WHAT’S up, Pikachu? Warner Brothers’ “Pokemon: The First Movie” ruled.The estimated three-day gross was $32.4 million, and the five-day cumulative a whopping $52.1 million.
“Sensational!” said the Hollywood Reporter’s box-office analyst Brian Fuson about Pokemania. “Insiders thought it would do well, but not necessarily this well.”
For anyone confusing Pokemon with Gumby’s equine sidekick, they are pocket-sized “monsters” who live off the kindness of human children. The Japanese phenomenon has captured our kids’ hearts, minds and lunch money.
With a monstrous $10,647 per-screen average on 3,043 screens, “Pokemon” exploded records:
At $10.1 million, it scored the fourth-highest Wednesday opening behind “Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace,” “Independence Day” and “Men in Black.” And those three were summer blockbusters.
Highest three-day non-Disney animated opening gross, besting “The Rugrats Movie,” which grossed $27.3 million last year. Lest we forget, Disney’s “The Lion King” debuted with $40.9 million in 1994.
Highest five-day opener by an animated film, squashing “A Bug’s Life,” which slurped up $45.7 million over Thanksgiving ’98.
Highest five-day opening gross for a film released wide in November.
Is there life after “Pokemon”? Yes.
“The Bone Collector,” not for the squeamish or kids, earned its bones in second with $12 million with a very healthy $4,626 per-screen average.
Kevin “Clerks” Smith flew the art house with “Dogma,” starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as fallen angels. Lions Gate’s controversial religious comedy placed third, inspiring $8.8 million, with an abundant $6,935 per-screen average.
Another religious story lacked a prayer. Viewers shunned the critically drummed “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” which grossed $6.3 million. Scooped by the successful TV miniseries, it looks to be as short-lived as Saint Joan.
In fifth, Fox’s “Anywhere But Here” did a mediocre $5.7 million out there on 1,673 screens. But it bested “Light It Up” with Usher Raymond and Judd Nelson. “Light” didn’t darken the top 10, with $2.5 million over three days.
Returning movies fared better. Ranking six to 10, “The Insider” ($5.1 million, 24 percent decline); “The Bachelor” ($4.7 million, 37 percent decline); “House on Haunted Hill” ($4.4 million, off 43 percent); and old pals “Double Jeopardy” ($3.1 million, down 28 percent) and “The Sixth Sense” ($2.7 million, 14 percent decline).
Disney, despite getting competition on the animated side from “Pokemon,” has crawled out of its live-action slump with two hits in the top 10, “The Insider” and “The Sixth Sense.”
The mouse house released “Insider” ahead of the holiday pack and such rivals as “Sleepy Hollow” and “The World Is Not Enough.” Said Chuck Viane, Buena Vista president in charge of pictures distribution: “We’re established as a quality entrant … As every week plays out, people always go back to sample something, and we believe it will be us.”
The strategy held. Five new pics entered the market, and “Insider” only fell 24 percent. As for “Sense,” the last film to remain in the top 10 for 15 weeks was “Titanic.”
At Disney, “Sense” is the highest-grossing live-action movie and the highest grossing in the studio’s history, second only to “The Lion King” ($312.9 million).
The Bruce Willis thriller is approaching the top 10 domestic blockbusters. It’s a slam dunk to overtake No.11, “Home Alone” ($285.8 million). “But,” said Viane, “if we were lucky enough to get some Golden Globes, or top 10 lists and/or [Oscar] nominations … all of those things will rekindle the movie.”
Look out, Pikachu!
