Coyote Ugly's Fourth Place Open

Aug. 6 -- Kevin Bacon’s disappearing act was hard to miss in theaters this weekend, with Hollow Man taking in $26.8 million according to studio estimates.

Director Paul Verhoeven’s thriller about a scientist who creates a serum to make himself invisible easily took first place at the box office, appearing in front of a near three-way tie for second place.

Last week’s top opener Nutty Professor II: The Klumps slipped into second place with $18 million, just slightly ahead of the Space Cowboys who landed in third with $17.6 million in receipts.

The barmaids of Coyote Ugly collected $17 million for the weekend, adding up to a fourth place open for the Disney release.

Eastwood Flies to Career High James Garner, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones join Clint Eastwood as a team of aging astronauts in Space Cowboys. Eastwood doubles as director of the comedy and achieved his strongest film debut ever, including his work as both an actor and director. Warner Brothers President of Theatrical Distribution Dan Fellman calls this a wonderful opening, “considering since 1970 he has generated over a billion dollars at the domestic box office. I think what this shows is his ability to pick projects and still have a great appeal to all mass audiences across the country.”

Coyote Ugly’s fourth place debut is considered a respectable open by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution President Chuck Viane, “I’m in love with it, to get a mid teen open with no movie stars is a great way to start.”

He’s more concerned with the films’ endurance. “It’s truly about what we do next weekend. For some reason producer Jerry [Bruckheimer] has a tremendous record, whether it’s Flashdance or Dangerous Minds, where movies play out and play out.”

Subtle Slowdown With three diverse new movies and a strong holdover in Nutty Professor, the overall box office still lagged far behind the same period in 1999. The top 12 movies grossed $116.5 million, down 15.3 percent from the same weekend a year ago.