..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

With a Little Elf from My Friends Were there Gremlins at play at American movie theaters this weekend? If one listened to industry prognosticators that would have to be the conclusion as New Line's Elf outdistanced the competition to rank first with an estimated $27 million. There were also surprises - good and bad - for the debuts of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Looney Toons: Back in Action and second weekend returns on Matrix Revolutions and Love Actually. Following a robust debut, Elf clearly infected crowds with seasonal cheeriness. The combination of the hip and the cornball demonstrated a wider than anticipated appeal that translated into a very sturdy hold of -13%. The film is now expected to do at least $150 million and likely more if it can withstand holiday competition. Just a breath behind was Fox's launch of Master and Commander with $25.8 million. The adaptation of Patrick O'Brian's books about British seamen during the Napoleonic era led the pack opening day with, again, stronger than anticipated results. Fox had steered the picture into this particular calendar berth with prospects of a $20 million debut that would be second to Matrix Revolutions. They were pleased to be wrong on the first count and a studio spokesman said its robust performance could be the result of strong response from women. Initial exit polls in selected markets indicated a 52%-48% male-female audience. Overall weekend business should tally out to roughly $136 million representing a 12% drop from seven days earlier. It was also down from 2002 by 22% when the second installment of the Harry Potter series stormed in with $88.4 million. The weekend also saw two other national debuts including Paramount's non-fiction Tupac: Resurrection with a $5 million gross that ranked it eighth overall. The film played out like a concert film and should ultimately find its greatest success in ancillaries. The commercial diagnosis for WB's Looney Toons: Back in Action was less optimistic. The pricey live action-animated family film bowed with about $9.4 million following a full-bore advertising blitz. It provided the industry head scratcher, performing considerably below the studio's similarly ambitious Space Jam from 1996 despite generally positive reviews. It could well be one of 2003's worst commercial misfires. The Burbank crowd was also rocked by a 67% decline for its third Matrix. Despite a critical drubbing, a better hold was expected and unless holiday business provides the film with a second commercial wind it could wind up grossing 50% of The Matrix Reloaded domestic gross. Universal roughly doubled its theater count on Love Actually and saw its box office climb by 28% and maintain a hardy per engagement average. Continued expansions will be more cautious as the studio continues to maximize on excellent word-of-mouth. Niche debuts and expansions were limited in the current crowded and highly competitive marketplace. New Yorker had very good response to My Architect with roughly $37,000 generated from two Manhattan engagements but IDP's Anything But Love grossed a disappointing $25,000 from 16 venues. Screeners: The Saga Continues Expect an official announcement Monday from the Motion Picture Association of America that no further compromise on its anti-screener policy will be forthcoming this year. Los Angeles Film Critics Ass. President Jean Oppenheimer received a call Friday afternoon from the MPAA's Jack Valenti informing her that meetings with studio reps failed to render a method of distributing tapes to other than Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members that satisfied piracy concerns. An earlier conversation with Valenti also indicated a seemingly insurmountable logistical problem. He could not see a way of duplicating potentially thousands of VHS tapes (that have to be processed in real time) in time to meet the needs of critics groups and industry guilds award schedules. LAFCA may revisit its decision to cancel its annual awards or postpone voting into 2004. There's also speculation of another vote on the issue by the National Society of Film Critics that earlier narrowly passed a motion to continue its annual process. Another prospect now that the MPAA has consulted with aggrieved groups and found no further compromise is legal action. Both the British Academy and Independent Feature Project have mentioned the possibility of taking the issue to the courts but an extremely clever legal angle would have to be formulated to ensure that the issue wasn't summarily tossed out of chambers. The MPAA intention of demonstrating to federal legislators that it was prepared to clean up its own house appears to have miserably backfired. Dissention within the ranks and among the wider film industry population has escalated to fever pitch. Meanwhile, in D.C. members of Congress and the Senate are looking upon the situation as an industry in disarray that does not speak with a single voice. - by Leonard Klady