Hard to Figure

When Steven Seagal and “Hard to Kill” opened to a startling $9 million-plus gross two weeks ago, it had marketing executives all over Hollywood scratching their heads. Last week, the Warner Bros. action picture took in an equally startling $8.5 million. Hardly a household name, Seagal managed only $18 million total with his first feature, “Above the Law.”

So what gives?

Give the star some credit, says Cinemascore prez Ed Mintz, whose firm conducts polls on opening nights. Their findings: Seagal’s fans are largely males 25 or older, who rated the action picture a strong A-. Explains Mintz: “People who like this type of picture really liked this picture.”

Phil Garfinkle, senior veep of Entertainment Data, Inc., also credits the video and cable afterlife of “Above the Law” for helping make Seagal “a known quantity” with “somewhat of a following.”

Garfinkle figures that Seagal’s martial arts skills, size and presence are also big factors: “He’s big--about 6-4, I think--and fairly masculine-looking, in a day when a lot of male heroes aren’t.”

(A Warners marketing exec claims that Seagal also attracts a female following, though he couldn’t provide hard figures.)

Seagal’s now at Fox making the tentatively titled “Screwface,” playing a DEA agent up against various villains, including voodoo-ish Jamaicans. Then it’s back to Warners, where he has a deal for more projects.