'Pearl Harbor' wins box-office victory

By David Germain
Associated Press Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES — "Pearl Harbor" won an easy victory at the box office, debuting as the No. 1 film with $75.1 million over the four-day weekend.

"Pearl Harbor" had the second-best Memorial Day opening ever, behind the $90.2 million gross for "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in 1997. Advertiser library photo • May 23, 2001

The overall box office was on target to beat the all-time high of $183.7 million set last Memorial Day weekend, when "Mission: Impossible 2" debuted. The top 12 movies alone grossed $176.6 million this weekend, up 3 percent from the same holiday weekend last year.

The final tally will not be available until Tuesday, when weekend grosses for all films are counted.

"Pearl Harbor" had the second-best Memorial Day opening ever, behind the $90.2 million gross for "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in 1997.

Last week's top film, the computer-animated "Shrek," slipped to No. 2 but had an impressive second weekend, grossing $54.2 million, according to studio estimates Monday.

"Shrek," featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, has taken in $110.7 million in just 10 days, passing "Chicken Run" as DreamWorks' top-grossing animated film.

"The Mummy Returns" took third place with $19.1 million, pushing its total to $170.7 million. The sequel passed the $155 million taken in by "The Mummy" in 1999.

"Pearl Harbor," "Shrek" and "The Mummy Returns" each is on track to top $200 million. That would equal the number of films released in all of 2000 to hit that mark, with many potential blockbusters still to come this year.

"This is just the beginning. It's going to be a big year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Made by the action-adventure team of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay ("Armageddon," "The Rock"), "Pearl Harbor" stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett. The filmspins a love triangle involving the three, culminating in the fiery attack on Pearl Harbor.

Some analysts had speculated that "Pearl Harbor," though generally slammed by critics, might break the record set by "The Lost World" or even hit $100 million in its first weekend.

"You know, the competition always tries to raise the expectations of the press, so that when the numbers come in, all you can do is fail," Bruckheimer said. "For us, this is enormous success."

The film's running time, just more than three hours, precluded any box-office records, said executives at Disney, which released "Pearl Harbor."

"You heard so many people saying it was going to do upwards of 90 or 95 million dollars. That was just unrealistic because of the length of the movie," said Robert Bucksbaum, a box-office analyst for Reel Source Inc. "This was an excellent opening."

It was the best opening ever for a three-hour movie and the biggest debut for a non-sequel. It was also a corporate record for Disney, outpacing the studio's "Toy Story 2," which pulled in $80.1 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend in 1999.

"It's the nicest way to address the critics," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution. "You do it with grosses."

In limited release, the Nicole Kidman-Ewan McGregor musical "Moulin Rouge" continued playing to sellout crowds. In its second weekend, the movie took in a remarkable $254,000 in just two theaters in New York City and Los Angeles.

"Moulin Rouge" opens nationwide next weekend.

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

• "Pearl Harbor," $75.1 million.
• "Shrek," $54.2 million.
• "The Mummy Returns," $19.1 million.
• "A Knight's Tale," $9.3 million.
• "Angel Eyes," $6.3 million
• "Bridget Jones's Diary," $4 million.
• "Along Came a Spider," $2.2 million.
• "Memento," $1.9 million.
• "Blow, $1.3 million.
• "Driven," $1.2 million.