Forecast

Back when Speed came out, I jokingly thought, "Hey, since this is such a smash hit, why not make other action pictures based on measurements?" I came up with one that I called "Temperature." It was to be set in Alaska and star Northern Exposure's Rob Morrow facing off against a villainous Dennis Hopper in the Iditarod. Basically, if a certain package's temperature fell below 50 degrees, then… kaboom! Now, five years later, I find that they stole my idea! It's called Chill Factor. True, they changed the setting and instead of going under 50 degrees, the package can't go over it, but still! As consolation, this picture is set to have one chilly reception. Action pictures dumped on this weekend in past years include Knock Off, Fire Down Below, and Bulletproof. Cuba Gooding's histrionics, the overall low star power, and that utterly hokey premise will likely lead to an even worse opening than those clunkers.

With the failure of other 70's set teen flicks like Detroit Rock City and Dick, the prospects for Outside Providence seem grim. Miramax, in desperation perhaps, has been promoting it as another raunchy comedy from the Farrelly Bros., who have, in turn, fired back proclaiming the campaign misleading. The picture is supposedly more serious and realistic than their previous work, and, plus, they just co-wrote the script. The print ad is selling sex as it features what looks like an enhanced picture of the female lead. Now, this is standard fare for other studios. But Miramax has been setting new lows lately, and, anyway, aren't they supposed to have more integrity than the others? It seems that as the years have gone by they've been whoring more and more.

Needless to say, The Sixth Sense will easily dominate yet again, its fifth straight weekend at the top. Reuters recently had a bizarre headline: "This Weekend at the Movies: 'Sense' May Feel 'Chill.'" The accompanying article had the gall to suggest that Chill Factor and Outside Providence both had a shot at the top spot. It's incredible that someone getting paid to write on the industry could be ignorant enough to suggest this, especially considering that no movie has opened to over $10 million on Labor Day weekend. I don't like to comment on other industry analysts, but the field is so over-saturated with mediocrity, that sometimes I get fed up and just have to.

Editor's Note: Articles published before 2001 were assigned and reported as box office briefings, not a full evaluation or analysis.