High-tech movies ‘Haunting,’ ‘Gadget’ open atop box office

Monday, July 26, 1999 | 9:57 a.m.

Another effects-laden movie, "Inspector Gadget," debuted in second place with $22 million. "Drop Dead Gorgeous," a black comedy about teen beauty queens duking it out in middle America, opened weakly at 11th place with $4 million.

The "Star Wars" prequel, meanwhile, crossed the $400 million mark to become the third-highest grossing movie of all time.

The weekend's top two movies debuted with good numbers despite reviews ranging from so-so to downright bad. It was the fourth straight No. 1 opening for "Haunting" director Jan De Bont, who also topped the box office with "Speed," "Twister" and "Speed 2: Cruise Control."

"The Haunting" was helped by the increasing draw of stars Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Based on a Shirley Jackson story, the movie is a remake of a 1963 thriller directed by Robert Wise. The remake uses dazzling computer effects to make a haunted house come alive.

"It's an old-fashioned horror movie with a PG-13 rating, and you can't underestimate that rating for summertime play," said Jim Tharp, distribution chief for DreamWorks, which released "The Haunting."

Tharp said the PG-13 rating should help carry the movie next weekend, when horror phenomenon "The Blair Witch Project" expands from 31 theaters to about 1,000. "Blair Witch," the story of three filmmakers who vanish on a witch hunt in the woods, is rated R.

The low-budget "Blair Witch" continued to sell out theaters, taking in $2 million for an average of about $64,500 a screen, more than five times "The Haunting's" average.

Buoyed by good press buzz and a marketing campaign aimed to make the film look like a real-life documentary, Artisan Entertainment plans a wide release starting Friday. By Aug. 6, the movie could be in 1,500 to 2,000 theaters, said Artisan spokesman Paul Pflug.

Artisan held off on wider distribution for "Blair Witch" until July 30 to avoid clashing with "The Haunting," Pflug said.

"We deliberately didn't want to go up against them head-to-head this weekend. Why split grosses with them? It's the same genre," Pflug said. "We figured let them have their opening, get it out of the way, then come back big on the 30th."

"Inspector Gadget" is a live-action version of the TV cartoon starring Matthew Broderick as a detective rebuilt after an explosion with all-purpose gizmos and doodads inside him.

The movie, which drew a largely family audience, benefitted from a theater slate crowded with more adult-oriented films.

"If I would have told you a week ago we'd open as big as 'Eyes Wide Shut,' you would have thought I was nuts," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which released "Inspector Gadget."

The gross-out sex comedy "American Pie" slipped from second place to third, taking in $10.3 million.

Stanley Kubrick's racy "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, dropped from first place to fourth with $9.9 million on its second weekend, down 54 percent since its $21.7 million opening.

"Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" was No. 10 with $4.2 million for a total of $402.9 million since its May 19 release. The "Star Wars" prequel edged past "E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial" into third place for all-time U.S. box office in actual dollars, behind "Titanic" and the original "Star Wars."

Estimated grosses for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures are to be released Monday.

1. "The Haunting," $33 million.

2. "Inspector Gadget," $22 million.

3. "American Pie," $10.3 million.

4. "Eyes Wide Shut," $9.9 million.

5. "Big Daddy," $6.1 million.

6. "Lake Placid," $5.5 million.

7. "Wild Wild West," $5.4 million.

8. "The Wood," $4.9 million.

9. "Tarzan," $4.8 million.

10. "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," $4.2 million.

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