Yet Another ‘Jeopardy’ Win?

Two films about people who fight failed to claim clear victory at the box office in their opening weekends. The only question in what was one of the least pugnacious weekends of the fall is which contender will actually end up in first place once the final tallies are reported today.

Both “The Story of Us” and “Fight Club” seem to be falling just short of “Double Jeopardy,” which looks to remain in the No. 1 position for the fourth weekend in a row, racing toward an estimated $10.5 million.

Bruce Willis, who helped scare up a sizable audience for “The Sixth Sense,” couldn’t lure moviegoers over to watch his tempest-tossed (and critically panned) relationship with Michelle Pfeiffer in “The Story of Us.” The marriage was definitely on the rocks with a second-place $10.4 million estimate in its first weekend (in 2,163 theaters), attracting only some older moviegoers, with the emphasis on females.

The self-proclaimed controversial drama “The Fight Club,” starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, got critics worked up negatively and positively, but the paying public generally heaved a collective yawn, save for some over-18 males (61% percent of the audience)--though 20th Century Fox says they came away sated. First weekend attendance packed little punch with an estimated $10.3 million (in 1,963 theaters), way below expectations.

Pitt Has a Better Track Record Overseas

It’s another downturn for Pitt after the disastrous “Meet Joe Black” and other disappointments such as “The Devil’s Own” and “Seven Years in Tibet”--though all three films cleaned up overseas where he’s a major star. “Fight Club” will likely follow the same pattern.

Both new films were fairly weak out of the gate, climbing 37% percent and 10%, respectively, from Friday to Saturday. By comparison, “Double Jeopardy” had an 80% day-to-day jump. Grosses for the Ashley Judd thriller were aided by being in considerably more theaters--2,936. With more than $80 million already in the till, “Jeopardy” will cross $100 million without breaking a sweat, probably the only fall entry to do so.

The action film “Three Kings” was less combat-ready in its third weekend, dropping 39% to $7.3 million in 2,942 theaters for a credible total of almost $44 million to date. “Kings” should end up in the $55-million-to-$60-million range.

“American Beauty” will probably end up doing slightly better, considering how well it’s hanging in. The dystopian suburban drama, starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, which is on only 1,350 screens, experienced only a 29% decline for an estimated $6.8 million and a strong $41.3 million to date.

Harrison Ford is having no better time than Pitt or Willis this weekend. His “Random Hearts” plunged 55%, dropping from second to sixth place in its second weekend. On 2,697 screens, there wasn’t much heart in the romantic drama, which brought in only $5.5 million for a soggy $22.7 million in 10 days.

‘Sixth Sense’ Expected to Surpass ‘Jaws’ Total

But Willis is still packing them in with his summer blockbuster “The Sixth Sense,” which added another $5.2 million in its 11th weekend on 2,682 screens. In less than three months, “Sixth Sense” is now at the $250-million mark. Before it’s through, the surprise hit should knock off “Jaws” ($260 million) and become the 12th-biggest-grossing movie of all time.

Seventh place went to the comedy “Superstar,” which suffered an average drop of about 36% on 2,016 screens, taking in $5.7 million and almost $17 million so far. Rounding out the top 10 are “Blue Streak,” which is estimating $3.8 million in its fifth weekend on 2,353 screens and has just topped the $60-million mark. Tenth place falls to “The Omega Code” (reviewed on page F9), which on only 305 screens took in $2.4 million, almost $8,000 a theater.

Among the specialized films, David Lynch’s G-rated (not a misprint) “The Straight Story” took in about $96,000 in seven theaters for its opening weekend, a wholesome $13,500 a screen. Second weekend on “Boys Don’t Cry” (opening Friday in Los Angeles), was up to 18 theaters and brought in $132,000 for a two-week total of $250,000. And Steven Soderbergh’s “The Limey,” now on 40 screens, did a respectable $230,000 for about half a million in two weeks.

According to Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 films for the third weekend in October only brought in about $72 million, about 2.5% below last year, but almost 11% behind the Columbus Day holiday weekend. The coming weekend will see a quintet of general releases hoping to appeal to a broader demographic, including the horror film “Bats,” Martin Scorsese’s drama “Bringing Out the Dead,” Antonio Banderas’ directorial debut, “Crazy in Alabama,” the African-American comedy-drama “The Best Man,” and the romantic comedy “Three to Tango.”