<I>Stuart Little</I> Is Big Shot
It was a great holiday weekend at the movie box office - capping off a record-breaking year.
The week between Christmas and New Year's is the biggest week at the box office and this year was very good, making almost $100 million dollars, reports CBS Early Show Contributor Gail O'Neill.
Stuart Little, the big movie about a little mouse, brought in $16 million this weekend, proving that the holidays are all about family.
"Stuart Little really held to the conventional wisdom that family movies do well. Kids are out of school, parents need something to take their kids to. They had already seen Toy Story 2...so Stuart Little was a very natural choice," said Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagel.
Adult movies also did well this weekend. According to Hollywood.com, The Green Mile made $13.2 million during the weekend, followed by Any Given Sunday ($13M), Toy Story 2 ($12.2M) and The Talented Mr. Ripley ($12M).
This year's movies made a total of $7.5 billion at the box office. Last year they took in just under $7 billion.
The top money-making movies of 1999 are:
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: $430 Million
- The Sixth Sense: $276 Million
- Toy Story 2: $208 Million
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me: $206 Million
- The Matrix: $171 Million Ground breaking, cutting-edge special effects transported The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves, to number five. They will start filming two sequels back to back in the fall of 2000, which will be released in 2002 and 2003.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the first sequel to make more money in its opening weekend than the first film made in its total theatrical run. The film was a huge personal triumph for star Mike Meyers who saw his asking price jump to $20 million for his next film.
Toy Story 2 may end up taking in $75 million more at the box office than the original. It features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Kelsey Grammer.
The Sixth Sense seemed to come out of nowhere, and became Bruce Willis' highest grossing film ever. Aside from Willis, its big draws are a surprise ending and 11-year old Haley Joel Osment, who is expected to receive an Oscar nomination.
Even though Star Wars- Episode One: The Phantom Menace was considered a critical disappointment to some, the Star Wars phenomenon continues. This film is the number three film of all time. George Lucas is currently writing Episode Two, which should be in theaters in 2002.
The much anticipated Man On The Moon, starring Jim Carey, surprised many by only coming in ninth place.
"While it is a terrific impersonation of Andy Kaufman by Jim Carey, it never really gets at the heart of who Andy Kaufman was," said Jess Cagel.