Box Office Column

The latest assault on the senses from Jerry Bruckheimer opens today. It is called Enemy of the State, and it is not to be confused with Ibsen's Enemy of the People. The picture is yet another conspiracy thriller, this time starring Gene Hackman and the Fresh Prince.

The marketing campaign, like the picture I'm sure, is a cacophonous blur. One thing I noticed though is that they rely solely on people's assumption that whatever the Fresh Prince says will be funny. An example of this is when he says something like "you sure picked a nice car to steal." But they never show the car. So this lame attempt at humor doesn't even make sense.

What's more, the campaign is sorely lacking in the "money shots" that these types of pictures rely so heavily on to fill seats.

Disney might not have confidence in it either. It is rolling out on only 2,393 screen. An event picture of this magnitude generally gets 2,800+.

I just don't see this one being quite the blockbuster that everyone else thinks. Then again, I have absolutely no desire to see it.

The Rugrats Movie opens on a whopping 2,782 screens. I must admit, I have no idea what this will do. It is completely out of my radar. Paramount sure seems confident though, and they had success with the Beavis and Butthead movie.

Meanwhile, that wretch, Woody Allen, is such box office poison that Miramax doesn't even mention him in the ads for Celebrity.