repeated as box office champ, slipping a respectable 37% to pocket $12.3 million, according to weekend estimates. It handily beat yabba-dabba-debut ``The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,'' which mustered a stony $10.8 million despite 3,037 playdates. Those two pictures plus ``Erin Brockovich'' gave Universal three titles in the top 10 for the second consecutive week.
Universal distribution chief Nikki Rocco professed to be ''thrilled'' with bow of the ``Flintstones'' film, but its numbers proved a shadow of the 1994 original, which opened to $37.2 million over Memorial Day weekend. Even in its third weekend, ``The Flintstones'' took in $12.6 million on its way to a $130.5 million domestic haul.
With ``U-571'' remaining No. 1, three debuts filled the next three spots. New Line's ``Frequency'' radioed in with $9.1 million and Fox finally got a picture off the ground, securing fourth place with $8.3 million on ``Where The Heart Is.''
While nothing jumped ahead of the pack, the pack surged well ahead of last year's pace. ACNielsen EDI estimated overall receipts at $82.5 million, up 34% from the same weekend in 1999. (And this year had nothing even close to last year's $20.1 million bow of ``Entrapment.'')
``U-571,'' from ``Breakdown'' director Jonathan Mostow, has brought in a sturdy $38.2 million in 10 days. But the Matthew McConaughey starrer may go into a steeper dive when summer actioners take center stage, beginning Friday.
The lone consolation for ``Flintstones'' may be in kicking DreamWorks' ``The Road to El Dorado'' out of the top 10. The cartoon plummeted 58% due in part to ``Flintstones'' competition, taking in $2.2 million to finish 12th.
Laden with pricey special effects and a Burger King tie-in, the poorly reviewed ``Rock Vegas'' won't be one for the Universal scrapbook. Brightest prospects lie in ancillaries, though until ``Dinosaur'' launches May 19, the picture should have free rein over tyke audiences.
Like Universal, New Line charted three pics on the top 10. Along with ``Frequency,'' the sophomore ``Love & Basketball'' and sleeper ``Final Destination'' showed strong retention.
The future of ``Frequency'' will rest, even more than most pictures, on its Week 2 numbers. The studio hopes the supernatural thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel (and scripted by New Line music exec Toby Emmerich) finds an audience over time, a la ``Final Destination.'' That teen thriller has rolled up $46 million in nearly seven weeks.
``Based on what we saw with the sneaks and this weekend, I think it's going to be around for a long time,'' said New Line distribution chief David Tuckerman. He added that ''Frequency's'' weekend tally exceeded tracking projections.
Fox has urgently needed a picture to promote, following a long string of stumbles spanning ``Fight Club,'' ``Anna and the King'' and ``The Beach.'' It's long been high on ``Where the Heart Is,'' even staging an unusual full screening at ShoWest in March. Critics have been unmoved, but the $8.3 million launch is Fox's biggest since ``The Beach'' in February and ``Heart'' should pump more cash.
Tom Sherak, studio's motion picture group chairman, said the corn-fed dramedy cost about $9 million to make.
Stars Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing and Sally Field proved potent draws for women. About 80% of female audiences listed the picture as a ``definite recommend,'' with about 90% of overall audiences rating it ``very good'' or ''excellent.''
Limited engagements proved a mixed bag of new technology, new directors and a new flop.
``Time Code,'' the Mike Figgis-helmed digital experiment released by Sony's Screen Gems label, aroused plenty of curiosity with its improv structure and multi-frame look. On just seven screens in L.A. and Gotham, the picture collected $95,000, or $13,571 per engagement.
``We feel we're at the front of something with this,'' said Sony distribution chief Jeff Blake of the $4 million film, whose sound was mixed live by Figgis at a Friday screening in L.A. ''It's the type of project we formed Screen Gems to do.'' The picture will add 16 new markets on Friday.
Elsewhere in the Sony family, the Classics division's ''Bossa Nova'' gathered $23,780 from two screens in its opening frame.
With ``American Psycho'' fading fast, Lions Gate bowed ``The Big Kahuna,'' which is Kevin Spacey's first screen appearance since his ``American Beauty'' Oscar win. Debut helmer John Swanbeck's drama about industrial lubricant salesmen recorded $88,000 in eight locales. Lions Gate likens that bow to that of last year's $10 million Oscar-winning sleeper ``The Red Violin.''
Paramount Classics' ``The Virgin Suicides'' added 11 theaters for a total of 29 and pulled in $176,000 for a $6,068 average. Execs said the figures bode well for further platforming. Pic will expand to about 80 runs this weekend.
Disney closed the books on ``Fantasia 2000,'' its four-month foray into large-format film. It's due for June re-launch in 35mm form.
The full-length cartoon added $2 million from its 53 weekend runs, up 11% from the previous weekend. The studio puts the final domestic total at $49.6 million and worldwide at $63.8 million.
Disney-owned Miramax came up with a cartoonish gross of its own. ``Committed,'' starring Heather Graham, managed a gaunt $12,000 from six L.A. and Gotham settings. Variety
Academy Prepares for Oscar Nominations (2001-02-12)Film industry worries about lack of Oscar films (2000-12-01)Rookies Torpedoed at Box Office (2000-05-01)Roberts Beats Tarnished 'El Dorado' at Box Office (2000-04-02)Oscar Winner Mendes Back Home to Spielberg Boost (2000-04-02)
