Woody and Buzz Set a Fall Record

A presidential ticket of Woody and Buzz Lightyear? Based on the astronomical estimate of $80.75 million collected by “Toy Story 2” over the record five-day Thanksgiving period, they’d win in a walk.

The Disney/Pixar animated sequel lifted the normally busy holiday weekend to new heights with the top 12 movies grossing an estimated $209.9 million for the five-day period, according to Exhibitor Relations, almost 28% ahead of the $164.3-million record set in 1998. The three-day weekend total of $147.3 million was light years ahead of the $118.7 million set last year when Disney/Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life” led the pack.

Over the weekend, “Toy Story 2” collected $57.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing November film ever and the third-highest-grossing weekend in movie history, behind “The Lost World” ($72.1 million) and “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” ($64.8 million), according to the studio’s distribution executive, Chuck Viane.

The sequel also became the studio’s new king of the jungle, easily eclipsing the three-day record of $40.9 million taken in by “The Lion King.” Even with the usual pre-Christmas attendance drop-off on the horizon, “Toy Story 2,” on 3,236 screens, should cross $100 million by the coming weekend. After the short lull, it should kick back into high gear and join “The Sixth Sense” ($272.4 million to date) as Disney’s second $200-million-plus-grossing film of 1999.

Disney crossed the $1-billion gross mark over the weekend, the fourth time in five years the studio has reached that plateau. By the time it’s through, “Toy Story 2” should end up somewhere between “The Lion King” ($313 million) and “Aladdin” ($217 million) among Disney’s most successful films of all time. The first “Toy Story,” originally planned as a direct-to-video release, ended up with a theatrical gross of $191 million.

There were other stars in the marketplace as well. Bond beat out Arnold in the action arena as the second weekend of “The World Is Not Enough” raced to an estimated $24.3 million over the weekend ($35 million for the five days) in 3,163 theaters, bringing its 10-day total to $76.3 million. “World” is on track to become the biggest Bond ever, surpassing “Tomorrow Never Dies,” which grossed about $125 million in 1997.

But Arnold Schwarzenegger is definitely still a contender. His apocalyptic thriller “End of Days” had a devil-may-care five-day estimated debut of $31 million in 2,592 theaters, $19.8 million of that over the weekend. With little action-themed competition for the rest of the year, Bond and Arnold will have that audience to themselves.

Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow” also came close to its opening weekend over the past five days, grossing an estimated $27.3 million in 3,067 theaters (about $18.8 million in three days) and a heady $62 million in its first 10 days.

The top four films will keep theaters alive until at least Dec. 10 as Christmas shopping and other yuletide preoccupations take hold. The Thanksgiving holiday provided quite a cushion, however, as the motion picture industry sails to a century-ending projected total of $7.4 billion for the year.

The one dull spot in all this activity was “Flawless,” starring Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Audiences and critics saw the pairing as unlikely and left this one hanging out to dry with a mere $2 million in 478 theaters over the five days ($1.6 million over the weekend).

“Pokemon” should have the distinction of grossing more than half its total in its first five days of release. “Toy Story 2” knocked it for another loop over the holiday. On 3,043 screens, the low-budget Japanese animated feature dropped to $9.1 million ($7.1 million over the three days). But with almost $78 million already pocketed, there are no complaints from the makers of this monster hit.

Despite the stiff competition, “The Bone Collector” grabbed a piece of the action in its fourth weekend with $5.2 million over the three-day period on 2,505 screens ($7.3 million in five days) for a monthlong total of close to $54 million.

Audiences also caught up with “Dogma” over the weekend, bringing the religious comedy another $4.9 million in five days at 1,292 theaters ($3.5 million in three days) and a great three-week total of $21.5 million.

“Anywhere But Here” also got a boost from the holidays, taking in $4 million for the five days on 1,666 theaters and an estimated $2.9 million over the weekend. Its total to date is just under $15 million.

“The Insider” is still hanging on, with $2.5 million over the weekend in 1,672 theaters ($3.3 million in five days) for a disappointing monthlong tally of about $22 million.

In 10th place, the oddball “Being John Malkovich” is developing into a sizable independent hit with a projected $2.2 million over the weekend on only 589 screens ($2.9 million in five days) and a total of just over $12 million to date.

Among the limited runs, Ang Lee’s Civil War drama “Ride With the Devil” got off to a bumpy start with just $93,719 in 11 theaters over the five days ($70,110 in three days). The low-budget independent film “Tumbleweeds” debuted in five theaters to a heartening $56,778 for the five-day holiday period ($45,700 over the weekend). “Boys Don’t Cry” grossed $200,000 on just 32 screens for the five-day period ($157,000 of that over the weekend) for a $2-million total to date.

Fox also previewed “Anna and the King” over the weekend on 18 big-city screens, selling out every theater.