'Grinch' Tops Box Office

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” The Grinch stole the box office. <br><br>Jim Carrey's live-action version of the Dr. Seuss classic ``How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' opened with a whopping $55.1 million

Monday, November 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” The Grinch stole the box office.

Jim Carrey's live-action version of the Dr. Seuss classic ``How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' opened with a whopping $55.1 million in ticket sales, pushing ``Charlie's Angels'' out of the top spot.

It was the fifth-best movie debut ever and a record for a non-sequel or prequel.

``Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' opened in second place with $23 million, about $4 million less than the first ``Rugrats'' grossed two years ago, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Final figures were to be released Monday.

After two weekends at the top, ``Charlie's Angels'' slipped to third place with $13.7 million, for a total of $93.6 million.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's cloning thriller ``The 6th Day'' opened in fourth place with $13.2 million. The debut of ``Bounce,'' a romance starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, was next with $11.5 million.

The overall box office soared, with the top 12 movies grossing $148.3 million, up 42 percent from the same weekend last year.

Next weekend brings two more big films: ''102 Dalmatians'' and ``Unbreakable,'' which reunites writer-director M. Night Shyamalan and Bruce Willis, from the supernatural sensation ``The Sixth Sense.''

Many studio executives and analysts expect the new entries and holdovers will make for a record Thanksgiving weekend, topping last year's $225.5 million.

``The Grinch,'' directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer, received mixed reviews, with some critics calling it overblown and uncreative and others praising the elaborate production and Carrey's manic performance as the holiday boogeyman.

Reviews did not matter, though, considering the built-in audience of fans who adore the Dr. Seuss book and TV cartoon, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box office earnings. Distributor Universal also generated substantial hype by blanketing the country with a Grinch marketing blitz, he added.

``This is a family film that was impervious to any critical thrashings that it received,'' Dergarabedian said. ``The Grinch was everywhere. Especially if you're a kid, there's no way you could not know that the Grinch was coming to town.''

The movie drew strongly from all audiences and age groups, said Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution. Playing in 3,127 theaters, ``The Grinch'' averaged $17,621 per cinema, compared to $7,839 in 2,934 locations for ``Rugrats in Paris.''

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'' $55.1 million.

2. ``Rugrats in Paris: The Movie,'' $23 million.

3. ``Charlie's Angels,'' $13.7 million.

4. ``The 6th Day,'' $13.2 million.

5. ``Bounce,'' $11.5 million.

6. ``Men of Honor,'' $8 million.

7. ``Little Nicky,'' $7.7 million.

8. ``Meet the Parents,'' $6.4 million.

9. ``The Legend of Bagger Vance,'' $2.9 million.

10. ``Red Planet,'' $2.7 million.