustered only $3.8 million. John Travolta starrer based on a novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard reeled 67%, a steep sophomore dive. With a slim cume of $18.2 million, sci-fier will enter summer as a May footnote.

Tying for sixth with “Battlefield” was Woody Allen’s caper comedy “Small Time Crooks,” one of three potent DreamWorks titles in the top 10. “Crooks” pilfered an estimated $3.8 million from just 865 engagements for a nimble average of $4,393.

DreamWorks distrib prexy Jim Tharp called it the biggest Allen opening in at least 20 years, though its fairly wide release makes it a tough comparison with the director’s usual arthouse fare.

“Road Trip,” which DreamWorks aimed at a decidedly younger audience, opened with an even $15 million.

Gross-out comedy with “Animal House” pedigree and estimated $15 million negative cost has been positioned as 2000’s “American Pie.”

Only major star of collegiate opus is small screen’s Tom Green, but stellar research has given studio high hopes for long legs. Another off-color sleeper hit, “There’s Something About Mary,” bowed with $13.7 million in 1998, Tharp noted.

“Gladiator” fell a scant 23%, punching up $19.1 million in its third frame to reach $102.5 million.

D’works milestone

Roman epic cleared $100 million in 17 days — faster than any other pic in studio history — equaling the performance of Universal’s early-May 1999 hit “The Mummy,” whose final cume was $155 million.

In becoming DreamWorks’ fourth member of the century club, Russell Crowe actioner looks poised for a domestic cume of at least $175 million, Tharp predicted. Co-finance partner Universal launched “Gladiator” in several key foreign territories over the weekend, including the U.K.

Fueled by the chart’s top three releases, overall weekend receipts reached $116 million, ACNielsen EDI estimated. That’s 5% ahead of last year’s $110.8 million, 58% of which belonged to “Star Wars, Episode I —The Phantom Menace.”

With a pioneering visual style and a production cost north of $150 million, “Dinosaur” made headlines long before its bow. Now that it has reached theaters, many of its unique traits are just now coming to light. Among them:

It’s the first high-profile Disney toon to bow before the traditional Memorial Day start of summer.
June has almost always been the Mouse House month of choice. But the studio months ago chose May 19. “As we go on, more and more kids will be out of school for summer vacation and that will widen the pool of available audience members,” reasoned Viane. “When we first saw the movie, we knew what we had. We just had to have the guts to stick with the game plan.”
It’s just the second PG-rated animated release from the studio and its first since “The Black Cauldron” in 1985. Many critics noted possible ill effects of mild gore on young auds, but exit polling showed pic cut a wide family swath.
In much of the marketing and merchandising, specific characters take a back seat to the pic’s groundbreaking, digitally designed look. Execs insisted live action backdrops shot in worldwide locales separate “Dinosaur” from the animated pack.
Viane believes the dino-vations will help spur repeat business — and with a film running 75 minutes minus credits, megaplexes will offer no shortage of showtimes.
It kicks off a Disney spree of four wide releases in five weeks, including the 35mm launch of “Fantasia/2000,” which wrapped a four-month Imax run in April.

Due Friday is “Shanghai Noon,” a Spyglass co-production starring Jackie Chan. Weekend sneaks of the comic actioner were 76% full, with 91% of auds rating the film “very good” or “excellent.”

Beyond the dino stomping grounds, other pic paydays were far more modest, but some merit special mention.

‘Frequency’ tunes up

New Line’s “Frequency” boasted a remarkable 13% dip and actually moved up a notch to No. 5. Highly respectable cume after four weeks is $30.3 million.

“U-571” enjoyed a fifth weekend in the top five, declining a mere 20% to gross $4.6 million. Cume of U’s submarine actioner is $64.4 million.

In dropping just 28%, Sony’s “Center Stage” and Fox’s “Where the Heart Is” beat most expectations. Sony’s Screen Gems banner is also nurturing “Timecode,” which slipped 37% to collect $80,000 from 42 sites.

Nothing’s rotten with Miramax’s “Hamlet,” which added seven markets for a total of nine. Shakespic fenced $99,200 from 13 castles for an average of $7,600. Generally favorable reviews should support further expansion.

Large-format docu “Michael Jordan to the Max” from Giant Screen Sports reaped $467,543 from 45 runs, boosting its total take to $2.1 million.

Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117781952.html

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