To say we saw it coming is to state the obvious. When we, as an audience, fall in love with the comedy of self-abuse, there is a reason. We see the pain in the eyes of the comic and our human instincts take over. It’s as fundamental as taking a lost puppy in from the cold. Friends who knew Farley before the fame tell stories of the self-destructive behavior of his early ’20s. But no one could save him. Not then. Not later, when the world was his friend. The movies included Beverly Hills Ninja, Black Sheep and Tommy Boy. He was always the butt of the joke. And his gentle nature made him the winner in the end. May it be so, wherever his soul is now. Chris Farley was 33.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
After Scream 2 broke December records by almost cracking the $40 million opening mark, what do you think Titanic and Bond will do for an encore? (Mouse Hunt is another, sadder story. Later.) Well, logic will tell you that all three can’t be huge. Big, but not huge. Despite buzz in town that Bond isn’t tracking well, my bet is that Tomorrow Never Dies will take first place with about $25 million. Scream 2 should drop by 50 percent to about $24.5 million. And Titanic should have the highest percentage of seats filled, but suffer from about 30 percent (or more) fewer shows per screen. Hard to imagine more than $20 million under those conditions.
Everything else should pale in comparison. Much like last weekend, but worse. Mouse Hunt should take fourth, beating out the fourth week of Flubber with about $6.5 million. Flubber in fifth with another 40 percent drop to $4.1 million. Amistad should drop to sixth ($3.7 million, off 20 percent), actually passing the two kids flicks that beat it last weekend. The kid flicks should drop about 40 percent each, with For Richer or Poorer (in seventh with $3.6 million) staying ahead of Home Alone 3 (in eighth with $3.1 million). The Rainmaker should start to disintegrate in week five, not only having to compete with the new wide release dramas, but also being inundated with big-ticket exclusive NY/LA releases looking for Oscar nods before opening wide in January. Expect a ninth place finish with a 50 percent drop to $1.7 million. And bringing up the rear, it’s Anastasia with a 45 percent drop to $1.7 million.
The Hot Button is going on Holiday hiatus starting tomorrow. But there will be new content every day, as usual. I know, because I already wrote it. For the weekend box office figures, try Yahoo on Sunday after 6 P.M. eastern. And as far as the Christmas Day releases, Jackie Brown, As Good As It Gets, Mr. Magoo, An American Werewolf in Paris and The Postman , I will now venture $17 million, $11 million, $5 million, $7 million and $12 million. Not necessarily in that order. (Just kidding) The Hot Button will be back with a brand new box office review by noon on December 29.
E-mail works though the holidays. Try it. You’ll like it.