Star Films Lose Their Yule Luster

Faced with disappointing box-office results from three major “star” movies, the pressure is on the film industry in the final two weeks of the year. The mission: to produce the kind of box-office sales that will push 1992 into the category labeled “a pretty good year.”

Mediocre box-office results for two movies that opened Friday--”Leap of Faith,” starring Steve Martin and Debra Winger, and “Toys,” starring Robin Williams--plus a similar lack of enthusiasm for Eddie Murphy’s “The Distinguished Gentleman” that opened Dec. 4, have been an unhappy drag on a holiday season that generally has been upbeat for Hollywood.

And a fourth star vehicle that opened Friday, “Forever Young” with matinee idol Mel Gibson, did not produce dazzling numbers.

Leading the box-office totals a second weekend was Columbia Pictures’ release of Castle Rock Entertainment’s “A Few Good Men,” starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. Industry sources estimate that it sold $11 million in tickets for the weekend, roughly a 33% drop from the preceding weekend. In 10 days of release, it has taken in about $32 million.

Walt Disney Pictures’ animated musical “Aladdin” expanded its number of prints playing to 1,500 and pulled in about $7 million for the number two position. A Disney spokeswoman said “Aladdin” is poised to add 500 more screens on Christmas Day to take advantage of the expected surge in ticket sales once Christmas festivities are about over and school vacations are fully under way. The film has taken in $60 million since Nov. 11.

In third place was 20th Century Fox’s comedy “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” adding another $6.7 million to its huge bounty, which now totals about $110 million since opening on Nov. 20.

A box-office data firm, Exhibitor Relations Co., Sunday estimated that when final figures are released today, overall business for the weekend would be about 5% ahead of the same weekend a year ago. That would continue the improved pace of box-office receipts that began in mid-November with the release of Columbia’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and exploded during the long Thanksgiving weekend when grosses were at record levels.

Now as the film industry heads into the year’s final two weeks, industry executives believe there is reason for optimism for a grand finale. The belief is fueled by the upcoming holiday weekends--New Year’s weekend receipts are counted as part of 1992 revenues--school vacations and upcoming new releases. Other positive factors are the continued popularity of “A Few Good Men,” “Home Alone 2,” “Aladdin” and the Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston romantic thriller “The Bodyguard,” which came in fifth for the weekend with an estimated $5.5 million take. The Warner Bros. release, which is bolstered by Houston’s number one hit song “I Will Always Love You,” has thus far collected about $59 million.

Industry analysts say that if business holds up, it will likely push 1992 comfortably ahead of 1991, which was the third best box-office year on record.

But no one’s going too far out on a limb in making year-end predictions. Especially not after the less-than-glowing debuts of the films starring the three comedians--Martin, Williams and Murphy--not to mention the fourth-place opening of “Forever Young,” with an estimated $5.8 million on 1,700 screens. At a more typical time of year, a movie like “Forever Young” might be expected to open in first place.

In the film, Gibson is the romantic hero, playing a role that sharply differs from his cocky L.A. cop persona in the popular “Lethal Weapon” movies.

In “Leap of Faith,” Martin also makes a departure from his comedic roles, playing a revival preacher. It’s a far cry from Martin’s hit comedy last Christmas, “Father of the Bride.” Meanwhile, Williams and Murphy are both in comedic roles that suit their audience’s perceptions. But none of the three movies is drawing the kind of crowds that usually greet the stars’ films:

* Williams’ “Toys” from 20th Century Fox and director Barry Levinson, opened in sixth place and drew $5 million on 1,270 screens.

* Murphy’s “Distinguished Gentleman,” in its third week, came in eighth with about $3.3 million for the weekend and a soft $24 million to date.

* Martin’s “Leap of Faith” in its first weekend, came in ninth, with only about $3.3 million.

Contrast those numbers with, for example, the opening weekend of “Father of the Bride,” which did almost twice the business of “Leap of Faith.”

The industry’s hopes are pinned on several upcoming releases, including the biographical films “Hoffa” starring Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito, and “Chaplin” starring Robert Downey Jr.; “Scent of a Woman” with Al Pacino; the season’s only action-oriented picture, “Trespass”; “Lorenzo’s Oil” with Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon”; and the limited opening of “Used People,” with Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy and Marcello Mastroianni. (The movie opened last Wednesday in two theaters--in Los Angeles and New York--and grossed an estimated $50,000 for the weekend.)

In the more specialized film market are “Indochine” with Catherine Deneuve, “Peter’s Friends” with Kenneth Branagh, director Louis Malle’s “Damage” with Jeremy Irons, and “Tous Les Matins du Monde” with Gerard Depardieu.