Category: Films

Warner Bros.' newly released shark thriller, DEEP BLUE SEA, with digital effects by ILM and Cinesite,finished third, grossing an estimated $18.6 million at the U.S. weekendboxoffice for a total of $24.7 million. DreamWorks SKG's THE HAUNTING, alsowith digital effects by ILM, finished fourth, grossing an estimated $15.1million for a total of $63.8 million; The Walt Disney Company's INSPECTORGADGET, with digital effects by DreamQuest, finished fifth, grossing anestimated $14 million for a total of $47.7 million; Lucasfilm's STAR WARS

Walt Disney's animated feature, TARZAN, will become the first-ever majorfeature release to be produced, mastered, and exhibited digitally when itopens today, Friday, July 30 at the following theaters: AMC's PleasureIsland multiplex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, AMC's MediaCenter North 6 in Burbank, California, and the Edwards Irvine Spectrum inIrvine, California. According to Bob Lambert, senior vice president of newtechnology and new media for The Walt Disney Company, "TARZAN was the ideal

Newly released DreamWorks SKG's THE HAUNTING, with digital effects by ILM,finished first in the U.S. weekend boxoffice race, grossing an estimated$33 million. Also newly released, The Walt Disney Company's INSPECTORGADGET, with digital effects by DreamQuest, finished second, grossing anestimated $22 million. Warner's WILD WILD WEST, with digital effects byILM, finished seventh, grossing an estimated $5.4 million for a total of$104.2 million; Disney's TARZAN finished ninth, grossing $4.8 million for a

Disney's TARZAN, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs character, finishedfourth, grossing an estimated $11.3 million at the US weekend boxoffice tobring its total to $129.5 million. This puts it on the list of 100top-grossing films of all-time in North America. It has already surpassedDisney's previous animated feature, MULAN, which grossed $120.5 million.Warner Bros.' WILD WILD WEST, with digital effects by ILM, finished second,grossing an estimated $16.7 million for a total of $76.4 million; STAR WARS

MTV Films and Paramount Pictures has signed creator Eric Fogel to write,direct, and produce a CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH feature. The feature will bebased on the TV series which premiered on MTV in 1998, and features clayanimated caricatures of celebrities who fight each other in wrestlingmatches. Bouts have pitted Marilyn Manson against Charles Manson, HillaryClinton against Monica Lewinsky, and Richard Simmons against DavidLetterman. Before CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH, Fogel directed a short film, THEMUTILATOR, and another MTV series, THE HEAD.

Disney's TARZAN finished second in the US weekend boxoffice race, grossingan estimated $23.5 million for a total of $77.02 million; Lucasfilm'sdigital effects-driven STAR WARS I: THE PHANTOM MENACE finished fifth andgrossed $14.6 million for a total of $352.16 million, becoming only thethird film to top $350 million in its initial domestic release and passingthis milestone in forty days, eighteen days faster than previous record holder TITANIC; Universal'sTHE MUMMY, with digital effects by ILM, finished seventh and grossed $2.1

THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD, a live-action/animated feature length film,is scheduled to begin shooting this month in England and Canada. Based onthe TV series THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE, the film is a co-production betweenDestination Film, Britt Allcroft Co. and Gullane Pictures. Icon FilmDistribution, the British releasing arm of Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey'sIcon Productions, will distribute the film in the UK. THOMAS THE TANKENGINE began as a series of children's books by the late Rev. Wilbert

After several weeks of rumors, Film Roman has officially confirmed thatthey are developing an animated feature film based on THE FABULOUS FURRYFREAK BROTHERS, the underground comic book by Gilbert Shelton. THE FABULOUSFURRY FREAK BROTHERS is about three hippie brothers: freewheelingcowboy-hatted Frank; mad-inventor Phineas, and Fat Freddy, as well as FatFreddy's cat, who is described as meaner than Garfield, smarter than Felix,randier than Fritz, and a better mouser than Tom. Mike B. Anderson (THE

Four effects driven action films finished in the top ten this week, led byLucasfilm's STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE which grossed $32.2million to bring its total to $255 million. Universal's THE MUMMY, withdigital effects by ILM, finished fourth, grossing $7.5 million for a totalof $127.6 million; THE MATRIX, directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski,finished sixth, grossing $2.4 million for a total of $158.2 million; THETHIRTEENTH FLOOR, with digital effects by Centropolis Effects, finished

THE PHANTOM MENACE finished first in last week's Memorial Day weekend USboxoffice race, taking in an estimated $64.8 million to bring its total to$204.8 million. Based on this, experts are now predicting that the filmwill eventually pass $400 million in North Amercian receipts. THE MUMMYfinished in third place, taking in $12.7 million, for a total of $117.1million. Newcomer THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, an effects driven thriller aboutvirtual reality, finished fifth, taking in $4.3 million. THE MATRIX

LucasFilm and 20th Century Foxs visual effects-driven STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE took in $61.8 million gross over the three-day weekend. Its five-day total of $102.7 million since its Wednesday debut broke the previous five-day record of $92.7 million set in 1997 by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, but its three-day weekend gross failed to challenge the $72.1 million record still held by THE LOST WORLD.

As expected, STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE set a record forsingle day gross on Wednesday with $28.5 million, breaking the previousrecord of $26.1 million set by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK in 1997 on theSunday during the three day Memorial Day weekend. The previous record for aWednesday opening was $17.4 million, set by INDEPENDENCE DAY in July 1996.Despite reaching a new record, the film failed to fulfill early predictionswhich were in the range of $30 to $40 million and were based on early