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Press - 2004
Four Films to Split Box Office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's major studios released four films
nationwide on Friday, hoping to grab a slice of the box office pie ahead
of next week's widely anticipated release, "The Passion of the Christ."
The movies vary widely from mainstream fare in "Welcome to Mooseport,"
featuring TV star Ray Romano (news), to college-age comedy "Eurotrip,"
teen flick "Confessions of a Drama Queen" and boxing drama "Against the
Ropes" with Meg Ryan (news).
Because they are aimed at different audiences, the four will likely
splinter the box office take from moviegoers looking for new films. As a
result, the four will find it hard to compete with reigning box office
champ, "50 First Dates," because even if its sales drop an acceptable 40
to 50 percent from last week's three-day total of $40 million, "Dates"
would ring up $20 million or more -- a hefty weekend sum in February.
Still, it is the business of movie studios have to crank out new films,
and none in this weekend's mix are budget-busters with big time special
effects, elaborate settings or a cast that is full of expensive stars.
Long, strange Trips
DreamWorks SKG rolls out "Eurotrip" and Walt Disney Pictures ushers in
"Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," both in around 2500 theaters.
"Eurotrip" comes from the same producing team as 2000's "Road Trip" and
2003's "Old School," both hits with college kids thinking about sex,
drinking, sex, and more drinking.
The main cast is relatively unknown except for Michelle Trachtenberg
(news), star of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She plays one-half of a
pair of twins on a trek to Berlin with two guy friends led by Scotty
(Scott Mechlowicz).
After a long e-mail relationship with a German girl named Mieke, Scotty
thinks he may be in love and must find out for sure. He and his friends
head for Berlin, taking audiences for a romp through London, Paris and
Amsterdam. "Eurotrip" is rated R for sexuality, nudity, language, drug and
alcohol content.
Twentieth Century Fox is part of News Corp. Ltd.'s Fox Entertainment Group
Inc . Walt Disney Pictures is part of The Walt Disney Co, and Paramount
Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc . Dreamworks SKG is privately held.
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