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By Josh Wolk
Josh Wolk
Josh Wolk
Josh Wolk is a senior writer at EW and the author of ''Cabin Pressure: One Man's Desparate Attempt to Recapture His Youth as a Camp Counselor''
Being told the central plot twist in the ads didn't stop audiences from running to ''Double Jeopardy'': The Ashley Judd/Tommy Lee Jones thriller handily took the top spot with an estimated $23.7 million in its opening weekend. But that was the only good news for new releases.

Life wasn't beautiful for Robin Williams, whose Holocaust drama ''Jakob the Liar'' debuted at No. 8 with a meager $2.2 million. (And to add insult to Williams' injury, ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' was bumped off the Top-20-grossers-of-all-time list by ''Sixth Sense,'' which hit $225.1 million this weekend and took the cross-dressing comedy's place at No. 20.) But at least ''Jakob'' beat out ''Mumford,'' which limped out of the gate with only $2.0 million, landing in ninth place despite overwhelmingly favorable reviews.

For the second week in a row, however, there's been a surprising success brewing underneath the high-profile movies. ''American Beauty'' extended its limited release to 429 theaters last weekend, which was enough to earn it $6 million and land it in fifth place. (After ''Blue Streak'' -- $13.2 million, ''The Sixth Sense'' -- $8.5 million, and ''For Love of the Game'' -- $6.6 million.)

Considering that all the films that ranked above it were playing at more than 2,500 theaters, ''Beauty'' is a good bet to hit the No. 1 spot when it too goes wide on Friday.


Posted Sep 27, 1999 | Order Article Reprints