Big hopes for the gagbag Hollywood wants a hit in Austin Powers in Goldmember

Arthur J Pais

The high-spirited lowbrow comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me stunned the movie world with a $54 million weekend opening, and then a $310 million worldwide gross.

In just three days, the film starring Mike Myers had grabbed more money than its predecessor Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery had made in America through its 10-week run.

The first Austin Powers movie had also starred Mike Myers, and though it had a mild career at the box-office, it had gathered a huge following when it was released on video and DVD, paving way for the phenomenal success of The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Now, Mike Myers and director Jay Roach are back again with Austin Powers in Goldmember, a mixture of wacky comedy, absurd dialogue and spoof of James Bond.

Following last week's lacklustre opening for Stuart Little 2 and the disastrous reception for K-19: The Widowmaker, Hollywood is hoping for very big numbers for the new Austin Powers movie.

While trade publication Variety says the film is full of stale jokes and will not do the kind of business its predecessor did, Gitesh Pandya of Boxofficeguru.com expects it to open with about $60 million. If that happens, Austin Powers in Goldmember could head for a strong $175-$200 million run in North America, even if there is steady and heavy erosion at the box-office the following weeks.

The previous Austin Powers adventure-comedy had grossed about $210 million in North America.

The new film opens at about 3,600 theatres and some 4,500 screens. No comedy has opened on so many screens yet.

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The Disney family saga, The Country Bears, is about a young cub raised by humans who learns about his adoption and starts a wild journey to search for his real family.

Disney will release the movie in about 2,500 moviehouses and over 3,000 screens. Will it emerge as the family movie of the week or will Stuart Little 2 prove to be resilient and earn more money?

In any event, Country Bears is not a very expensive film, having cost about $40 million, while Stuart Little 2 cost over $100 million, with some Hollywood insiders believing that might have cost at least $140 million.