What Super Bowl? Films Fare Well

Despite stiff competition from Sunday’s Super Bowl XXXV and the debut of “Survivor II” on CBS, movies--particularly those with a strong appeal to women--not only fared well at the box office this weekend but also showed a sizable gain over the same period last year.

The weekend’s top film was “The Wedding Planner,” starring Jennifer Lopez, which debuted with $13.5 million in ticket sales, followed by “Save the Last Dance,” which grossed $9.8 million and “Cast Away” with $8.1 million. Among Jennifer Lopez’s films, “The Wedding Planner” did well but was still eclipsed by “The Cell,” which grossed $17.5 million on its first weekend last August, and “Anaconda,” which debuted with $16.6 million in April 1997.

Opening in fifth place was the cheerleading satire “Sugar & Spice,” which grossed $5.9 million.

“ ‘Sugar & Spice’ specifically went after the female audience, but the competition was really fierce for that audience with ‘The Wedding Planner,’ ‘Save the Last Dance’ and ‘Cast Away,’ ” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co.

The top dozen films, he added, pulled in nearly 70% more revenue than the top 12 films during the same weekend last year.

“It was really strong,” Dergarabedian noted. “Typically, Super Bowl weekend hurts the box office.”

Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Wedding Planner” $13.5 2,785 1 (Sony/Columbia) $13.5 $4,851 2. “Save the Last Dance” $9.8 2,561 3 (Paramount) $59.3 $3,818 3. “Cast Away” $8.1 2,891 6 (Fox) $193.2 $2,799 4. “Traffic” $6.5 1,581 5 (USA Films) $56.2 $4,087 5. “Sugar & Spice” $5.9 2,150 1 (New Line) $5.9 $2,740 6. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” $5.1 * 869 8 (Sony Classics) $44.4 $5,839 7. “Snatch” $4.7 1,444 2 (Sony/Screen Gems) $15.7 $3,260 8. “Finding Forrester” $4.6 2,002 6 (Sony/Columbia) $35.7 $2,304 9. “What Women Want” $4.4 2,611 7 (Paramount) $168.4 $1,674 10.”Miss Congeniality” $4.2 2,409 6 (Warner Bros.) $93.3 $1,729

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* Estimate

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.