THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 27A
6,2004
associated Press
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MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
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NEWS
Highly anticipated movie a 'Predator' in box office
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Movie-goers were easy prey for a double dose of space invaders.
The sci-fi smackdown "Alien vs. Predator," featuring the creatures of the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $38.25 million, studio estimates showed Sunday.
"Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews reprising their royal roles, opened in second place with a three-day gross of $23 million, pushing its total since premiering Wednesday to $37.2 million.
That was about on par with the
$37.9 million "The Princess Diaries" took in over its entire first week in August 2001.
The new movies bumped the previous weekend's top film, Tom Cruise's "Collateral," to third place with $16 million.
The animated kid flick "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie," adapted from the TV cartoon show from Japan, debuted at No. 4 with $9.4 million.
"Alien vs. Predator," featuring Sanaa Lathan and "Aliens" and "Alien 3" co-star Lance Henriksen, centers on a human expedition that stumbles on a spacemonster blood feud in an ancient pyramid buried below Antarctica.
The movie debuted slightly
ahead of the $36.4 million debut of last summer's horror hybrid "Freddy vs. Jason," which paired the slashers of the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchises.
"This continues the trend of combining franchises to very strong box-office results," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "If you're a fan of the 'Alien' movies, you want to see this movie. If you're a fan of 'Predator.'" you want to see this movie."
Audiences shelled out $16.8 million to see "Alien vs. Predator" on Friday, but the movie's gross fell to $12.5 million Saturday, a steep 26 percent decline. Most new movies do better business on
That's a sign that "Alien vs. Predator" could follow the pattern of "Freddy vs. Jason" and other horror tales, which tend to open well then plunge in subsequent weekends.
Saturday than Friday.
Still, "Freddy vs. Jason" "topped out at a healthy $82.2 million domestically. Budgeted at $60 million, "Alien vs. Predator" would turn a solid profit for 20th Century Fox if it matches the gross of "Freddy vs. Jason."
Preceded by "Alien vs. Predator" video games, the movie drew a largely male audience, most younger than 25. To broaden its appeal, 20th Century Fox brought the movie in at a PG-13 rating, though the previous four "Alien"
films and two "Predator" flicks had hard R ratings for "violence"
"I don't think it's a cop-out at all," said Bruce Snyder, the studio's head of distribution. "This is based on a video game that did have a bit of a younger audience. There's a lot of action and violence, but most of it is creature to creature rather than creature to people."
In limited release, the domestic drama "We Don't Live Here Anymore," starring Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Mark Ruffalo and Peter Krause, opened strongly with $106,000 in just seven theaters. The film expands to more theaters this Friday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North
American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today. "All Aboard are, Preacher!" $38.25
1. Allen vs. Predator, $36.25 million.
2. "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement." $23 million.
4. "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie," $9.4 million.
Engagement," $23 million. 3."Collateral." $16 million.
6. "The Village," $7 million.
5. "The Bourne Supremacy." $8.2 million.
7. "The Manchurian Candidate,"
    $6 million
8. "Little Black Book," $3.7 million.
9. "I, Robot," $3.6 million.
Funk singer Rick James dead at 56
10. "Spider-Man 2," $3.4 million.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Grammy Award-winning funk singer Rick James was laid to rest Saturday in his hometown, where 6,000 people waited for hours to pay their final respects.
The line of mourners stretched more than two city blocks for the funeral service. Seventy gospel singers and a band performed a lively tribute.
"This Buffalo project boy was like a phoenix rising from ashes to the pinnacle of America's musical world," said his cousin, former Ohio congressman Louis Stokes. He attended the funeral, along with the singer's three children, aunt, uncle, other cousins and friends.
The singer died in his sleep last week at his home near Universal City, Calif. James, whose real name was James Johnson Jr., was 56. He was to be cremated after the service, funeral director Vincent Amigone said.
An autopsy has failed to determine what caused the singer's
death. Results of a toxicology test were pending. James, who suffered a stroke in 1998, was a diabetic and had a pacemaker.
James never failed to publicly praise his late mother, Mabel Sims Gladen, said Stokes, who described a mutual devotion between the hardworking mother and son.
"He took us all with him on a roller coaster ride," said Stokes, whose brother, Carl Stokes, was elected the first black mayor of a major city, Cleveland, in 1967. "Rick James became our family's first superstar."
James' 1981 hit "Super Freak" earned him a Grammy for best R&B song nearly a decade later, after rapper MC Hammer, who shared the Grammy, used it in his "U Can't Touch This."
"He was without a doubt a musical genius," said longtime friend Aaron Dublin, who worked with James until 1983. "He changed the game of music. There was never anybody like him before and there's never been anybody like him since."
The Associated Press
Carol Rainey of Buffalo, N.Y., wipes tears from her eyes waiting for the public viewing of Rick James, prior to funeral services at St. John Baptist Church on Saturday. An autopsy failed to determine the singer's cause of death.
TV show hopefuls flock to Cleveland
Bv K.R. PIERCE
Daily Kent Stater,
Kent State University
VAILWHERE
KENT, Ohio — Normally the thoroughfares of Cleveland Browns Stadium in downtown Cleveland are deserted during hot August nights. But on Aug. 2, the streets told a different story.
Tents, sleeping bags, lawn chairs and thousands of people decorated the grassy knolls for one purpose — to be the next American Idol.
At 6 a.m. on Aug. 3, Idol hopefuls gathered at the stadium to wait in line to receive blue wrist-bands, which entitled them a chance to prove themselves in front of the judges.
Dale Mossburg, from Pittsburgh, said singing was a natural for him. "I love making other people happy and making them enjoy themselves," he said. "And I think I can do this through music."
American Idol, a singing competition where the winner is awarded a recording contract, has developed into a cultural marvel.
"I've been dreaming about [the opportunity to sing] since I was 4 years old and dancing in my living room to Madonna," said 25-year-old Rosa Hale from Lansing, Mich. "When an opportunity like this comes up, you just have to grab it."
Cleveland, the first stop in the talent search for the upcoming season, had the largest turnout for any Idol tryout. The crowd was estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 — only 13,000 tried out at the New York audition last year. As the morning progressed, lines were wrapping around the stadium.
By noon, the lines were at a stand still, and people were sweating in the 86-degree summer heat. People gripped about the soaring temperatures, water that cost $3.50 per bottle and the lack of communication about what was going on.
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