‘Lord of the Rings’ Reigns Over the Holiday Weekend

In what appears to be an upbeat end to the motion picture industry’s top-grossing year, one blockbuster film dominated in theaters--the big-gamble “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,� the first part of a $270-million trilogy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The three-hour action spectacular easily sold twice as many tickets as its nearest competitor, grabbing an estimated $37.3 million in its second weekend. In only 12 days the tally has reached $154 million--just in North America. At this pace, “Ring� should be chiming a $200 million-tune soon, making it the sixth U.S. release of 2001 to achieve this lofty status. According to New Line marketing head Russell Schwartz, the worldwide total should reach $300 million by Tuesday.

“Ring� was not the only good news of the holiday season. The final weekend of the year saw grosses rise about 20% from last year, with the top 12 films selling almost $148 million in ticket sales, according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

On Dec. 25, the $8-billion barrier was broken for the year and by midnight tonight should reach $8.35 billion, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations. Factoring inflation, ticket sales are expected to be dead even with 1998, the modern attendance high-water mark of 1.48 billion admissions.

After a heavyweight opening on Christmas Day of $10.2 million, Michael Mann’s “Ali,� starring Will Smith, has leveled off, and the first full weekend found the champ placing third, with about $15.3 million. In six days, “Ali� has packed a $35-million punch.

Another packet under the tree was the romance “Kate & Leopold,� starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, which got off to a blah start but gained some momentum over the succeeding days. The first weekend was an acceptable $9.5 million, for a six-day total of about $17 million.

Ron Howard’s biographical drama “A Beautiful Mind,� starring Russell Crowe, made a strong impression in its first expansion to 525 screens, leaping into eighth place with an estimated $7.2 million, a brainy $13,785 per theater. “Mind,� which is just at the beginning of its run (it will be on more than 2,100 screens by Friday), already has $13.2 million in the till.

All unhappy families may be different, but based on “The Royal Tenenbaums� first foray into 291 theaters over the weekend (up from 40 screens), audiences are not indifferent to this clan. Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy is appealing to a younger, upscale demographic, according to a Disney spokeswoman, and took in $5.1 million--more than $17,000 a theater--giving it a solid foundation of $8.2 million to date. “Tenenbaums� will broaden to 800 or so screens on Friday.

The highly praised “In the Bedroom,� starring Sissy Spacek, is also taking its time building an audience, climbing to 103 screens over the last week for an $825,000 haul and almost $1.9 million so far.

Robert Altman’s critically lauded comedy of manners, “Gosford Park,� played in nine theaters, with $241,000 predicted--a promising $27,000 a screen. USA Films will fan the film out to 100 screens on Friday, then 500 theaters nationally the following weekend.

Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down� was a sellout in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film scored $182,000, a lofty $45,500 per screen. “Down� widens to about 3,000 screens Jan. 18.

The intimate drama “I Am Sam,� starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, reaped high performance marks and mixed reviews, earning $19,000 on two screens in L.A. and New York. Its national release is scheduled for Jan. 25.

In 186 theaters, “The Shipping News,� based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, earned about $2.1 million in six days. Miramax will roll the drama out slowly and try to build word of mouth before a wider launch on Jan. 18.

The prison drama “Monster’s Ball,� with Billy Bob Thornton, played on seven screens for a weekend gross of $107,000, and $150,000 since it opened Wednesday.

“Ocean’s Eleven� is fending off newer arrivals in its fourth weekend, placing second again with $17.4 million. That’s up roughly 18% from last weekend, giving Steven Soderbergh’s Rat Pack remake a total of more than $128 million.

Shortly after Christmas Day, “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius� picked up some steam that carried it into a solid second weekend, during which attendance rose by 8% to approximately $15 million for a 10-day total of $42.2 million.

The Christmas break provided a big boost for the unflappable “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,� which grossed approximately $11.45 million in its seventh weekend, more than doubling its ticket sales. Now the year’s top-grossing film, with $286 million, “Harry� should become the first movie to cross the $300-million mark since “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace� two and a half years ago. “Harry� is doing even better abroad, with around $400 million collected so far.

“Monsters, Inc.,� the longest-running movie in the top 10, experienced an even bigger attendance spurt, 71%, contributing about $6.5 million to its $236-million take.

Tom Cruise’s drama “Vanilla Sky� is more than holding its own after three weeks, grossing an estimated $11.5 million over the weekend and $66.5 million so far.

Two more conventional star vehicles are proving to be the major disappointments of the holiday season. Jim Carrey’s ‘50s nostalgia drama, “The Majestic,� perked up a bit though its second weekend but was a still colorless $5.6 million for an underwhelming 10-day total of just under $16 million.

The Tim Allen comedy “Joe Somebody� benefited from its family-friendly nature and climbed 67% from its miserly opening weekend to a soft $5.6 million and $13.6 million so far.

Finally, the doper comedy “How High� dropped to about $5.2 million in its second weekend. But given its low production cost of about $12 million, the $17.7 million collected to date indicates that the film will be profitable.