Will ‘Terminator’ Still Kick Butt at Theaters?

He’s back, he’s bad . . . but is he still a box office champ? It has been two years since the world last saw Arnold Schwarzenegger in a movie (as arch-villain Mr. Freeze in the numbing “Batman & Robin”). Then in April, 1997, Schwarzenegger underwent two life-threatening open-heart operations to fix a congenitally defective heart valve. Although “Batman & Robin” went on to earn $107.3 million in domestic box office, a nervous Warner Bros. later pulled the plug on Ah-nold’s proposed 1998 project, “I Am Legend,” saying it was too expensive. On Wednesday, the 52-year-old, onetime Mr. Universe stages a splashy comeback when Universal Pictures releases “End of Days,” a supernatural action thriller about a former New York City cop battling Satan at the turn of the millennium. Intense, gory and filled with gratuitous violence, the film will test whether the aging action star has lost any of the drawing power that he enjoyed in films like “The Terminator” and “True Lies.” Unlike “Batman & Robin,” which was a familiar franchise to most moviegoers, the success of “End of Days” hinges on Schwarzenegger and opens during a key time frame for Hollywood--the long Thanksgiving holiday. Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., said that with Schwarzenegger back in a tank top, showing off bulging biceps, Universal has a real shot at a hit. “Arnold is one of those guys who is ageless,” he said. “He still looks like he can kick butt, even for a guy over 50.” The conventional action genre is going through hard times at present, as the screen superheroes grow older and try to branch out into other genres. Bruce Willis, the star of “Die Hard” movies, had great success this year when he starred in the supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense.” Harrison Ford, meanwhile, has tried to expand his acting repertoire in films like “Six Days, Seven Nights” and “Random Hearts,” although neither really lit up the box office. As for veteran action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, they appear to have lost their box office magic--at least for the time being.

NBC Lineup to Round Out Holiday, Sweeps

The November sweeps usually end right before Thanksgiving, but this year--thanks to vagaries of the calendar--the ratings survey extends into next week. As a result, NBC will present a rare all-new lineup on Thanksgiving night, including original episodes of its Tuesday shows “Just Shoot Me” and “Will & Grace” as garnishes to “Friends,” “Frasier” and “ER,” which will feature Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) giving birth. It’s the first time NBC has played series on Thanksgiving since 1992, having enjoyed past success running movies such as “Home Alone” and “Jurassic Park.” The maneuver is not without some risks since viewing levels tend to be lower on the holiday, yielding diminishing ratings returns--one reason ABC and Fox have chosen to repeat the films “Forrest Gump” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” respectively. CBS is also benching its series, going for a country flavor by serving up a Shania Twain music special and a Reba McEntire movie, “Secret of Giving.” Even if people stagger directly from the dinner table to the tube, it may be too little, too late for NBC, with ABC expected to sew up its first sweeps win in five years--thanks to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

It’s Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

If you hear a chiming sound this week it’s not Christmas bells ringing early, it’s all those cash registers heating up at the nation’s record stores. A bevy of high-profile new works have just arrived, so the album charts to be released Wednesday will be an early indicator of how the season will shape up. New studio albums from Korn, Dr. Dre, Kurupt and Will Smith will debut on the charts this week, along with a greatest-hits package from Celine Dion and a live album from Marilyn Manson. It’s a sure bet that one of those will debut at No. 1, but which one? It looks like a race between albums from two West Coast acts: Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic 2001” and Korn’s “Issues,” both of which could exceed 500,000 copies sold. “Those two were huge for us,” said Bob Bell, a music buyer for the Wherehouse chain, which is primarily on the West Coast. “Dre was the bigger of the two for us, though, definitely.” That was not the case, however, with chains with a stronger presence back east. “Korn will absolutely beat Dr. Dre,” said Scott Levin, an executive at Musicland. “There’s a huge street buzz on that album, and there is a huge concentration of stores on the East Coast where Dre will not sell as well and people are going bananas for Korn.” Indeed, some retailers projected the Korn album could top 700,000 copies sold, making it the second biggest debut of the year (the Backstreet Boys sold a record 1.13 million copies in one week in May). And the hit-maker parade continues this Tuesday with a new album from Beck, live albums from Metallica and the Dave Matthews Band, a holiday song collection from Garth Brooks and a greatest hits anthology from the Beastie Boys. Those add up to an eclectic, rosy retail picture, Bell said. “All of those artists have strong fan bases,” he said, “and that’s what it’s all about.”

--Compiled by Times Staff Writers