MOVIES - Feb. 26, 1996
Cracking the U.S. Market: Hong Kong martial arts star Jackie Chan rumbled his way to the top of the box office over the weekend, when his “Rumble in the Bronx” took in an estimated $10 million on 1,736 screens to displace another action flick--John Travolta’s “Broken Arrow,” which fell to second in its third week in release with about $8.3 million on 2,374 screens. “Muppet Treasure Island” came in third with $6.6 million in ticket sales, followed closely behind by Adam Sandler in “Happy Gilmore” with $6.4 million. “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” starring Oscar nominee Richard Dreyfuss, was fifth with $5.3 million. In addition to the Chan film, two other new releases made it into the top 10: “Before and After,” starring Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep, came in seventh with $4.1 million, and “Mary Reilly,” starring Julia Roberts, was eighth with $3 million. But “Unforgettable,” a new release with Ray Liotta and Linda Fiorentino, proved to be anything but, with a disappointing take of $1.4 million for 14th place. However, Sony/Columbia’s new “Bottle Rocket” did good business on only 28 screens nationwide, with a take of $130,000.
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‘Pocahontas’ Sale: Animation stills from the Disney blockbuster movie “Pocahontas” brought in $755,320 at Sotheby’s New York auction house Saturday. A depiction of Pocahontas in a canoe with her raccoon and a bird flying above was the sale’s most expensive item, fetching $20,700 to soar above the pre-sale estimate of $2,500 to $3,000. The event was Sotheby’s seventh auction of animation art--the first featured stills from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 1990. Sotheby’s auction of “Lion King” art a year ago was the most successful animation sale in history, garnering $1.9 million.
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No More Crying for Her: Looks like Madonna just might be able to film her “Evita” scenes from the Buenos Aires balcony where the late Argentine first lady Eva Peron gave her speeches. The pop star, along with director Alan Parker and co-stars Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas, met with Argentine President Carlos Menem for an hour Friday to lobby for permission to film at the historic Government House. Although Menem has been one of Madonna’s most outspoken critics, branding her as “totally unsuitable” for the role, a presidential spokesman said after the meeting that a pledge by the cast not to offend Evita’s memory might change Menem’s mind about granting access to the Government House. Shooting of the film, based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, began this month.
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Getting Into the Biz: A host of film and television stars, including James Woods, Adam Sandler, Courteney Cox, Emilio Estevez, Arsenio Hall, Chris Farley, Dean Cain, David Hasselhoff, Jason Priestly and Janine Turner, will join Mayor Richard Riordan at Eclipse restaurant tonight to kick off the Hollywood Internship Program, a new industry-sponsored initiative aimed at providing paid internships to inner-city youths who want to break into show biz. Administered by the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., the program currently has 100 spots available for 16- to 24-year-olds at major studios, broadcast and cable networks and independent production companies. The first crop of interns starts work this week on production of the movie “Beverly Hills Ninja.”