‘Bone Collector’ scares up top ticket sales

Robert Jablon

Monday, Nov. 8, 1999 | 10:53 a.m.

LOS ANGELES - "The Bone Collector" and "The Bachelor" topped a weekend box office that offered theatergoers everything from the bizarre to brides.

Denzel Washington's latest drama earned $17.2 million in its opening weekend to place No. 1, even though critics generally thought the grisly serial-killer thriller was full of plot holes.

"The Bachelor," equally panned, got $8 million. The Halloween holdover, "House on Haunted Hill," was third with $7.8 million.

Final figures were to be released today.

"The Bachelor" is a remake of Buster Keaton's silent classic "Seven Chances." The romantic comedy stars Chris O'Donnell as man who must marry within 24 hours to get a $100 million inheritance.

The tobacco industry drama "The Insider" debuted fourth with $7 million, but the distributor wasn't worried the film might be too cerebral to draw large audiences.

Word of mouth and potential Oscar nominations eventually will make the film a success, predicted Chuck Viane, president of distribution for Disney's Buena Vista Pictures.

"We're the tortoise in this one," he said. "It's going to take a long time but we're going to do it."

Overall, grosses for the top 12 films were off about 30 percent from the same weekend last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

However, that was because Adam Sandler's comedy "The Waterboy" had a record debut in 1998 of nearly $40 million, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office-tracking firm.

This weekend actually had good sales and the year is on track to become a record-breaker with a projected gross of $7.4 billion, he said.

Just one example: The thriller "Double Jeopardy," which was No. 5 for the week, became the 15th film of the year to top the $100 million mark. Only 18 movies made that cut in 1998, and only 10 had done so by this point in the year, Dergarabedian said.

"The Sixth Sense" also held up. In eighth place, the Bruce Willis ghost story added $3.2 million to its gross for a total of $264.1 million in 14 weeks.

Meanwhile, the quirky "Being John Malkovich" packed theaters in limited release. The movie is about a puppeteer who discovers a tunnel into the mind of actor Malkovich. Playing on 175 screens, it took in $1.9 million for a gigantic per-print average of $10,857.

"The Bone Collector," by comparison, made $6,643 per screening.

The crowded market is offering a movie for virtually any taste, Dergarabedian said. While that could draw more people to the theaters, it also may prevent any film from dominating.

"It's very competitive," Dergarabedian said. "We may ... be seeing another No. 1 movie every weekend."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations.

1. "The Bone Collector," $17.2 million.

2. "The Bachelor," $8 million.

3. "House on Haunted Hill," $7.8 million.

4. "The Insider," $7 million.

5. "Double Jeopardy," $4.5 million.

6. "The Best Man," $4.3 million.

7. "American Beauty," $3.3 million.

8. "The Sixth Sense," $3.2 million.

9. "Music of the Heart," $3 million.

10. "Fight Club," $2.5 million.