Films

AWN Animated Box Office Report. January 21-23. Sony's Little hero slipped two spots to fourth place in the U.S. box office behind live-action flicks Next Friday, Down To You and The Hurricane. Stuart Little, with primary visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, additional animation by CFX and Rhythm & Hues, and miniatures by Thunderstone, grossed US$6.41 million bringing its total to $117.1 million. The Green Mile, with primary visual effects by ILM, Rhythm & Hues, POP and Matte World Digital, stayed in 5th place grossing $5.39 million bringing its cume to $109.6 million. Following at #6, Galaxy Quest, with primary visual effects by ILM and additional effects by Light Matters, grossed $4.54 million making its cume $54.3 million. Even though it slipped from the top ten to finish in 11th, Toy Story 2 finished the weekend grossing $2.95 million bringing its cume to $231.2 million. The toon titan also won the Golden Globe Award for best comedy or musical. Not a bad weekend for a film originally intended as a direct-to-video release. Aliens-like space flick Supernova, with primary visual effects by Digital Domain, finished at #12 with a gross of $2.5 million and a cume of $10.2 million. The Golden Globe Award-winning film Magnolia finished at #15 with a gross of $2.11 million and a cume of $15.1 million. Fantasia/2000 had yet another strong weekend making $2.04 million bringing its total take home purse to $13.8 million. Other special effects-laden films finishing in the top 30 include: Buena Vista's Bicentennial Man at #18, with a gross of $1.55 million and a cume of $54.4 million; MGM/UA's The World Is Not Enough at #22, with a gross of $700,000 and a cume of $123.6 million; Paramount's Sleepy Hollow at #24, with a gross of $550,000 and a cume of $96.7 million; and DreamWorks' American Beauty at #26, with a gross of $430,000 and a cume of $73.3 million. Box office figures obtained on Lyco's ShowBIZ Data Base. . . .

Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan shine in the Academy Award nominated Green Mile. © Warner Bros. No other uses are permitted without the prior written consent of owner. Use of the material in violation of the foregoing may result in civil and/or criminal penalties.

January 28-30. The Super Bowl, American football's biggest game, kept people away from U.S. theatres this past weekend, but Stuart Little, with primary visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, additional animation by CFX and Rhythm & Hues, and miniatures by Thunderstone, stayed steady at 4th place in the box office. Sony's great white hope (a white mouse that is) grossed US$4.78 million bringing its total to $123 million. The Green Mile, with primary visual effects by ILM, Rhythm & Hues, POP and Matte World Digital, remained at #5 for the third straight week grossing $4.02 million bringing its cume to $115.2 million. Slipping one place to 7th, Galaxy Quest, with primary visual effects by ILM and additional effects by Light Matters, grossed $3.4 million bringing its cume to $58.8 million. Toy Story 2 moved back into the top ten at #10 grossing $2.34 million bringing its cume to $234.3 million. The Woody and Buzz Lightyear-vehicle has now moved into the top twenty of U.S. box office history. Fantasia/2000 moved up to 11th but made about $180,000 less than it did last weekend. The new musical spectacle took home $1.86 million bringing its total gross to $16.4 million. Other special effects-laden films finishing in the top 30 include: New Line's Magnolia at #15, with a gross of $1.59 million and a cume of $17.4 million; MGM/UA's Supernova at #18, with a gross of $1.24 million and a cume of $12.2 million; Buena Vista's Bicentennial Man at #20, with a gross of $980,000 and a cume of $55.7 million; DreamWorks' American Beauty at #23, with a gross of $700,000 and a cume of $74.3 million; MGM/UA's The World Is Not Enough at #25, with a gross of $560,000 and a cume of $124.4 million; and Paramount's Sleepy Hollow at #27, with a gross of $370,000 and a cume of $97.2 million. Box office figures obtained on Lyco's ShowBIZ Data Base. . . .

February 4-6. Just under the loud yelp of Scream 3 and The Hurricane, Stuart Little, with primary visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, additional animation by CFX and Rhythm & Hues, and miniatures by Thunderstone, squeaked up a spot to #3 at the U.S. box office. Sony's radiant rodent racked in US$4.71 million bringing its total stock pile of green cheese to $128.6 million. The Green Mile, with primary visual effects by ILM, Rhythm & Hues, POP and Matte World Digital, dropped a spot to finish at 6th place, grossing $4.02 million bringing its cume to $120.4 million. Following suit, Galaxy Quest, with primary visual effects by ILM and additional effects by Light Matters, slipped to 7th, grossing $3.31 million bringing its cume to $62.9 million. On the heals of winning the grand prize at Imagina, Toy Story 2 fell out of the top ten to #11, grossing $2.25 million bringing its cume to $237.1 million. This weekend moves Toy Story 2 over Beverly Hills Cop as the 19th highest grossing film of all time in the U.S. Fantasia/2000 finished this past weekend at #13 making $1.84 million and raising its total take to $18.9 million. Other special effects-laden films finishing in the top 30 include: New Line's Magnolia at #15, with a gross of $1.29 million and a cume of $19.3 million; Buena Vista's Bicentennial Man at #19, with a gross of $790,000 and a cume of $56.7 million; MGM/UA's Supernova at #23, with a gross of $680,000 and a cume of $13.3 million; and MGM/UA's The World Is Not Enough at #25, with a gross of $650,000 and a cume of $125.2 million. Box office figures obtained on Lyco's ShowBIZ Data Base. . . .

February 11-13. Bouncing into U.S. theatres this past weekend was Disney's newest animated flick The Tigger Movie. The throw-back to classic Disney flicks finished the weekend in fourth place in the U.S. box office, making US$9.43 million. The Green Mile, with primary visual effects by ILM, Rhythm & Hues, POP and Matte World Digital, is still bringing in green bills for Warner Bros., making another $3.09 million and bringing its total gross to $124.4 million. With other kid fare like The Tigger Movie and Snow Day hitting the U.S. movie houses this past weekend Stuart Little, with primary visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, additional animation by CFX and Rhythm & Hues, and miniatures by Thunderstone, slipped five spots to #8 bringing home $2.71 million, raising its cume to $132 million. Galaxy Quest held on to the top ten with a finish at 9th. The Star Trek-spoof, with primary visual effects by ILM and additional effects by Light Matters, grossed $2.18 million bringing its cume to $65.8 million. Fantasia/2000 moved back up to 11th place making $1.69 million bringing its cume as an Imax release to $21.2 million. Feeling the same punch from new kids flicks that Stuart Little felt, Toy Story 2 fell to #16 grossing $1.15 million and bringing its cume to $238.7 million. After this weekend, Toy Story 2 has tied Ghosterbusters for the 18th highest grossing film in U.S. history. Other special effects-laden films finishing in the top 30 include: Buena Vista's The Sixth Sense at #17, with a gross of $1.12 million and a cume of $279.6 million; New Line's Magnolia at #19, with a gross of $800,000 and a cume of $20.5 million; Buena Vista's Bicentennial Man at #29, with a gross of $310,000 and a cume of $57.2 million; and MGM/UA's Supernova at #30, with a gross of $270,000 and a cume of $13.8 million. Box office figures obtained on Lyco's ShowBIZ Data Base.

Raining Cats & Dogs At Warner. In the wake of Sony's success with Stuart Little, Warner Bros. has greenlighted a live-action/animated feature, Cats And Dogs. Recently, Warner has been looking to see if it could get a quick family-flick finished for a Christmas 2000 release, however it looks like the studio will take its time and shoot for a 2001 holiday release for Cats And Dogs. The story follows the neighborhood war between cats and dogs that occurs right underneath human's feet without them even noticing. Reuters reported that director Larry Guterman was already off scouting locations and the studio is currently at work building creature models in L.A. and in the U.K. Upon the successful release, Warner plans to make a marketable franchise out of the new film. Hopefully, the film won't be another feature-length commercial like some criticized their last live-action toon flick Space Jam as being.

Imax Delivers Simpsons In 3D. Imax has inked a deal with Fox, DreamWorks and Sony Pictures to deliver to audiences 3D versions of The Simpsons, Princess Bala from Antz and several original animated characters. The Imax feature will be entitled Cyberworld and will hit U.S. theatres in October. Produced by Hugh Murray and Steve Hoban, the 45-minute pic will feature 3D clips from Antz and The Simpsons interwoven with Phig, the tour guide of this futuristic animation museum. Jenna Elfman, star of ABC's Dharma And Greg, will lend her voice to the film's animated escort. This film is a predecessor to Imax's hopes to re-format an entire animated feature in its seven-story, proprietary 3D technology.

Stuart Little Set For Sequel. Riding the wave of the box office success of Stuart Little, Columbia/Sony Pictures has announced a sequel to the tiny toon. Shooting on the new film could start as soon as this summer. The intended release date for the flick is Christmas 2001. Producer Doug Wick is set to return, however actors, director and screenwriter have not yet been confirmed. Sony Picture Imageworks, who comprised the effects for the first flick, are expected to return on the sequel. The first Stuart Little was directed by Rob Minkoff, written by Gregory Brooker and M. Night Shyamalan, and starred Ginna Davis, Jonathan Lipnicki, Hugh Laurie and the voices of Michael J. Fox as Stuart and Nathan Lane as the family cat.