Bewitching 'Hour'

First, dinosaurs ruled the box office. Then simians. Now Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan are expected to strike a blow for humankind with their comedy sequel ''Rush Hour 2.'' Analysts say the follow-up to the $141 million-grossing hit should blast last weekend's conquerors, ''Planet of the Apes,'' out of the No. 1 orbit with as much as a $45 million opening.

The original ''Hour'' shocked industry watchers -- and boosted Chan and Tucker onto Hollywood's A-list -- when it debuted in 1998 with $33 million during the typically low-earning month of September. But analysts have even higher hopes for the second film, in which the East-meets-West pair reunite on Chan's home turf, Hong Kong, and face off a beguiling foe, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' ingenue Zhang Ziyi. Robert Bucksbaum of box office tracking firm Reel Source expects the movie to surpass its predecessor, kicking up more than $150 million total. ''The chemistry between Chan and Tucker is more fully developed than in the original,'' says Bucksbaum. ''Plus, Tucker's in a foreign country, which is cool: He can go into a club and say, 'Hey I'm 5 inches taller than anyone else!''

''Hour'''s distributor, New Line, has put extra muscle into ensuring that word gets out about the film, notes Gitesh Pandya, editor of boxofficeguru.com: ''A larger studio like Disney or Fox has several movies to promote in one season. But New Line has been able to put all of their energy into this movie, marketing it from all different angles -- on MTV, talk shows, Comedy Central, TNT; places that go beyond the regular 30-second commercials.''

''Apes'' is expected to lose more than half of its boffo opening of $68.5 million, tumbling to No. 2 with about $34 million. But that hardly means the remake's director, Tim Burton, should flee Tinseltown for the trees. ''When you're at that level, 50 percent isn't a bad drop,'' says Dan Marks, vice president of ACNielsen. He says action-heavy TV ads and vastly improved monkey makeup helped make the reinterpretation of the 1968 sci-fi flick a success. ''I'm always surprised when a movie does almost $70 million. We expected 'Apes' to be a real strong opening, but you just can't do that kind of business and not have all your elements fall into place.''

The refueled fossils of ''Jurassic Park III'' should score another $14 million for third place, while a far daintier new release, the G-rated ''The Princess Diaries,'' opens at No. 4 with between $10 and $15 million. Reel Source's Bucksbaum says that positive word of mouth about the ugly-duckling comedy from ''Pretty Woman'' director Gary Marshall could help it reach beyond its target audience of young girls to become a sleeper hit in coming weeks. ''It's the 'Rocky' of makeover films,'' he says. ''And remember, makeovers are what drives daytime television.'' But Pandya disagrees: ''The G rating can turn away a lot of crowds. Most teenagers don't find that appealing.''

The Julia Roberts-led ensemble piece ''America's Sweethearts'' should round out the top five with about $8 million, out-romancing newcomer ''Original Sin.'' The sultry period drama is expected to debut with only about $5 million, despite big-name stars Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. Analysts say ''Sin,'' whose release date has been moved several times by distributor MGM, marks the beginning of the dreaded late summer period when studios tend to dump their least favored releases. ''This is the time of year for sequels and holdover hits,'' says Pandya. ''Given the release date, it looks like the studio is looking to get this out into the marketplace and get it over with.''

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