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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''

Last month it was women calling the shots at the box office, making ''Double Jeopardy'' a hit. But now it's the kids' turn, if you judge by the outstanding estimated $31 million take this weekend for ''Pokémon: The First Movie.'' The animated feature has racked up a $50.8 million total since its debut last Wednesday, easily setting a five-day opening record for November and besting the $45.7 million gross for ''A Bug's Life'' last year. Warner Bros., which planned to release its already completed ''Pokémon'' sequel next summer, may bump that opening up a bit while kids still have their parents' wallets pried open.

Meanwhile, the rest of this weekend's new films -- aimed at an older crowd -- performed pokily. ''Dogma'' fared the best, opening in third place with a respectable $8.7 million (behind last week's holdover, ''The Bone Collector,'' which took in another handsome $12 million). The per-screen average for ''Dogma'' was $6,832, second only to ''Pokémon'''s $10,199, so it's likely that all the controversy about this religious comedy actually helped it. (Did the religious picketers learn nothing from the Brooklyn Museum protest?)

The other openers could have used a protest -- ''The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'' debuted in fourth place with $6.4 million (and a lousy $2,963 per-screen average), while ''Anywhere but Here'' landed in fifth with $5.6 million, and a slightly better $3,354 average. The biggest loser was ''Light It Up,'' which took in only $2.4 million for 11th place, giving it a lame $3.1 million since its Wednesday opening. Good thing Burger King didn't opt to give out ''Light It Up'' trading cards.


Posted Nov 15, 1999 | Order Article Reprints