‘Prince’ No Pauper but ‘Mail’ Is King

“The Prince of Egypt,” one of the most anticipated films of the holiday season, got off to a solid start with an estimated $14.3 million in 3,111 theaters over what was an especially wan weekend before Christmas.

But “Prince” couldn’t compete with what looks to be one of the more popular holiday offerings, Warner Bros.’ “You’ve Got Mail,” the romantic rematch of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. “Mail” pulled in an estimated $18.7 million from 2,691 engagements in its opening weekend.

“Prince” and “Mail” were hurt by high-visibility previews for such films as “Mighty Joe Young” and “Stepmom,” further diluting the adult audience caught up in holiday parties, shopping and impeachment debates. Both “Joe Young,” which got a broad audience, and “Stepmom,” which brought in women both young and old, were well attended.

“Prince’s” pre-release tracking indicated that its dramatic marketing campaign appealed strongly to adults. DreamWorks spokesman Jim Tharp said the attendance ratio of families to adults was almost even. A small Friday-to-Saturday bump in business (24%) seems to bear this out, meaning “Prince” will be at the whim of the older audience rather than kids, who are both less demanding and more available during the holidays.

Nora Ephron, director and co-writer of “You’ve Got Mail,” said, “We’re feeling great,” after her second pairing of Hanks and Ryan opened better than 1993’s “Sleepless in Seattle” despite having a decidedly tougher weekend. Her prognostication for the holiday season: “It’s going to be a tough Christmas. There are a lot of movies. But we know now we’re going to get some of the business.”

As for the animation battle between DreamWorks and Disney, “Prince” didn’t plague “A Bug’s Life,” which touted a new comic blooper reel at its end. “Bug’s Life” sustained a minor 15% drop to an estimated $9.5 million in 2,773 theaters (thanks in large part to the “Mighty Joe Young” previews) for a monthlong total of $96 million. The other family item, “Jack Frost,” survived with only a 29% drop to $5 million in 2,152 theaters. With almost $14 million to date, “Jack” should also benefit from the holiday recess. In its fifth weekend, “The Rugrats Movie” is proving to be hearty with an additional $3 million in 2,616 theaters and $77 million to date.

But “Star Trek: Insurrection” fell far more sharply than its predecessors, a warp speed decline of 61% to an estimated $8.5 million in 2,649 theaters. With about $36 million in the bank, this more expensive “Trek” feature’s long-term legs appear rather wobbly. “Enemy of the State” also lost out because of the scarce adult audience this weekend, dropping to $4.4 million in 2,237 theaters. But with almost $79 million already, “Enemy” should end up with a strong total by year’s end. Granted it won’t be “The Waterboy,” but then what is?

“Waterboy” crossed $140 million during the weekend, adding another $2.9 million in 2,242 theaters. The Adam Sandler comedy still has enough juice to surpass $150 million. “Psycho” is fading away with $1.8 million in its third weekend and just $18.3 million to date. In 10th place was “Elizabeth” with an estimated $887,000 on only 549 screens and just over $13 million so far.

Without a “Titanic” in its future, this holiday season can’t help but pale in comparison to last year. Lacking such a blockbuster, business for the top 12 movies over the weekend was down 22% from the comparable weekend last year when the ill-fated-but-box-office-lucky ocean liner first set sail with $28.6 million (and the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” launched with $25.1 million). Business for the past weekend was barely up from the previous weekend, which was also disappointing compared to last year.

That puts a lot of pressure on the Christmas weekend arrivals--including “Stepmom,” “Patch Adams,” “Mighty Joe Young” and “The Faculty”--to inject some holiday spirit into this year’s box office and propel the final total for the year toward $7 billion.

As for limited-release movies, the Irish comedy “Waking Ned Devine” is still on only 31 screens but cranking out great numbers, like this weekend’s $438,000, for $2 million to date. “Devine” broadens to about 200 theaters over Christmas.

The more dramatic “A Simple Plan” expanded to 72 theaters and nabbed a little more than $400,000 for about $1 million so far. “Life Is Beautiful” expanded to 170 theaters but actually lost business, down to $575,000, for a strong total of $8 million to date. “Shakespeare in Love” jumped nearly 50% in its expansion to 19 screens, up to $330,000, more than $17,000 a theater and $677,000 in two weekends. And Sony Pictures Classics’ “The General” debuted to strong reviews and $26,000 in two theaters in New York. It arrives on this coast Wednesday.