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GIRL FIGHT
Babes who kick butt round out June. ''Charlie's Angels 2'' -- now rejiggered to costar Bernie Mac as Drew Barrymore & Co.'s manager -- is set to bow June 27. But there's a very wild card in one Angelina Jolie, whose Lara Croft may swing into action the same weekend; Paramount is eyeing both June 20 and 27 for ''Tomb Raider 2.'' ''We feel comfortable with the end of June based on the production schedule and the fact that people will stay out of our way,'' says Paramount's COO Rob Friedman.

''I guess they figure that 'Hulk' may have more male appeal,'' says Dergarabedian of Lara's proposed standoff with His Greenness. ''But if Paramount puts Croft against Sony's 'Charlie's Angels 2,' then they have two female-oriented pictures right up against each other.'' Good guess: Someone will blink.

SCHWARZEN-SWAGGER
So far nobody's been foolish enough to take on Ah-nuld on Independence Day weekend. ''Terminator 3'''s only slated competition is Brad Pitt -- or rather, Brad Pitt's voice -- in the DreamWorks cartoon ''Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.'' ''Bad Boys 2'' (reteaming Will Smith and Martin Lawrence) and ''Spy Kids 3'' open the last two weekends of July, respectively. The season's other anticipated sequel -- John Singleton's non-Diesel-powered ''The Fast and the Furious 2'' -- hasn't picked its date. But chances are it will race to millions, with all the advantages of a franchise favorite.

Where does that leave good small movies? They can beat the system, despite Hollywood's advance planning and millions-in-marketing posturing. ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' opened April 19 against ''The Scorpion King,'' eventually watching ''Spidey'' and ''Star Wars'' recede at the box office. The indie has now topped $82 million in total sales, and on Labor Day weekend it became the No. 2 film. ''Wedding'' writer-star Nia Vardalos has some advice for next summer's little guys: ''Tell 10 Greeks about your movie. That will help to get the word out.''

Originally posted Sep 06, 2002
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