‘Nine Yards,’ ‘Hanging Up’ Leading a Crowded Field

While blizzard-like conditions on the East Coast slowed movie-theater traffic at the start of the holiday weekend, the business had regained its footing by Saturday afternoon. The wealth was spread out with three comedies (“The Whole Nine Yards,” “Hanging Up” and “Snow Day”) and a couple of thrillers (“Pitch Black” and “Scream 3”) out in front. By the end of the four-day weekend, as many as six films could gross more than $10 million each, and totals for the top 12 films may surpass $100 million.

Two studios are staking out the No. 1 position: Warner Bros. with “The Whole Nine Yards” and Sony with “Hanging Up.”

“The Whole Nine Yards,” which stars Bruce Willis as a lovable hit man and “Friends’ ” Matthew Perry as a dentist, scored an estimated $15.1 million in 2,910 theaters for the Friday-Sunday period. “Yards” should add about another $2 million by the end of the President’s Day holiday today, as should the sister act “Hanging Up,” which also brought in an estimated $15.1 million in 2,618 theaters through Sunday.

“Hanging Up,” which stars Diane Keaton (who also directed), Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow, is appealing mainly to older females, while “Nine Yards” has had a higher percentage of older males.

Thrill-happy teens and young adults opted for “Pitch Black,” which knocked some stuffing out of “Scream 3” and “The Beach.” “Pitch” was only in 1,832 theaters but managed an estimated $11.1 million for the three days, doing better per theater than any other movie in the top 10.

The key here is whether it will perform like a horror movie and see a rapid decline in fortune--as has been the case with “Scream 3,” which fell by almost half again in its third weekend on 3,368 screens to a still noteworthy estimate of $9 million as it rounds the $70-million mark, making it the new year’s top-grossing movie so far.

“The Beach,” however, took a real dive in its second weekend, more than 50%, indicating that word of mouth has been decidedly negative for the Leonardo DiCaprio film. On 2,581 screens, “Beach” eroded to an estimated $7 million and a 10-day total of $27.5 million.

“Boiler Room,” a Wall Street drama starring Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck, opened on 1,338 screens with approximately $6.75 million in its first three trading days.

The weekend’s other highlight was the effect that Academy Award nominations had on two of the top nominees, “American Beauty” and “The Cider House Rules.” “American Beauty,” nominated for eight awards, returned to 1,287 theaters, netting a fragrant three-day estimate of $5.3 million.

According to DreamWorks distribution executive Jim Tharp, no Oscar-season reissue has ever reopened to more than $4 million. Having just passed the $80-million hump, “Beauty” is now hoping to become the 20th film release in 1999 to gross $100 million.

The seven nominations for “The Cider House Rules” also boosted the John Irving adaptation’s fortunes. “Cider” took in an estimated $3 million this weekend, with business soaring 97% on basically the same number of screens as last weekend, 857.

With a wider release of 1,500 screens planned for next weekend, “Cider” is expected to add considerably to its $26.5-million total to date.

“The Green Mile’s” best picture nomination was good for an attendance bump for the already successful prison epic. The 11th weekend rose about 4% to $3.2 million in 2,102 theaters, taking the Tom Hanks three-hour drama close to $130 million.

The near-shutout for “The Hurricane” didn’t help its expansion plans. The Rubin “Hurricane” Carter tale, which got only one nomination--for its lead actor, Denzel Washington--added more than 600 screens but still dropped from last weekend to $2.4 million in three days (though competing studios say that’s on the low side). Still, with $46 million to date, “Hurricane” will punch past $50 million.