Weekend Box Office (June 22 - 24, 2001)

THIS WEEKEND Eddie Murphy flexes his comedic muscles and takes on Angelina Jolie and her acrobatic prowess as Fox's new family film Dr. Dolittle 2 aims for the number one spot currently held by Paramount's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Universal also gets into the mix debuting the street racing film The Fast and the Furious. Meanwhile, the animated films Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Shrek look to round out the top five.

Three years after Eddie Murphy's remake of Doctor Dolittle scored a fantastic $290M worldwide tally, Fox once again uses the fourth weekend of June to launch its sequel. With Steve Carr (Next Friday) directing, Dr. Dolittle 2 once again finds the A-list actor talking to animals whose voices are supplied by such stars as Lisa Kudrow, Steve Zahn, and Norm Macdonald. The previous Dolittle opened at number one with $29M from 2,777 theaters and played throughout the summer reaching an impressive domestic total of $144.1M. This year, with the marketplace expanding in late June as it usually does, Dr. Dolittle 2 will fight for the attention of family audiences who can also choose from Atlantis and the $200M blockbuster Shrek, which also features Murphy's voice.

Rated PG, Dr. Dolittle 2's humor should not pose too much of a threat to other movies in release aimed at teens and young adults. Children and parents will make up most of the audience for the comedy sequel and the studio's strong advertising campaign should ensure a large turnout. A short length and multiple screens will provide ample showtimes allowing anyone who wants a ticket to get one. Fox ranks dead last among major studios in market share this year thanks to misfires like Monkeybone and Freddy Got Fingered, so the company needs big numbers from Dr. Dolittle 2 and next month's Planet of the Apes remake to get back into contention. Benefiting from a built-in audience, the Dolittle sequel looks to swipe the top spot this weekend giving Murphy his second big hit of the season. Fox will open the picture in 3,049 theaters and should find itself with around $33M this weekend.

Universal releases its first film in seven weeks with the street racing action picture The Fast and the Furious starring a team of young rising stars like Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Rick Yune, and rapper Ja Rule. Directed by Rob Cohen (Daylight, The Skulls), the PG-13 film should perform best with young males but will also attract a moderate amount of females too. Business from the over-30 crowd looks to be minimal, but teens and young adults should be able to power The Fast and the Furious to a solid opening frame. The studio has been very aggressive in marketing the picture and dropped it into a weekend when students would be free from school and looking for a high-adrenaline picture to start their summer vacation.

Of course, Tomb Raider is a direct threat and will prevent a huge opening. The Fast and the Furious boasts what could be the most racially diverse cast of any movie this summer. The stars should hold weight with younger moviegoers and the addition of hip-hop hitmaker Ja Rule should widen the picture's appeal and give it street cred. Once slated for a spring release, Universal delayed the launch date to move it away from Sylvester Stallone's racing pic Driven and into a period when the target audience would have more available leisure time. Opening in 2,628 theaters, The Fast and the Furious looks to debut with about $18M.

After shooting its way to an explosive number one opening, Paramount's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider should see sales decline sharply in its second round. Big-budget event movies based on properties with a built-in following usually attract much of their audience in the first week. Second weekend declines for similar summer pictures include 57% for last year's X-Men, 56% for 1998's The X-Files Movie, and 56% for 1995's video game-based Mortal Kombat. Tomb Raider's Friday-to-Saturday decline last weekend also indicates that longevity is not in the film's future. Ticket sales should get sliced in half to $24M this weekend giving the Angelina Jolie actioner a muscular $91M in ten days.

Atlantis gave Disney the smallest debut for an original animated summer film in years and must now deal with Eddie Murphy's double dose of family entertainment in Dr. Dolittle 2 and Shrek. Three years ago, Disney's Mulan, in its second weekend, faced the opening of Murphy's Doctor Dolittle and slipped only 25%. Atlantis may still stay afloat and dip 30% to $14M giving the PG-rated feature $45M overall.

Shrek continues to be the summer's most durable title and a 30% decline to $9M would give the DreamWorks blockbuster a staggering $213M to date. Swordfish should fall 35% to $8M putting the total for the Warner Bros. action film at $54M in 17 days. Pearl Harbor may begin shedding some screens in its fifth weekend so a 35% drop to $6.5M would give the Buena Vista release a $171M total.

Take this week's Reader Survey on what most influences your desire to see a movie. Read the NEW Weekly Rewind column which looks back at Jurassic Park's record-breaking opening eight years ago. For reviews of Tomb Raider and Atlantis visit The Chief Report.


LAST YEAR Fox recruited a comedy superstar and stole the number one spot with Me, Myself, and Irene, starring Jim Carrey, which opened with $24.2M. Debuting in second was the clay animation hit Chicken Run, featuring the voice of Mel Gibson, with $17.5M. Though opening with a smaller gross, Chicken Run became the bigger box office star reaching $106.8M while Me, Myself, and Irene topped off at $90.6M. Paramount's action remake Shaft slipped from first to third with $12.7M in its second weekend. Rounding out the top five were Gone in 60 Seconds with $9.5M in its third lap and Big Momma's House with $8.5M in its fourth frame.

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Last Updated : June 21, 2001 at 1:00AM EDT