ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

MOVIES

How the Grinch Stole Thanksgiving: Despite some major competition in theaters, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was well out in front as the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday weekend accelerated. After debuting to $55 million its first weekend, unofficial estimates of grosses for Wednesday and Thursday were more than $21 million, indicating the film should end up taking in more than $60 million for the five-day holiday. “The Grinch,” which stars Jim Carrey, was expected to top $100 million by today, after little more than a week playing in 3,124 theaters. M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable,” starring Bruce Willis, also did well, grossing an estimated $16 million in its first two days on 2,708 screens, portending a five-day total somewhere between $40 million and $50 million. But “102 Dalmatians” was a distant third, recording somewhat more than $6 million in its first two days in 2,704 theaters, meaning the film could end up between $20 million and $30 million for the five-day span, well below the $45 million that “101 Dalmatians” grossed over the same period in 1996. “Rugrats in Paris” was running just behind “Dalmatians,” with “Charlie’s Angels” rounding out the top five grossing films nationwide.

*

‘Caddyshack’ Eatin’s: Bill Murray is planning a chain of barbecue restaurants based on his enduring 1980 golf comedy, “Caddyshack.” His Murray Bros. Caddyshack company plans to open the first restaurant next spring in St. Augustine, Fla. The venture results from a deal with restaurant owner Woody Woodard, who opened his Kaddy Shack restaurant in Louisville, Colo., in 1992. The Caddyshack chain will feature Woodard’s barbecued ribs, chicken and pork on its menu.

POP/ROCK

No Love God?: Concert promoters were forced to offer refunds after about 2,000 Australian fans left a Barry White concert early Thursday and began angry chants outside the Sydney venue of “Love God Needs Viagra.” Many in the 4,500-person sellout crowd complained that White--who has cultivated a romantic image through his songs--started the show more than an hour late, had his back turned to most of the audience and had poor sound quality, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported.

THEATER & MUSIC

That’s a Lot of Curtain Calls: The murderer’s name is the best kept secret in British theater and the play’s longevity one of the great mysteries of modern entertainment. But Agatha Christie’s famous whodunit “The Mousetrap” shows no sign of flagging, with the world’s longest-running play celebrating its 20,000th performance next month. The Dec. 7 milestone will be marked with a celebrity lunch for the surviving members of the original eight-member cast--film director Richard Attenborough, his wife Sheila Sim and Jessica Spencer. The play, originally written as a radio piece at the request of Queen Mary to mark her 80th birthday, opened on Nov. 25, 1952, when Winston Churchill was prime minister in Britain and Josef Stalin ruled Russia. But while “The Mousetrap” has been translated into 23 languages and performed in more than 40 countries, don’t expect to see a film version any time soon. The rights were sold for a small sum early on to two producers on the condition that they not make the film until the play closed. Both died many years ago.

*

‘Eternal’ Association: Former “Eight Is Enough” star Dick Van Patten--who along with Sidney Lumet is one of only two surviving members of the 250-person cast from the 1937 Broadway debut of Kurt Weill’s epic opera “The Eternal Road”--will narrate the work in its first West Coast concert in 50 years. The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony will open its seventh season with the performance, on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at University Synagogue in Brentwood.

QUICK TAKES

A new Winnie-the-Pooh series, featuring Japanese bunraku Pooh puppets melded with computer-generated sets, will premiere on cable’s Disney Channel in January. “The Book of Pooh” will be part of the network’s “Playhouse Disney” preschool block. . . . A streaming video feed of the Three Tenors’ Vienna Christmas concert will go up on the Internet Dec. 3 at https://www.onlineclassics.com. Steven Mercurio conducts the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra in the concert, which features Christmas classics along with two songs written for the performance by one of the tenor’s sons, Placido Domingo Jr. . . . Olivia Newton John has joined the cast of “A Cracked Christmas,” Dec. 3 at the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre. Gillian Anderson, Drew Carey, Teri Garr, Kathy Najimi, Kathy Kinney and Ryan Stiles are among other cast members. The annual event benefits the Trevor Project, a national effort to stop suicide among young people questioning their sexuality. . . . Husband-and-wife country singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will give a benefit concert in Hampton, Va., next Saturday for the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society’s USS Cole Fund, which will support the families of the 17 sailors killed in last month’s ship bombing. . . . Prince Charles got more than just pretty companions out of his dinner this week with “Charlie’s Angels” stars Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu: The two have agreed to become ambassadors for his Prince of Wales’ Trust.

*

Quotable: “One thing I’m very sure about is that I am a spoiled rock star; I am overpaid, overnourished and overdressed. And I’m sure the work that I do at Jubilee 2000 and the work the band has done for Amnesty International is some kind of Catholic guilt, but it’s working, so we’ll continue with it.”--Bono, during a four-day visit to Rio De Janeiro to promote U2’s new album.