No. 1 ‘Monsters’ braces for ‘Harry’

Sulley, left, and Mike in "Monsters, Inc," featuring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal.

No. 1 ‘Monsters’ braces for ‘Harry’

Disney cartoon passes $100-million mark in record time;
new release ‘Shallow Hal’ scores for $23 million at No. 2

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 — With less than a week until Harry Potter bewitches moviegoers, “Monsters, Inc.” enjoyed its second — and likely last — weekend as the No. 1 movie at the box office. The Disney cartoon earned $46.2 million in ticket sales for weekend, bringing its total to $122.8 million in record time.

Three movies entered the top 10 — two new releases, ‘Shallow Hal’ at No. 2 and ‘Heist’ at No. 5 — and ‘Life as a House’ jumped to No. 8 in its first weekend of wide release.

“MONSTERS INC.” PASSED the century mark in nine days, setting a new benchmark for an animated feature. Disney’s “Toy Story 2” held the record — 11 days — with help from a Thanksgiving holiday release in 1998. Both films played in a similar number of theaters.
Three movies entered the top 10 — two new releases, “Shallow Hal” at No. 2 with $23.3 million and “Heist” at No. 5 with $8 million. “Life as a House” jumped 12 places to No. 8 with $3.7 million in its first weekend of wide release.
Receipts for the top 12 films totaled $116.5 million, down 12 percent from last weekend, but up 20 percent from the year-ago period, when “Charlie’s Angels” was tops for a second round.
(Studio estimates and final figures are not independently verified.)

WATCHING OUT FOR ‘HARRY’
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” opens Friday in both the United States and Britain — where it is called “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” — and the family movie is expected to shatter box-office records in both countries.

“They’re going to be huge,” said Chuck Viane, referring to the “Harry Potter” film. Viane is president of distribution at Walt Disney Co., which released “Monsters, Inc.” via its Walt Disney Pictures banner. “I think we’ll be hit. No question,” he said.
“Harry Potter” — one of the most anticipated films of the year — will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. The media giant’s New Line Cinema unit will distribute the only other wide new release next weekend, “The Wash,” an urban comedy starring rap singers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

‘HAL’ WEIGHS IN

‘Shallow Hal’ directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, played down their usual gross-out humor to win a PG-13 rating.

In addition to retaining pole position, “Monsters, Inc.” also suffered the least erosion among top 10 holdovers, losing just 26 percent of its audience from last weekend. By contrast, “The One” (Columbia) and “Domestic Disturbance” (Paramount), two thrillers that also opened last weekend, fell 52 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
“Monsters, Inc,” a production with Pixar Animation Studios Inc., revolves around a civilization of colorful critters whose power supply is fueled by the screams of human children visited in the night by a “Top Gun”-like squadron of scaremeisters who bottle the squeals. The voice cast includes John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Tilly.
The romantic comedy “Shallow Hal” (Fox) stars Jack Black in the title role as a superficial guy hypnotized by self-help guru Tony Robbins into thinking that a morbidly obese woman (Gwyneth Paltrow in a fat suit) is a slender beauty. The film’s directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary”), played down their usual gross-out humor in order to win a PG-13 rating.
“Heist” (Warner Bros.) stars Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo as professional thieves looking to score one last job amid general intrigue. David Mamet directed. Warner Bros. distributed the film for a fee on behalf of producer Franchise Pictures, the company behind “Battlefield Earth.”

‘ONE’ BIG IN ASIA

In contrast to most arthouse films, which tend to attract an older, upscale audience, ‘Amelie’ is playing to a slightly younger audience, which augurs well for it.

“The One” and “Domestic Disturbance” rounded out the top five, at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, both down one position from last weekend. “The One,” starring Chinese action hero Jet Li, grossed $9.1 million, bringing its 10-day total to $31.9 million. Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp., said the film opened this weekend at No. 1 in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Paramount’s “Domestic Disturbance,” starring John Travolta, earned $8.5 million, for a 10-day haul of $26 million.
“Life as a House,” a family drama starring Kevin Kline, earned $3.7 million, falling a little short of expectations, said a New Line spokeswoman. Its total, which includes two weekends in limited release, is $4.9 million.
In limited release, the French romantic comedy “Amelie” (Miramax) expanded to 48 theaters in the top 40 markets after bowing last weekend in three theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Its three-day haul of $730,000 took the total to $962,000.
In contrast to most arthouse films, which tend to attract an older, upscale audience, “Amelie” is playing to a slightly younger audience, which augurs well for its expansion, said a spokesman at Disney-owned Miramax. France has submitted the film as its contender for a foreign-language Oscar nomination.

TOP 10 FILMS
1. “Monsters, Inc.,” $46.2 million
2. “Shallow Hal,” $23.3 million
3. “The One,” $9.1 million
4. “Domestic Disturbance,” $8.5 million
5. “Heist,” $8 million
6. “K-PAX,” $6.2 million
7. “Thirteen Ghosts,” $4.2 million
8. “Life as a House,” $3.7 million
9. “Riding in Cars with Boys,” $2.1 million
10. “Training Day,” $1.9 million