'Dodgeball' Bombards 'Terminal' in Debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn buried Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg under a barrage of red rubber balls. Stiller and Vaughn's ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' debuted

Monday, June 14th 2004, 9:48 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn buried Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg under a barrage of red rubber balls. Stiller and Vaughn's ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' debuted as the weekend's top movie with $30 million, whipping Hanks and Spielberg's ``The Terminal,'' which opened at No. 2 with $18.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

``With a Spielberg and Hanks movie, we never thought we would be this far ahead. That's rarefied air,'' said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released ``Dodgeball.''

The weekend's other new wide release, Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan's ``Around the World in 80 Days,'' came in at No. 9 with just $6.8 million for the weekend and $9.6 million since opening Wednesday.

``Dodgeball'' stars Vaughn as a gym owner whose squad of geeks and losers tries to save their destitute health club in a dodgeball showdown against rival bully Stiller's team.

The movie's lowbrow humor _ including a coach forcing his players to duck metal wrenches to hone their dodging skills _ proved a stronger draw than the classy comedy ``The Terminal,'' about an Eastern European stuck for months in customs limbo at Kennedy airport.

``It's really hard to beat a movie like `Dodgeball.' Everybody I talked with wanted to see it, even though they thought it looked really dumb,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

``The Terminal'' had the weakest opening among Spielberg's recent wide releases _ ``Catch Me If You Can,'' ``Minority Report,'' ``A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' and ``Saving Private Ryan.'' Those films all opened in the $30 million to $35 million range.

``Dodgeball'' drew a young male audience, while ``The Terminal'' played mostly to older crowds less likely to rush out on opening weekend. DreamWorks, which distributed ``The Terminal,'' hopes the film has staying power.

``Smart, high-concept movies can be a difficult sell, but they often have a long theatrical life,'' DreamWorks head of distribution Jim Tharp said.

Based on Jules Verne's adventure and featuring a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, ``Around the World in 80 Days'' was produced by Walden Media, a family-entertainment outfit that is part of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz's empire.

Disney acquired the movie, which became the latest in a string of duds from the studio this year, including ``The Alamo,'' ``Home on the Range'' and ``Raising Helen.'' The studio hopes to rebound with ``King Arthur,'' ``The Village'' and ``Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' in July and August.

``Little streaks like this happen to everybody, but it's never about the short term,'' said Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution.

After a monthlong surge, Hollywood's business dipped, with the top 12 movies taking in $126.9 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend last year.

Some of the previous weekend's new flicks tumbled. Vin Diesel's ``The Chronicles of Riddick'' fell from second place to seventh, taking in $8.3 million, down a steep 66 percent. Nicole Kidman's ``The Stepford Wives'' came in at No. 6 with $9.2 million, a 57 percent drop.

``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,'' the No. 1 film the previous two weeks, was No. 3 with $17.4 million. Its 17-day total of $190.3 million lagged about $10 million behind revenues for the franchise's last installment, ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,'' after 17 days.

``Shrek 2'' was fourth with $13.6 million, pushing its total to $378.3 million and passing ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' to become No. 6 on the all-time domestic chart.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,'' $30 million.

2. ``The Terminal,'' $18.7 million.

3. ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,'' $17.4 million.

4. ``Shrek 2,'' $13.6 million.

5. ``Garfield: The Movie,'' $11 million.

6. ``The Stepford Wives,'' $9.2 million.

7. ``The Chronicles of Riddick,'' $8.3 million.

8. ``The Day After Tomorrow,'' $7.55 million.

9. ``Around the World in 80 Days,'' $6.8 million.

10. ``Troy,'' $1.7 million.