Is ‘Hook’ Up to Its Hype? : Movies: With ticket sales of $17.7 million in its first five days, the film opens respectably but isn’t a blockbuster.

Could any movie ever live up to the expectations placed on “Hook,” the new Peter Pan fable from Steven “E.T.” Spielberg that stars three of Hollywood’s biggest names and features a production scale that accounts for one of the bigger budgets in movie history?

That was the question all over Hollywood during the weekend as the mammoth, $60-million-plus movie opened to respectable box-office business on Wednesday and then proceeded to top all other films its first weekend.

The results after the first five days? An estimated $17.7 million, according to distributor TriStar Pictures. No one is using phrases like “blockbuster” to describe the opening, but TriStar Chairman Mike Medavoy said the movie is “right on target” as far as he is concerned.

For the Friday, Saturday and Sunday period, “Hook” sold an estimated $14.2 million worth of tickets. That put it in a solid first-place position, well ahead of the No. 2 “The Last Boy Scout,” an action film from Warner Bros. starring Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans, which took in an estimated $8 million.

Paramount Pictures’ No. 3-ranked “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” was close behind with an estimated $7.7 million take in its second weekend, after having been in first place a week ago.

For the inevitable comparison purposes, Hollywood box-office gazers on Sunday were looking at the opening weekend figures for both “Hook” and “Star Trek VI.” On that score, “Hook,” with its $14.2 million, was clearly outpaced by “Star Trek VI,” which did a much stronger $18.2 million in its first weekend.

On one hand, the thinking goes, “Star Trek” has its built-in audience of loyal Trekkers, who flock to theaters in droves every time a sequel arrives. That accounts for its strong first-weekend numbers. On the other hand, “Hook” had the appeal of Spielberg, who is responsible for such blockbusters as “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Back to the Future,” plus such stars as Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams and Julia Roberts.

“There was one, huge expectancy for ‘Hook,’ a burden that I don’t think any picture should carry,” said Medavoy on Sunday. “Part of it is Spielberg’s reputation. He’s following his own act and it’s a tough one to follow.”

Following “Hook’s” Wednesday opening, which was unusual in that it was midweek and fell in a non-holiday period, the film industry trade newspapers called first-day business, “sturdy, if unremarkable” and said “the jury’s out on whether ‘Hook’ will fly.” Reviews in the nation’s press ran the gamut from positive to negative.

Asked about the early press reaction, Medavoy said, “I suppose it’s a disappointing opening if your expectations are unrealistic. ‘Hook’ is the No. 1 picture in the marketplace now. What else do you want it to do? How disappointing is that?”

All in all, he called it “a nice TriStar weekend,” taking note that the company’s “Bugsy,” premiered in four theaters to a strong $135,000 in ticket sales, as well as won best picture honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

Medavoy predicted that with the market expanding as the Christmas vacation period nears, business for “Hook” will also expand.

“In the final analysis, the audience is positive on this,” Medavoy said. “My take is that there is something very unique about this movie. Only Americans know how to make this kind of big movie with the big special effects. . . . The makers started off wanting to do a film for and about families, and I think they accomplished their goal.’ ”

“Hook’s” business accounted for nearly about 30% of the estimated weekend box-office, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., a company that tracks box-office data. Owner John Krier estimated that the weekend’s total gross will be about the same as last year for the same weekend.

Boosted by such hits as “The Addams Family,” “Star Trek VI,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “My Girl,” business has picked up in the weeks since Thanksgiving. Just prior to that, the nation’s box offices had experienced a sagging period.

For the weekend just ended, “The Addams Family” dropped to fourth place, taking in an estimated $4.6 million. It has accumulated about $73 million since opening Nov. 22.

In fifth place was “Beauty and the Beast” with about $5 million in weekend sales, followed in sixth place by “My Girl” with an estimated $4 million.