Box Office Favors <i>Eyes</i>

Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick's final film, had pupils popping as the brainy, erotic thriller beat out the raunchy sex comedy American Pie to win the weekend box office.

Kubrick's study of jealousy and sexual obsession, which stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, took in $22.8 million, easily surpassing the openings of his previous 12 movies, according to industry estimates Sunday.

American Pie, the top movie last weekend, fell to second with $13.3 million, and Adam Sandler's Big Daddy remained at third with $10.5 million.

Lake Placid, about a 30-foot crocodile on the loose in a Maine lake, took a healthy bite of the box office in its first weekend, finishing fourth with $10.2 million.

Two other movies debuted in the top 10. The Wood, a Big Chill-type story of a bridegroom and two friends reminiscing about growing up in Inglewood, Calif., debuted at sixth with $8.6 million.

Muppets From Space, featuring Jim Henson's creations searching for intelligent life in the cosmos, was 10th with an opening weekend of $5.1 million and earning $7 million since it hit theaters Wednesday.

Wild Wild West was fifth with $10 million, zeroing in on the $100 million mark after taking in just over $94 million in 19 days.

The sexual subject matter, the star power of Cruise, Kidman and Kubrick, and the fact that it was the director's final film virtually guaranteed a good opening weekend for Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick died in March.

"It's a tribute to Stanley, the great reviews and performances by Tom and Nicole, and the untimely death of Stanley," said Dan Feldman, president of distribution for Warner Bros. "A lot of people could not wait to get in."

Warner's cloak-of-secrecy marketing, with ads featuring racy images of Cruise and Kidman but few details about the plot, also drew in many movie-goers, despite the film's nearly three-hour running time.

The first-place debut maintains a streak for Cruise. His last five movies, Jerry Maguire, Mission: Impossible, Interview with the Vampire, The Firm and A Few Good Men all opened at No. 1.

"This proves that Tom Cruise can open a picture, any kind of picture, any time of year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., which tracks movie-ticket sales.

Eyes Wide Shut already has grossed roughly half the total box office for both of Kubrick's last two movies, Full Metal Jacket in 1987 and The Shining in 1980. Opening in limited release in 215 theaters, Full Metal Jacket made $2.2 million its first weekend, though it actually had a higher per-screen average, $10,313 compared to $9,457 for Eyes Wide Shut.

[For more information about Eyes Wide Shut, click here.]

The surprise of the weekend was The Blair Witch Proect, a horror movie told through videotape shot by three filmmakers who disappear in a forest while searching for a legendary witch. Star Wars-like crowds lined up at the 27 theaters where Blair Witch was playing, and the movie averaged a whopping $57,407 a screen.

"We basically broke the house record in every one of those theaters," said Amir Malin, president of Artisan Entertainment, which released Blair Witch.

The movie cost just $350,000 to produce and has made $1.6 million since opening Wednesday. Artisan plans to release it in 700 to 800 theaters by July 30, Malin said.

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

1. Eyes Wide Shut, $22.8 million.

2. American Pie, $13.3 million.

3. Big Daddy, $10.5 million.

4. Lake Placid, $10.2 million.

5. Wild Wild West, $10 million.

6. The Wood, $8.6 million.

7. Tarzan, $7.4 million.

8. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, $5.3 million.

9. The General's Daughter, $5.2 million.

10. Muppets From Space, $5.1 million.

Written by David Germain