‘Nutty’ Kind of Weekend at $42 Million

The preordained summer hit “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps� arrived on the scene with all guns blazing for an estimated debut of $42.7 million on 3,243 screens. Eddie Murphy’s one-man multi-character comedy capped a monthlong rally at the box office and kept admissions from falling hopelessly behind the same weekend last year, which brought the double-whammy of “Runaway Bride� and “The Blair Witch Project� and helped kick the late summer into overdrive.

Murphy’s comedy sequel easily outpaced its predecessor, which debuted to $25 million and is far and away the actor’s strongest opening in a career that began in the mid-’80s with “48 Hours� and “Beverly Hills Cop� and continued with such blockbusters as “Doctor Dolittle� and “Beverly Hills Cop 2.�

“Nutty II� joins “Big Momma’s House� and “Scary Movie� as summer comedy hits either starring or created by African Americans. “The sensibility of teenagers across the planet has become colorblind,� says “Nutty II� producer Brian Grazer, “and that’s good for the business and for our culture.� He credits the worldwide popularity of hip-hop music with setting the stage for that sensibility and enabling it to cross over into mainstream movies.

The weekend’s other debut, the kids’ movie “Thomas and the Magic Railroad,� had only limited magic--about $4.2 million on 2,106 screens and a five-day total of $6.6 million.

Many other films in the top 10 slumped, especially those targeting the same audience as “Nutty II.� Fortunately, “What Lies Beneath� had a stranglehold on adults, in its second weekend holding fast with a strong $22 million in 2,825 theaters and a mighty $68.5 million in its first 10 days. “Beneath� should surpass $100 million by the end of its third week in theaters, with its only real competition being next weekend’s horror entry “Hollow Man.�

“X-Men� continued its downward spiral, hanging on mainly to its core audience but not expanding to more reluctant viewers. Weekend 3 was down another 50% to a still-good $11.5 million estimate in 3,107 runs and a hefty three-week total of almost $122 million. “X-Men� should end up with about $150 million by the time it’s done--about the same general area that “Scary Movie� will finish. The Keenen Ivory Wayans spoof was down to $8.1 million in its fourth weekend on 3,256 screens for a monthlong total of about $132 million.

Ticket sales for the last weekend in July fell more than 15% behind the same weekend last year, according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The top 12 films grossed just under $118 million, compared to $139 million last year, when, in addition to “Runaway Bride� and “Blair Witch,� “Deep Blue Sea,� “The Haunting� and “Inspector Gadget� each grossed $14 million or more. With this summer just about even with last year, now comes the hard part. “Nutty II� was the last guaranteed blockbuster title, and unless there’s a “Sixth Sense� (or two or three major hits in its place) hiding out there, which is doubtful, the last month of summer could fall well behind last year. That would make this the first time a summer has not outpaced the previous one in about five years.

Still raging in the top five after five weeks is “The Perfect Storm,� which is shaping up to be one of the season’s biggest hits, alongside “M:I-2� and “Gladiator.� Over the past weekend, “Storm� stirred up about $7 million in ticket sales on 3,093 screens, taking it up to almost $158 million so far, with several knots still left to trawl.

Following the pattern of the first film, “Pokemon 2000� nosedived almost 70% in its second weekend to about $6.3 million in 2,752 theaters and an OK 10-day total of $33 million. In general, it has not been a great summer for children’s fare, with one of the few exceptions being 10th-place “Chicken Run,� which also drew a substantial adult crowd. The sixth weekend of “Chicken� was down to $3.4 million or so in 2,114 theaters and a total to date of just under $93 million. “Chicken� is on course to end up just over $100 million. Another family movie, “Disney’s The Kid,� starring Bruce Willis, has done only moderately well, with the fourth weekend generating $5.1 million on 2,328 screens, and $52 million in its first month.

“The Patriot� continues its gradual decline, falling to $4.6 million in 2,329 locations after five weeks in theaters, which was just enough to take it over the $100-million level, the eighth film of the summer to get there.

Among specialized releases, the French drama “Girl on the Bridge� debuted over the weekend in New York and Los Angeles and took in $70,000 on six screens. “Sunshine� rounded out its second month with $364,000, and $4.3 million from the U.S. and Canada so far. And “Croupier,� one of the breakout independent hits of the summer, has reached $3.7 million, with $285,000 over the weekend on 141 screens.