Summer Scare Tactic Is a Hit

Audiences hungry for summertime fare whetted their appetites last week with the adventure “Entrapment” and got their first real taste over the weekend with “The Mummy.”

Choosing to brave the upcoming “Star Wars” mania by positioning itself in the same slot that proved so successful for “Deep Impact” last year, Universal’s big-ticket action-adventure unraveled a sensational $44.7 million in its first three days, according to estimates--almost $14,000 per screen in 3,210 theaters.

If those prognostications hold up, “The Mummy,” starring Brendan Fraser, will rank eighth among the top 10 all-time opening weekends and in third place for Universal behind the two “Jurassic Park” films. Other records would include the biggest nonsummer debut and the year’s best opener so far.

Studio President Ron Meyer, who has weathered some tough times in the four years since he left CAA to run Universal, was breathing easier after Friday’s opening of “The Mummy.” Based on early tracking, the film was expected to post a debut somewhere in the mid-$20 million range. By Friday morning, says Meyer, “we were thinking over $30 million.” But no one anticipated the breadth of the film’s audience, which Meyer credits to “the concerted efforts of our marketing and distribution team. It’s nice to see it all come together like this,” he says.

Starting with “Patch Adams” (which has grossed about $200 million worldwide) and its 50% participation with Miramax in “Shakespeare in Love” (about $250 million around the world), Universal has been experiencing a reversal of fortune in 1999. Meyer also points to modest successes such as “Life” (which brought in another $3.5 million over the weekend for a monthlong total of more than $51 million) and “October Sky,” but says “The Mummy” is something else again.

“The Mummy’s” box-office longevity depends on how viable an alternative it presents to patrons who can’t get in to see “Star Wars” or want to avoid the crowds in the wake of its expected Brobdingnagian May 19 debut. The strong opening places “The Mummy” in the enviable position of being the No. 2 choice after “Star Wars” opens, says Universal’s studio distribution chief Nikki Rocco. In the meantime, “The Mummy” has another week before the inevitable, and there’s little out there to slow it down. Especially encouraging was the 20% spike from Friday’s $14.6 million debut to Saturday’s $17.6 million, which indicates the movie interests both young and old alike.

“Entrapment,” which unofficially kicked off the season last weekend, held moderately well in the shadow of “The Mummy’s” onslaught. Sean Connery’s sophisticated heist film dropped about 40% to $12.2 million in 2,855 theaters for a 10-day total of $38.4 million.

The only other national break this weekend was “Election,” starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, a bifurcated comedy about teens in high school but executed with a satirical adult edge. After two weeks of good grosses in limited release, “Election” fell uncomfortably between the two demographic camps, scoring a moderate $3.3 million in 827 theaters. “Election” may yet find an audience; unfortunately, it may be on cable and home video. Its total take to date is $3.9 million.

With “The Mummy” and “Entrapment” holding the top two slots, box-office totals for the top 12 films were roughly 12% ahead of last year with about $78.5 million. That’s significant because it is the first measure of 1999 without the burden of “Titanic” comparisons. If the coming weeks break out--and with “Star Wars” that seems likely--1999 may catch up to last year’s record-breaking totals at some point during the summer. Of course, it will help if there are other big movies as well.

The only other significant event of the weekend was “Analyze This,” which became the second 1999 release to cross $100 million, proving to be the exception to the rule: an older-skewing film that brings in young patrons as well. Now in its 10th weekend, “Analyze This” brought in another $1.8 million in 1,995 theaters, indicating the therapy session is not quite over.

Still performing like a winner in third place was “The Matrix.” Undaunted by the new kids on the block, the sci-fi flick dropped only 31% to $6 million in 2,860 theaters as it nears $140 million.

Also holding its own is “Never Been Kissed,” the Drew Barrymore comedy that took in approximately $3 million in its fourth weekend and just topped $40 million. Also hanging on in the top 10 was “10 Things I Hate About You,” with $1.2 million and almost $33 million so far. Rounding out the leaders list were “Cookie’s Fortune” at about $900,000 and approximately $8 million so far, and “Shakespeare in Love” grossing $765,000 for almost $94 million to date.

Among the films in limited release, the Aussie comedy “The Castle” got off to a small start of $28,500 on seven big-city screens. The Quinn family drama “This Is My Father” did slightly better with a $64,637 start on nine screens in New York and Los Angeles.