‘X-Files’ Uncovers $30.1 Million

The box office is out there, but for how long is anybody’s guess.

“The X-Files Movie,� as expected, opened to big numbers, capturing the No. 1 position in its debut weekend with $30.1 million in ticket sales. Based on the popular television series “The X-Files,� the movie was helped by a built-in fan base of some 20 million viewers who regularly watch the show.

Also opening big was “Mulan,� Disney’s newest animated feature-length film based on a Chinese story about a girl who masquerades as a soldier. The film took in $22.7 million on its maiden weekend.

“The exit polling, which was done all across the country, shows that this is the highest we’ve had for a motion picture of any sort, animated or non-animated, since ‘The Lion King,�’ said Disney’s distribution chief Phil Barlow. Barlow noted that marketing the movie was particularly challenging for Disney because the story line is not familiar to most Americans.

And from the It Had to Happen Sometime Department: The Academy Award-winning film “Titanic� sank out of the Top 10 for the first time since it premiered last December.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The X-Files Movie� $30.1 2,629 1 (Fox) $30.1 $11,464 2. “Mulan� $22.7 2,888 1 (Disney) $22.7 $7,876 3. “The Truman Show� $12.4 2,911 3 (Paramount) $85.2 $4,266 4. “Six Days, Seven Nights� $10.7 2,579 2 (Disney/Touchstone) $34.4 $4,150 5. “A Perfect Murder� $7.4 2,755 3 (Warner Bros.) $46.5 $2,672 6. “Can’t Hardly Wait� $3.8 1,987 2 (Sony/Columbia) $16.0 $1,924 7. “Hope Floats� $3.3 1,876 4 (Fox) $44.4 $1,741 8. “Godzilla� $3.0 2,337 5 (Sony/TriStar) $129.2 $1,275 9. “Deep Impact� $2.7 1,972 7 (Paramount/DreamWorks) $133.1 $1,362 10. “The Horse Whisperer� $2.6 1,852 6 (Disney/Touchstone) $63.1 $1,391 * “Titanic� $1.0 810 27 (Paramount/Fox) $585.5 $1,271

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