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RocketMan (1997)

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5 articles from 1997

28 October 1997 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Final figures for last weekend released Monday by Exhibitor Relations showed the box office performing strongly, collecting $66.6 million, some 17 percent above the same week last year. Topping the list was the second week of Columbia's I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), which earned $12.5 million, followed by Warner's Devil's Advocate, The (1997) with $10.2 million. Other top finishers: 3. Kiss the Girls (1997), Paramount, $5.1 million; 4. Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Sony, $4.7 million; 5. Gattaca (1997), Sony, $4.3 million; 6. Fairytale: A True Story (1997), Paramount, $3.5 million; 7. In & Out (1997), Paramount, $2.8 million; 8. Rocket Man (1997), Disney, $2.1 million; 9. Life Less Ordinary, A (1997), Fox, $2.007 million; 10. L.A. Confidential (1997), Warner Bros., $2.004 million; 11. Soul Food (1997), Fox, $2.001 million.

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20 October 1997 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Serving as a reminder of who represent the driving force behind the box office, the teen screamer, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), which was dismissed by most critics Friday as a pale imitation of last year's Scream (1996), wound up leading the list of top weekend performers with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to estimates Sunday by box-office trackers Exhibitor Relations. (According to today's Hollywood Reporter, the results represented the biggest opening ever for an R-rated picture in Sept. or Oct.) Warner's The Devil's Advocate (1997), starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, debuted in the second spot with $12.2 million, while Paramount's Kiss the Girls (1997), which had led the pack during the previous two weeks, remained strong with $7 million. Columbia's Seven Years in Tibet (1997), starring Brad Pitt, which had a disappointing opening last week, dropped to fourth place with $6.4 million, followed by Paramount's In & Out (1997) with $3.9 million (bringing its total to $53 million). Fox's Soul Food (1997) also remained strong in sixth with $3.3 million, just ahead of Disney's Rocket Man (1997) with $3.1 million. Rounding out the top 10 were DreamWorks' Peacemaker, The (1997) with $2.8 million, Warner's L.A. Confidential (1997) with $2.4 million and Disney's Playing God (1997), starring David Duchovny, which opened with only $1.8 million.

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14 October 1997 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Final figures for the weekend box office put the take for Paramount's Kiss the Girls (1997) at $11.1 million, with a per-screen average of $2, 202, according to Exhibitor Relations. The number-two film was Sony/TriStar's Seven Years in Tibet (1997), which drew $10 million, with a per-screen average of $2, 103. Fox 2000's Soul Food (1997) was third with $5.6 million, just ahead of Paramount's In & Out (1997) with $5.5 million. DreamWorks' Peacemaker, The (1997) was fifth with $5.2 million. An eye-opener: New Line's Boogie Nights (1997) garnered $50, 168 at just two New York City screens on Sunday, following its premiere at the New York Film Festival. The also-rans: 6. Rocket Man (1997), Disney, $4.5 million; 7. L.A. Confidential (1997), Warner Bros., $3.7 million; 8. The Edge, 20th Century Fox, 3.5 million; 9. Most Wanted (1997) (New Line), 2.8 million; 10. Gang Related (1997), Orion, $2.4 million.

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13 October 1997 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Seven Years in Tibet (1997) was unable to scale box office heights over the weekend despite a $70-million budget and the drawing power of Brad Pitt. It earned an estimated $10 million, coming in second to the second week of Paramount's Kiss the Girls (1997) starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, which took in $11.1 million. Today's (Monday) Los Angeles Times, citing several analysts, attributed the disappointing showing to the fact that American moviegoers generally don't respond to such fare. Reviews Friday were generally lukewarm to Tibetan-cold. Exhibitor Relations Co. chief John Krier told the Times: "The public doesn't tend to turn out for a lot of pictures about parts of the world they can't relate to. ... On the flip side, these movies are important. The industry is so often derided for what it hasn't done. Why not give it credit ... for taking a subject that's not popular?" The weekend top ten, according to estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Kiss the Girls (1997), Paramount $11.1 million; 2. Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Sony $10 million; 3. Soul Food (1997), Fox $5.4 million; 4. In & Out (1997), Paramount, $5.3 million; 5. Peacemaker, The (1997), DreamWorks $5.2 million; 6. Rocket Man (1997), Disney $4.4 million; 7. L.A. Confidential (1997), Warner, $3.7 million; 8. Edge, The (1997/I), Fox, $3.3 million; 9. Most Wanted (1997), New Line $3 million; 10. Gang Related (1997), MGM, $2.5 million.

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10 October 1997 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Disney included whoopee cushions with a press handout Thursday to "commemorate" tonight's opening of Rocket Man (1997). "RocketMan is a gas, " an accompanying note said, "and now you can simulate some of the same sensations that astronaut Fred Randall goes through on his mission to Mars." Critics today (Friday) are suggesting that the film itself reaches (descends to?) the same level of the publicity gag. "RocketMan is one of Disney's decidedly lesser efforts, " Kevin Thomas writes in the Los Angeles Times, noting that "even the small children at the press preview were mainly unresponsive." Lawrence Van Gelder in the New York Times calls the movie "a dimwitted juvenile comedy ... that aims for the stars while making pit stops in flatulence, mucus and drool." "One small step for an unknown comic, " says USA Today, referring to star Harland Williams. "One giant stumble for comedy-kind."

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5 articles from 1997