June 20, 1999 15:04
"Tarzan" swings into No. 1 at movie box offices
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, June 20 (Reuters) - The new animated "Tarzan" film swung
into the No. 1 spot at movie box offices this weekend with $34.1 million in
ticket sales, overtaking "Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me", which fell
to No. 2.
The spy spoof, starring comedian Mike Myers, continued a strong showing,
raking in $31.9 million and boosting its two-week total to $116.7 million,
according to Sunday estimates from box office firm Exhibitor Relations Co.
The opening for "Tarzan", the first animated movie of the classic story about a
lost boy raised in the jungle by a family of apes, marks the second-largest
opening weekend for an animated feature film behind 1994's "The Lion King",
which raked in about $41 million on its first three days in 1994.
The movie studio behind both films, the Walt Disney Co. has been looking for
another animated blockbuster as recent summer animated films like
"Hercules" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame" did not measure up to the
success of "Lion King".
Critics have raved, however, about this modern man of the apes who "surfs"
through treetops on his feet to a catchy score by pop musician Phil Collins.
They like its tale of an introspective young man learning how he fits into
society, and his falling in love with a strong female character, Jane.
The weekend's other new entry, "The General's Daughter", starring John
Travolta, took the third position with a very respectable $22.3 million box office
haul.
The opening for "General's Daughter", a thriller in which the star plays a
military detective who uncovers the secrets behind a brutal rape and murder at
an Army base, is the best showing for a Travolta movie since 1997's
"Face-Off", which took in $23.4 million in its first weekend.
Blockbuster "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" dropped to the
fourth spot with a weekend haul estimated at $17.8 million, boosting its total to
more than $327 million.
Romantic tale "Notting Hill" with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant dropped to fifth
with $7 million, putting its four-week total at $79.9 million.
Rounding out the top 10 movies were thriller "Instinct" in the No. 6 spot with
$3.1 million, followed by two action movies "The Mummy" and "The Matrix"
with $3 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
The ninth position was occupied by suspenseful "Entrapment", which scared
up $1.2 million, and art house hit "Tea with Mussolini" claimed the 10th spot
with $635,000 in ticket sales.
"Austin Powers" was released by New Line Cinema, and "The Matrix" was
released by Warner Bros. Both are units of Time Warner Inc.
"The General's Daughter" was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of
Viacom Inc.
"Phantom Menace" and "Entrapment" were released by 20th Century Fox, a
unit of Fox Entertainment Group .
"Notting Hill" and "The Mummy" were released by Universal Pictures, a unit of
Seagram Co. Ltd .
"Tea with Mussolini" was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
newsalert.com |
