<i>Down To You</i> Up At Theaters

Hollywood was suffering from the box office blahs last weekend, reports CBS News Early Show Contributor Gail O'Neill, and for the first time in three months, no new film managed to take in more than $9 million.

With most parts of the country in a deep freeze, a lot of people decided to stay inside. But teen-agers had no problem braving the cold and even crowned a young "Prinze" the new king of romantic comedy.

Let's take a look at the heir and the spares, according to Hollywood.com.

Next Friday was a close No. 2, bringing in $8.2 million.

Oscar hopeful The Hurricane held on to third place, while Stuart Little scampered down the charts to fourth place, and The Green Mile held on at No. 5.

Last year Freddie Prinze Jr. charmed moviegoers in the surprise hit She's All That. And this year, Miramax bet on a repeat performance from the young star. The gamble paid off as Down to You hit the jackpot with teen audiences.

When it comes to film, Teen People entertainment director Lori Majewski says young people want what all moviegoers want.

"I think teen-agers when they go to the movies are looking for something that can actually relate to their real lives," she says. "And that's why I think Down to You is such a big hit with teen-agers. Because it's really like what young love is like. Freddie Prinze Jr. begins the movie by telling you this is what first love feels like."

And in this world of boy meets girl, meet the boy girls can't get enough of.

"Freddie Prinze Jr. is the boy you want to date," Majewski says. "He could not be a better boyfriend in this film. He has this Julia Roberts-like smile that totally lights up the screen. Filmmakers really capitalize on that."

"Girls are going to see him, and he has that extra special quality that guys don't hate him," adds Majewski.

That's exactly the response Miramax was hoping for. In fact critics weren't allowed to screen the movie in advance for fear that bad reviews might scare off the young target audience - but as any parent can tell you, teen-agers have minds of their own.

"Teen-agers don't read reviews," Majewski says. "If you open up any teen-age publication today, you will not find reviews because teen-age films are review proof. If you've got a great trailer and a great cast and beaming Freddie Prinze Jr. as your leading man, you're going to get the teens out there."

(O'Neill saw the movie this weekend and happened to sit in front of three teen-agers who gave a running commentary throughout the show. Their reviews ran the gamut from "I loved it! Freddie Prinze Jr. is so cute!" to "It was OK.")

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