‘Summer’ Proves Hotter Than ‘Red’

“Red Corner,” director Jon Avnet’s indictment of China’s judicial system, proved to be no match for Columbia Pictures’ scary date movie, “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Industry observers said even though “Red Corner” had a heavy marketing campaign and was timed to coincide with the visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin--which Gere used to criticize China’s human rights record while hyping his film--the political nature of the movie was a difficult sell with younger audiences.

Overall, the weekend box-office take was down about 4% compared to the same period last year, reversing a seven-week trend.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “I Know What What You Did Last Summer” $9.4 2,524 3 (Sony/Columbia) $45.3 $3,727 2. “Red Corner” $7.4 2,244 1 (MGM) $7.4 $3,299 3. “Devil’s Advocate” $7.37 2,404 3 (Warner Bros.) $37.3 $3,065 4. “Boogie Nights” $4.7 907 4 (New Line) $8.8 $5,162 5. “Kiss the Girls” $3.5 2,354 5 (Paramount) $51.4 $1,492 6.”Seven Years in Tibet” $3.3 2,103 4 (Sony/TriStar) $31.0 $1,559 7. “Fairy Tale--A True Story” $2.9 1,278 2 (Paramount) $7.1 $2,271 8. “Switchback” $2.7 1,128 1 (Paramount) $2.7 $2,398 9. “Gattaca” $2.6 1,279 2 (Sony/Columbia) $8.2 $2,021 10. “In & Out” $1.7 1,659 7 (Paramount) $59.2 $1,042

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.