Stuart Little Stands Tall

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgSony's hit film STUART LITTLE remained at the top of the U.S. box office

this past weekend taking in US$11.21 million in ticket sales. The

giant-sized flick, with primary FX by Sony Pictures Imageworks, additional

animation by CFX and Rhythm & Hues, and miniatures by Thunderstone, has

taken home a little more than cheese with a total purse of $95.3 million.

THE GREEN MILE squeaks by live-action flick THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY to

secure the second spot on the box office charts. The Warner Bros. flick,

with primary visual effects by ILM, Rhythm & Hues, POP and Matte World

Digital, grossed $9.73 million bringing its cume to $91.3 million. GALAXY

QUEST, with primary visual effects by ILM and additional effects by Light

Matters, moved up a spot to #5 with a gross of $8.02 million and a cume of

$38.5 million. TOY STORY 2 finished in 6th place with a gross of $7.15

million and a cume of $219.7 million making it the second highest grossing

animated film in U.S. history. The Buzz and Woody-vehicle moved above

Disney's 1993 release of ALADDIN, which made $217 million. The troop of

toys has quite a bit more to go to become the ruler of the U.S. animated

b.o. LION KING still reigns with a total gross of $312 million. Going into

wider release, New Line's MAGNOLIA, with visual effects by ILM, finished at

#7 with a gross of $5.69 million bringing its total to $6.6 million. Buena

Vista's THE BICENTENNIAL MAN, with visual effects by Dream Quest Images,

came in 8th with a gross of $5.31 million and a cume of $47.2 million. At

#14, FANTASIA/2000 had another stellar weekend making more money than it

did the previous week. On only 54 IMAX screens, the FANTASIA sequel made

$2.59 million raising its total take to $6.9 million. The musical

extravaganza had a per screen average of $47,958, which is more than 12

times the per screen average of the #1 film STUART LITTLE. Other special

effects-laden films finishing in the top 30 include: MGM/UA's THE WORLD IS

NOT ENOUGH at #15, with a gross of $1.83 million and a cume of $120.9

million; Paramount's SLEEPY HOLLOW at #16, with a gross of $1.11 million

and a cume of $94.7 million; Universal's END OF DAYS at #17, with a gross

of $840,000 and a cume of $64.5 million; Buena Vista's THE SIXTH SENSE at

#25, with a gross of $330,000 and a cume of $276.9 million; Lion's Gate's

DOGMA at #28, with a gross of $240,000 and a cume of $29.4 million; and THE

PHANTOM MENACE at #29, with a gross of $180,000 and a cume of $430.7

million. Box office figures obtained on Lyco's ShowBiz Data Base.