‘Vanilla Sky’ Soars to No. 1 on Debut Weekend

Mixed reviews did not deter Tom Cruise’s solid fan base from sampling his daring latest effort, “Vanilla Sky,” lifting the movie to a solid $25-million estimated opening on 2,742 screens over the weekend, edging out “Ocean’s Eleven” for the No. 1 position. Even with two high-grossing performers in theaters, box-office receipts for the top 12 films in the second weekend in December were almost 10% softer than last year, according to industry tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

“Vanilla Sky” is a fairly faithful remake of Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar’s “Open Your Eyes,” a quirky mixture of romantic drama and science fiction.

Sources close to Cruise confirm that he deferred his normal $20-million upfront salary to persuade Paramount to let him produce and star in the unconventional drama, which opened a little better than “Eyes Wide Shut” ($21.7 million, according to BoxofficeGuru.com) but far shy of his two “Mission: Impossible” movies ($56.8 million and $70.8 million), all three of which were summer releases. “Vanilla Sky” attracted an audience with slightly more females than males, with almost three-quarters of the patrons being over age 25, according to Paramount senior executive Rob Friedman, although exit polls indicated the younger moviegoers liked the film better.

Cruise’s sky may have a limit, with a barrage of new movies due to arrive for the holidays, including the epic-scale adventure “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which opens worldwide this week and “Ali,” starring Will Smith, which debuts Christmas Day.

The weekend’s only other new entry, “Not Another Teen Movie,” predictably pulled in the pubescent set, placing third with a satisfactory estimated $13.1 million in 2,365 theaters. For teenagers, this may be the holiday ticket with a long video shelf life to follow.

As it was this summer, the holiday season looks so competitive that no movie may hold on to the top position for long. Last week’s champ, “Ocean’s Eleven,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, the single best weekend opening ever in December, dropped an expected 40% in its second weekend to a healthy $23 million and a suave total of more than $73 million in its first 10 days in 3,075 theaters. The star-packed heist film should get a boost from the extended Christmas break, which starts Friday and extends through Jan. 2.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is marking time until the kids are freed from school for the rest of the year, holding with a 33% decline from the previous weekend. In its fifth weekend, the film earned an estimated $9.9 million in 3,422 theaters during the past three days, enough to climb to $253 million, less than $15 million away from “Shrek’s” year-leading total. That plum is looking like “Harry’s” Christmas present. “Monsters, Inc.” is eroding at an even slower pace, dropping 24% in its seventh weekend to approximately $5 million in 2,682 theaters, bringing it just about $1 million shy of $220 million. “Monsters” should end up in third place for 2001 behind “Harry” and “Shrek.”

This weekend “Monsters” and “Harry” will battle for the older segment of moviegoers with the first of three “Lord of the Rings” features and for younger kids with “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.”

The total for the top 12 films was an estimated $89 million, according to Exhibitor Relations’ calculations, compared with $98.5 million last year for the same weekend, when “What Women Want,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” were the top three films, in that order. With six national releases due this week and a couple more Dec. 25, however, the year is expected to end on a higher note.

In fifth place, “Behind Enemy Lines” is likely to be crowded out by the week’s new arrivals, although the third weekend held well with only a 30% drop to an estimated $5.5 million on 2,791 screens for an almost $39 million total. “Spy Game,” starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, is also likely to disappear in the rush of new films, slipping to $2.4 million in 2,498 theaters and a disappointing monthlong total of less than $58 million in its fourth weekend.

On their last legs are “Black Knight” (an estimated $2 million over the weekend in 1,909 theaters and just under $30 million so far) and “Shallow Hal” ($1.4 million estimated over the weekend in 1,767 theaters and $67 million to date).

In 10th place, showing admirable pluck is “Amelie.” Still on only 221 screens, the French film took in about $750,000, taking it past the $12-million mark.

Leading the way among limited releases is Wes Anderson’s off-beat “The Royal Tenenbaums,” starring Gene Hackman and Gwyneth Paltrow, which launched on only five screens with a generous $254,000, more than $50,000 per theater.

“Tenenbaums” will broaden to 25 cities in late December and open nationwide Jan. 4.

The Australian prize-winning drama “Lantana,” starring Anthony LaPaglia and Geoffrey Rush, debuted in six sites for a respectable $66,000 start.

Three films opened for one-week Oscar-qualifying runs: the two biographical dramas “Iris,” starring Judi Dench, and “Pinero,” with Benjamin Bratt, which took in $21,000 and $20,000 respectively, on two screens, and Walter Salles’ Brazilian drama “Behind the Sun,” with $4,700 at a single location.

“In the Bedroom,” which took the Los Angeles Film Critics’ prize for best picture over the weekend, grossed $68,000 on six big-city screens and has grossed almost $500,000 to date. “Bedroom” expands on Christmas Day.