a supernatural thriller starring Kim Basinger, which opened at No. 7 with $9.6 million. Overall ticket sales slid for the third consecutive weekend. Tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. reported the top 12 films grossed $97.7 million, down 17.4 percent from last weekend and down 13.7 percent from the year-ago period, when ``The Sixth Sense'' topped the charts for the second weekend.
After 10 days in release, ``Hollow Man'' has grossed $50.4 million, and should end up grossing between $85 million and $100 million, according to officials at Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp. (6758.T).
``Space Cowboys,'' which Eastwood directed, produced and starred in, has a 10-day haul of $39 million, after opening at No. 3 last weekend. Its distributor, Warner Bros., is also targeting an eventual tally approaching $100 million. WB is a unit of Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N).
``Autumn in New York'' did not screen for critics in advance of its Friday opening, a strategy usually employed when a studio knows it has a clunker on its hands. Gere's character falls in love with a terminally ill woman played by Ryder.
``It gets pretty hokey and that was part of the problem,'' said Larry Gleason, president of worldwide distribution at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM.N), which had paid $14 million for North American distribution rights to ``Autumn.''
Women made up 70 percent of the audience, and 60 percent of viewers were older than 25, according to MGM's exit polling. The film marks the third-best openings for Gere and Ryder, who did not do publicity for the release. Its solid per-theater average of $5,100 was the highest in the top 10.
Gleason predicted the movie could end up with $35 million theatrically, producing a nice profit for the studio even after marketing expenses are included.
``The Replacements'' revolves around washed-up football players, led by the laconic Reeves, who get a second chance at the big time when they are hired as strike-breakers. Gene Hackman plays the coach.
WB distribution president Dan Fellman said the Reeves factor helped the audience skew slightly female, and 60 percent of viewers were aged under 25. Pre-opening buzz was weak, and the film ended up doing a little better than the studio had expected, he added.
``Bless the Child,'' which was eviscerated by critics, also stars Jimmy Smits. A spokeswoman for its distributor, Paramount Pictures, said the studio was ``pretty happy'' with the opening. Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc. (VIA.N).
Studios usually introduce their weaker movies in the late summer, clearing their slates ahead of the fall, when they start rolling out prestige films they hope will be awards contenders.
Next weekend's new releases are set to include director Spike Lee's ``The Original Kings of Comedy,'' a concert film featuring four black stand-up comics; ``The Cell,'' starring Jennifer Lopez; and the Japanese ``Godzilla 2000.''
Elsewhere in the current top 10, Eddie Murphy's ``Nutty Professor II'' has grossed $94.1 million after 17 days. A spokesman for Universal Pictures predicted the comedy would end up with between $125 million and $135 million domestically. Universal is a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd. (VO.TO).
The sixth-ranked ``What Lies Beneath'' passed the $100 million mark on Wednesday, and its weekend score of $9.8 million took the total to $112.1 million. The film was released by privately held DreamWorks SKG, which also reported that its 14th-ranked animated comedy ``Chicken Run'' would reach $100 million on Monday night.
In the limited-release arena, cult director John Waters' independent movie satire ``Cecil B. Demented'' opened with a sturdy $130,000 from nine theaters in six markets, said a spokesman for privately held Artisan Entertainment.
The British dope comedy ``Saving Grace'' grossed $358,000 from 35 screens in 14 markets after expanding to Toronto and Vancouver. Encouraged by the strong response, distributor Fine Line Features will expand the film to 250-300 runs next weekend, instead of the originally planned 100. Fine Line is owned by Time Warner. Reuters
Quirky Wes Anderson unveils Indian adventure at Venice (2007-09-04)Streep Says She's a Fan of Chinese Cinema (2004-06-14)'Autumn in New York" Suprised Box Office (2000-08-14)'Hollow Man' Brings in Bacon at Box Office (2000-08-07)Joan Chen stars behind the scenes (2000-02-05)
