The Hot Button by David Poland

Friday, 10 April 1998

WEEKEND PREVIEW
Last month was the month of dumped movies. This month is the month of risk. There isn't the built-in summer crowd. Because of Titanic, there isn't the wide-open lack of competition April usually brings. And many of these movies can be both hits and misses. Yes, Lost In Space will likely take a steep drop this week, but Titanic won't be, to use a pun for the last time, rising. In fact, Titanic should dip below $10 million for the first time this weekend. So, here we are. Will Species 2 manage to pass the $15 million mark or has everyone already gotten the joke? Can City of Angels romance the Titanic crowd into a big weekend? And will the weekend mark the coming end of the road for Lemmon, Matthau, Crystal and the Three Ninjas?
I'm going to stick my neck out (Way Out!) and predict a first place finish for City of Angels with around $15 million. For me, it's the only "must see" of the weekend and I think Nic Cage's star is still on the rise. Species 2 comes in as a very close No. 2, with $14 million. I suspect about 55 percent of New Line's box office will be Lost In Space, but the return of the Space Family Robinson is still strong enough to take third with $9.1 million. Titanic continues toward some form of mortality, with a 30 percent drop (after last weekend's 24 percent drop) to $8.1 million and fourth place. And I think The Odd Couple II may have enough juice (Geritol, I guess) in the tank to take fifth with $7.5 million. I see the newcoming also-rans as The Players Club ($4.5 million), My Giant ($3 million) and 3 Ninjas: High Noon At Mega Mountain ($1.8 million). And coincidentally, I expect Barney to stay in the Top 10 and for The Newton Boys, Good Will Hunting and The Man in the Iron Mask to exit the list.
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY: are on vacation with me.
THE CONTEST: Click here to win cool Species 2 stuff in the new, easier to enter Hot Button Box Office Challenge. The competition is keen, the prizes don't suck and your odds are getting worse each week as more of you join in, so now is the time to play!
JUST WONDERING: Disney has a seven-story billboard on Sunset Boulevard that changes on a regular basis. Right now, it has the beautiful poster image for Mulan. But does this mean Disney is conceding they have nothing worth promoting between now and mid-June? (Incidentally, Mulan will surely disappear minutes after the film premieres to pitch Armageddon.)
BAD AD WATCH: The Players Club opened on Wednesday with NO pull quotes. Not even from Ron Brewington. Here in Chicago (where I'm vacationing), the Tribune review says, "The Players Club is a whole lot better than the painful Demi Moore boondoggle Striptease. The bad news is, it's still not very good." There may be some good pull quotes in your Friday papers after this goes to print, but I'll leave it to you whether no pull quotes is just good taste or a very, very bad sign.
TWO BAD MOVIES EQUAL: Species 2 + SpiceWorld = SpeciesWorld. Five aliens from five different planets come to Earth looking to mate, but if they do, it will be the end of pop music as we know it on Earth. There's Sporty Species (who kills by never showering after workouts), Ginger Species (who kills anyone who publishes old nudes of her that were taken before she came to earth), Scary Species (who scares racists to death because she arouses them even though they hate her species), Posh Species (who kills her career by never learning to act and sleeping with all of her co-stars) and Baby Species (who kills by sucking your thumb). With Michael Madsen as The Guy Who Talks Real Slow.
READER OF THE DAY: From Mary Hooper : "Now that all the 'Party of Five,' 'Friends' and Lost in Space Baby Boomers have seen the movie, what's your best guess for the NEXT iceburg? Mercury Rising seems to have been more aptly named before release and will likely drop further this week. If both films should drop below $10 mil by next weekend, could Titanic beat the odds and float again?"

E ME: You can answer Mary by entering the contest. Or if you don't think this is the weekend for another big film, what do you see as the next film to hit the $100 million mark? E-mail now or wait a few days and I'll ask again.