low graphics version | feedback | help
| Front Page World UK UK Politics Business Sci/Tech Health Education Sport |
| Entertainment |
|
New Music Releases |
| Talking Point In Depth AudioVideo |
Woody and Buzz outgun Arnie
Toy Story 2: Disney's animated sequel is a runaway success |
Disney animation Toy Story 2 has stormed to the top of the US movie chart - smashing box office records and delivering a severe body blow to Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest film.
The computer-generated sequel to the 1995 hit Toy Story won the lion's share of cinema audiences during the lucrative Thanksgiving weekend.
Schwarzenegger: Back, but not on top |
The action film, which sees 52-year-old Schwarzenegger play an ex-cop battling the devil, could not compete with the wholesome appeal of Toy Story 2.
Cinemagoers of all ages flocked to see the state-of-the-art feature on its first weekend of general release, after it received almost universal rave reviews.
Twice as nice
With Tom Hanks and Tim Allen again providing the voices of pint-sized heroes Woody the cowboy and astronaut Buzz Lightyear, some are saying the film is even better than the original.
Buzz Lightyear wins universal praise |
Over the actual holiday weekend, cinemagoers parted with a record $57.7m (£36m) to see the film, which sees the toys struggling to save Woody from ending up in a Japanese museum.
The film has scored the third highest five-day gross ever - behind the summer blockbusters Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ($105m or £65.5m) and Independence Day ($85m or £53m).
No turkey for Disney
It has also smashed previous Thanksgiving records for five-day and weekend takings, held by Disney's A Bug's Life ($45.7m or £28.5m) and The Lion King ($40.9m or £25.5m) respectively.
Robert Buckbaum of Reel Source Inc, who monitor box office trends, reckons the film's impressive performance has not only stunned its rivals.
A Bug's Life was Disney's last Thanksgiving hit |
The relative failure of End of Days to take even $20m over the three-day weekend - less than half Toy Story 2's takings - is another blow to Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie career.
The hulking star - who reigned supreme in the 1980s with hits such as The Terminator, Predator and Twins - has had difficulty recapturing that magic in the last decade.
Hits such as Terminator 2 and True Lies have been interspersed by the poorly-received Jingle All the Way, Eraser and Last Action Hero.
|
Search BBC News Online |
|
|
 Advanced search options | |
| |
 | |
 | |
| |
 | BBC RADIO NEWS |
| |
| |
 | BBC ONE TV NEWS |
| |
| |
| WORLD NEWS SUMMARY |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 | PROGRAMMES GUIDE |
|
|
See also: |
|
 |
|
 |
18 Jun 99 | Entertainment |
|
Woody and Buzz are back |
| |
|
|
15 Nov 99 | Entertainment |
|
Pokemon zaps US cinemas |
| |
|
|
15 Jun 99 | Entertainment |
|
Bosses bank on Hanks |
| |
|
|
Internet links: |
|
|
|
|
|
Toy Story 2 |
| |
|
|
End of Days |
| |
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites |
|
Links to other Entertainment stories are at the foot of the page.
E-mail this story to a friend
~RS~a~RS~international~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~54~RS~)