‘Malcolm X’: Excitement Is Building : Movies: Spike Lee’s film opens Wednesday and a lot is riding on how broad its box-office appeal will be.

Whatever fate awaits “Malcolm X” at the box office after Wednesday’s nationwide opening, one thing is certain: The movie already has made an impact.

Nothing less, of course, was expected from a movie directed by the iconoclastic Spike Lee, whose previous groundbreaking efforts have included topical movies involving interracial romance and urban tension.

In recent weeks, exhibitors who will show “Malcolm X” on multiple screens at 1,127 theaters have generally changed their views on the film. They’ve gone from concern about violence that might occur as the film opens to optimism that the biography about the African-American civil rights leader, who was slain nearly 28 years ago, will be received calmly by audiences in the inner cities as well as suburbs.

“I’m excited about showing this film,” said Nelson Bennett, the senior vice president of Inner City Cinemas, which has booked the film at the Baldwin Entertainment Complex on South La Brea Avenue and at the newly reopened Plaza 6 Theatres at the Hawthorne Mall. “We’re getting calls daily from high schools in the area that are interested in getting students together to see the movie.” Bennett, who has seen the film, said there is no reason to believe it would be inflammatory.

As one of the biggest, if not the biggest mainstream Hollywood movie ever to deal with a major African-American figure, there is a lot riding on how broad the film’s box-office appeal is. Bottom-line-minded Hollywood will be watching to see how it fares and many in the industry believe the impact quite possibly could affect future projects by black directors and writers.

“There still is a bit of uncertainty about just how well the movie will do in terms of box-office grosses,” said John Krier, the owner of Exhibitor Relations Co., a firm that tracks box-office data. “The three-hour-plus running time will limit the number of showings each day and that will depress grosses,” he said.

One highly placed marketing executive at another studio cautioned that a problem for the movie would be if it wrongly becomes perceived as a “black film” that might limit the audience to a fraction of the potential wider audience.

The executive also pointed out that, “if by some incredible bad luck there is trouble at the theaters, it might be perceived as one time too many,” citing previous incidents of violence that marred the openings of “Boyz N the Hood” and “New Jack City.” “People might shut down in even attempting to see it.”

But the source credited the film’s distributor, Warner Bros., “for making a very smart industry move to open the film on Wednesday in order to lessen the possibility of guys with bad intentions having the public forum.”

Warner Bros.’ strategy is to premiere the film in every major market in the nation, then open the film in still a “wider” release after a few weeks, according to Barry Reardon, studio distribution president. One determining factor for the number of additional theaters will be how well the film does after its first five days, from Wednesday through Sunday.

In pursuing this pattern, the studio is following virtually the same releasing method it employed last year for the premiere of another politically charged film, “JFK,” from director Oliver Stone and starring Kevin Costner.

Many industry sources believe the movie will pass the test of the first five days because interest in urban areas especially is high. The “Malcolmania”--as it has been dubbed--has been fueled by the studio’s “X” advertising campaign, as well as an energetic personal-appearance schedule by Lee and the film’s star, Denzel Washington. Magazine and newspaper interviews with Lee and Washington have been popping for more than a month. Lee was a guest on Friday’s “Larry King Live” call-in talk show and Washington appeared on Arsenio Hall’s late-night program.

Lee’s own 40 Acres and a Mule company has been selling baseball caps and T-shirts with the “X” logo for more than a year.

“The interest in the movie is very positive,” said William Upton, the director of public relations for the Los Angeles-based Mothers Against Gangs in Communities. “You see the hats and shirts everywhere, and it’s been going on like this for a year and a half.”

But Upton emphasized that “Malcolm X” has “nothing to do with gangs. It’s a story about an American. Period. And I think it will give African-American youths a sense of heroism.”

At Los Angeles’ Watts-Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club, the excitement about the movie was turned up higher after Washington made a surprise visit last week. The club will benefit from a preview showing of the movie Tuesday at the Baldwin.

“Denzel Washington spent two hours with the kids here,” said Roy Roberts, the club’s executive director. “You could say there’s a little mania in the community. People are talking about the movie, more than they ever talked about the Malcolm X biography. But then, this is a visual society. The movie is going to bring it home.”