<i>Tarzan</i> Tops Box Office

Two swingers, one human and one cartoon, dominated the weekend box office as Tarzan opened at No. 1 with $34.1 million and the Austin Powers sequel scored $31.9 million.

The military thriller The General's Daughter with John Travolta was third with a better-than-expected $22.3 million, while The Phantom Menace had $17.8 million for fourth, crossing the $300 million mark and overtaking The Lion King as the No. 6 movie of all time.

Studio executives were impressed with the weekend numbers. They said it was the first time they could recall that three movies grossed more than $20 million on the same weekend. Receipts for the top films totaled $123 million, up 21 percent from the same weekend last year.

"This says that when people make good movies, no matter how many, there's room in the marketplace," said Disney distribution head Chuck Viane. "The marketplace will expand to meet as much demand as it needs to."

The box office was led by the animated Tarzan, featuring the voices of Minnie Driver, Rosie O'Donnell and Tony Goldwyn, and songs by Phil Collins.

It was best opening weekend for a Disney animated film since The Lion King, which debuted with $41 million in June 1994 on its way to a domestic gross of $313 million.

If the weekend estimates that were released Sunday hold up, Tarzan's debut also will have topped that of A Bug's Life, with $33.3 million last November.

Close behind was Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, returning Mike Myers as both the international man of mystery and Austin's bumbling nemesis Dr. Evil.

Austin 2 dropped a steep 42 percent in the second week but still collected an impressive take of nearly $32 million to bring its total to $116.7 million. It crossed the $100 million mark on Saturday.

Proving the star power of Travolta, The General's Daughter which had appeared doomed to be lost in the hype over Tarzan, Austin Powers and The Phantom Menace delivered a strong opening weekend, the best for a Travolta film since Face/Off in June 1997.

Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace remained strong, losing just 31 percent of its business in the fifth week, to bring its total to $327 million for sixth on the all-time list.

In the next few weeks, it will easily pass No. 5 Forrest Gump ($330 million) and No. 4 Jurassic Park ($357 million) as it seeks to challenge the original Star Wars ($461 million) for second all-time behind Titanic ($600 million).

Also at the box office, the romance Notting Hill with Julia Roberts finished fifth with $7 million, but Instinct, Disney's other man-lives-with-gorillas movie, proved to be a disappointment, plunging 55 percent in its third week. The film, starring Anthony Hopkins, finished sixth with $3.1 million.

The Mummy was sevenh with $3 million; The Matrix eighth with $1.3 million; Entrapment ninth with $1.2 million; and Tea With Mussolini 10th with $635,000.

Estimated grosses for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. Tarzan, $34.1 million.

2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, $31.9 million.

3. The General's Daughter, $22.3 million.

4. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, $17.8 million.

5. Notting Hill, $7 million.

6. Instinct, $3.1 million

7. The Mummy, $3 million.

8. The Matrix, $1.3 million.

9. Entrapment, $1.2 million.

10. Tea With Mussolini, $635,000.

Written by Michael Fleeman