Entertainment

<i>Dinosaur</i> Tramples <i>Gladiator</i>

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 22, 2000 / 12:37 PM EDT / CBS

Disney's Dinosaur did some damage this weekend, causing a stampede of ticket sales at theaters nationwide and leaving a major footprint at the box office, reports CBS News Early Show Pop Culture contributor Laurie Hibberd.

But it wasn't Disney's biggest opening: It wasn't a long weekend and we're not in the middle of summer.

The Numbers

Here are estimates from Exhibitor Relations Co., by way of Hollywood.com:

Dinosaur,
$38.6 million
Gladiator,
$19.1 million.
Road Trip,
$15 million.
U-571,
$4.6 million.
Frequency,
$4.3 million.
Battlefield Earth,
$3.8 million.
Small Time Crooks,
$3.8 million.
Center Stage,
$3.3 million.
Where the Heart Is,
$2.9 million.
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,
$2.5 million.

This was an experiment for Disney, reports Hibberd, opening at a different time of the year and with a PG rating instead of G.

Dinosaur was a little tougher, little more violent, than most Disney films. The opening sequence, which is also the best part, is the scariest part, and the movie could be frightening for young children.

"She just jumped out of her seat and she just clung to Daddy and was shaking and she was burying her head, said one parent after her child had seen the film. "She was really frightened. She was scared.

Hibberd believes adults will enjoy Dinosaur, too.

Gladiator, while trampled by Dinosaur, picked itself up off the coliseum sand for more than $19 billion, its third big week.

Hibberd attributes that to repeat business from both men and women,a nd declares that Russell Crowe can be the next big action star if he wants.

Except he doesn't want. In his next movie, he's a freak in a sideshow.

Hibberd says she was skeptical about #3 Road Trip, but found it hilarious. She says its narrator, Canadian Tom Green, is very, very hot right now, although his humor isn't to everyone's taste.

They're smart enough not to have him as the main character. He's the narrator. They come back to him sporadically. But when they come back, you want to see him.

Hibberd predicts success for Road Trip, la Caddyshack and American Pie, especially on video.

Woody Allen At The Box Office

Recent First Weekends

Hannah & Her Sisters,
$2.2 million
Deconstructing Harry,
$2.1 million
Everyone Says I Love You,
$1.8 million
Mighty Aphrodite,
$1 million
Sweet and Lowdown,
$244 thousand

Small Time Crooks, at $3.8 million, did very well for a Woody Allen movie.

Hannah And Her Sisters was his best recent film, in terms of money. Deconstructing Harry is in the same range. He's more of an industry favorite than a crowd favorite but because he went with Dreamworks for Crooks, there was more money to market the movie and more people knew about it.

It tied with Battlefield Earth, a certified disaster at the box office in this country, but Hibberd says Travolta's star power may help it do well overseas.