‘Cast Away’ Leads an All-Star Holiday

With films starring Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Sandra Bullock and Nicolas Cage topping the weekend charts--not to mention Jim Carrey as the grouchy Grinch--the year 2000 ended on an upswing for Hollywood over the New Year’s holiday.

“Cast Away” remained the box-office champ for the second consecutive week, taking in $40 million over the long holiday weekend. The film has already brought in $109.7 million and marks the ninth time that a Tom Hanks movie has topped $100 million.

“What Women Want,” the romantic comedy starring macho Gibson as a man who can hear what women are thinking, grossed $26.4 million for a total of $115.8 million.

Bullock’s surprise hit “Miss Congeniality” came in third with $19.2 million, while the Cage Christmas-themed romantic comedy, “The Family Man,” was fourth with $16.7 million.

“This was a great way to end the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. “It’s like the summer in winter.” He said not only is the New Year’s weekend the biggest on record, but also the year 2000, which saw ticket sales nudge upward to $7.7 billion from $7.5 billion in 1999. “What Women Want” and “Cast Away” were the 18th and 19th films respectively to cross the $100-million mark in 2000.

Weekend Box Office

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Four-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Cast Away” $40.0 2,929 2 (Fox) $109.7 $13,670 2. “What Women Want” $26.4 3,046 3 (Paramount) $115.8 $8,670 3. “Miss Congeniality” $19.2 2,668 2 (Warner Bros.) $46.4 $7,192 4. “The Family Man” $16.7 2,394 2 (Universal) $43.1 $6,995 5. “The Emperor’s New Groove” $14.7 2,887 3 (Disney) $50.8 $5,080 6. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” $9.0 3,161 7 (Universal) $253.4 $2,855 7. “Vertical Limit” $8.2 2,456 4 (Sony/Columbia) $51.9 $3,325 8. “Dracula 2000” $7.3 2,204 2 (Dimension) $21.6 $3,326 9. “Dude, Where’s My Car?” $5.8 2,018 3 (Fox) $35.6 $2,898 10.”All the Pretty Horses” $4.9 1,548 2 (Miramax) $9.0 $3,140 *”Traffic” $250,580 4 1 (USA Films) $371,664 $62,645

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* Opened Wednesday

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.