Two Alternatives for Super Bowl Widows

While the guys are sucking suds on the couch watching the New York Giants pair off against the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Sunday, New Line and Sony Pictures are hoping that their daughters and significant others are out at the movies. Though most studios avoid opening new films on Super Bowl weekend, the two studios are using it to launch movies aimed primarily at young women: the cheerleader heist film “Sugar & Spice” and the romantic comedy “The Wedding Planner,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. Both films open Friday. “It’s great counter-programming,” says New Line marketing president Joe Nimziki about “Sugar & Spice,” which features “American Beauty’s” Mena Suvari. Sony’s marketing and distribution head Jeff Blake concurs, adding that the last weekend in January is an excellent launching pad for “Wedding Planner” to help it build toward Valentine’s Day. Still, with two movies aimed at the same audience and the runaway hit “Save the Last Dance” still going strong, can the market bear three films aimed mainly at one demographic? Though Nimziki expects it to be a very competitive weekend, he says the success of last summer’s “Bring It On” and the recent “Save the Last Dance” demonstrates that “young women go to the movies just as frequently as young males.” To zero in on his target audience, Nimziki has coordinated a week of promotional activities with MTV, which produced and helped launch “Save the Last Dance.” He is also advertising heavily on shows with a large teen female following on the WB network. “Sugar & Spice” is not being screened for critics. “It’s such a teenage film and the people who’d be reviewing it are not the audience,” he says. As for “Wedding Planner,” Blake says that film’s advantage is that it has “two big stars who have recently had hit movies”--Lopez in “The Cell” and McConaughey in “U-571.” In addition, Lopez’s hit single “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” is featured in the movie and is on her new album. While “Save the Last Dance” and “Sugar & Spice” are mainly geared for those under 21, Blake says “The Wedding Planner” also appeals to older women.

--Compiled by Times staff writers