Movies Finances

A warrior of a different stripe emerged victorious in the box-office wars over the weekend as "Blade" the vampire slayer shot down the reigning champ, "Saving Private Ryan," for a sanguine estimate of $17 million in its first three days of release. "Blade," on 2,322 screens, was the only survivor in an otherwise undistinguished battle for attention as three other new film recruits were seriously wounded in their first tour of duty.

1. Saving Private Ryan (DreamWorks) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 45 $4,446 $200,056 National 2,592 $6,712 $17,397,504 *--* 2. Snake Eyes (Paramount) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 31 $6,383 $197,863 National 2,713 $6,012 $16,310,556 *--* 3. There's Something About Mary (Fox) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 34 $3,792 $128,933 National 2,109 $4,564 $9,625,476 *--* 4. Ever After (Fox) *--* Screens Avg.

"How Stella Got Her Groove Back" should make enough money in the U.S. to cover its production costs, but its prospects remain uncertain because it may not have much strength overseas. Fox shouldn't lose anything on it. Warner Bros. "The Avengers" and PolyGram's "Return to Paradise" appear certain to end up in the red.

MGM is giving new meaning to the term deja vu. For more than a decade now, Hollywood's once-golden movie studio has been on life support as it follows a vicious economic cycle. Today the studio, once again cash-strapped and desperate, is gasping for air. Even if majority shareholder Kirk Kerkorian pours in another $450 million to help fund new production as part of a proposed increase in a company rights offering, it is strictly a temporary fix.

Businesswoman Inez Brand spent all day Friday in Los Angeles attending a conference, but she was determined to fly back to her Dallas hometown in time to see "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." In Los Angeles, Reyna Gaar had to buy "Stella" tickets several hours in advance on Saturday at the Magic Johnson Theatres, where the show consistently sold out through the weekend despite being shown on seven screens.

In trying to find ways to manage risk in a capital-intensive, low-return business, Hollywood's major studios have been increasingly depending on production outfits that can bring their own financing to the table and serve as reliable suppliers of top-grade product to their distribution pipelines.

Though she's not technically No. 1, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," starring Angela Bassett, won the weekend in other ways. In only 1,393 theaters (about half as many houses as first-place "Saving Private Ryan"), "Stella" grossed an estimated $11.8 million in its first three days, just $1 million less than the leader. "Stella's" per-screen tally of $8,500 per theater was significantly higher than any other film's in general release. The rest of the weekend's new arrivals didn't fare as well.

1. Blade (New Line) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 28 $6,611 $185,097 National 2,322 $7,353 $17,073,666 *--* 2. Saving Private Ryan (DreamWorks) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 34 $3,020 $102,683 National 2,671 $3,797 $10,141,787 *--* 3. There's Something About Mary (Fox) *--* Screens Avg. gross Weekend gross Orange County 30 $3,059 $91,777 National 2,192 $3,508 $7,689,536 *--* 4. Dance With Me (Sony/Columbia) *--* Screens Avg.

Successfully penetrating enemy lines, "Saving Private Ryan" overcame a band of newcomers to remain in the top spot at the nation's box office. "Ryan" lost only 24% of its opening weekend business to gross an estimated $23.3 million in 2,540 theaters for a 10-day total of about $73 million. Of the quartet of newcomers, three vaulted into the top 5 in their debuts: "The Parent Trap," "The Negotiator" and "Ever After," in second, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The weekend's two big arrivals "Halloween H20" and "Snake Eyes" both opened to commendable numbers but have vastly different profit potential. At $17 million, "Halloween" should almost break even after its domestic theatrical run, despite Miramax's traditional marketing overkill. Depending on how well it performs overseas, "Halloween" could be very profitable indeed.