BIG SCREEN
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$ It seems that Russell Crowe is pretty much cemented as the hottest Hollywood male actor going. The star of "L.A. Confidential" and "The Insider" now has a hot summer blockbuster in "Gladiator." The hero flick set in Roman times that includes serious special effects in Coliseum battle scenes took in $24.3 million in its second weekend and continued to dwarf the competition, equaling the take of the next three movies combined. The strong box office numbers came after it opened last weekend with $34.8 million, the largest of any movie so far this year. In two full weeks, the movie has grossed $73.3 million and is on the same pace as last year's smash summer hit "The Mummy."
$ "Battlefield Earth," the John Travolta futuristic battle flick based on a sci-fi book by controversial Scientology godfather L. Ron Hubbard, opened with a very loud flop. The flick has been controversial, and Travolta -- a devout Scientologist -- has long pushed for the movie to be made. It didn't pay off. While it did finish at No. 12, and took in $12.3 million, the movie opened on the fifth-highest number of screens ever, Variety writes. Even the 1998 bomb "Lost in Space" -- which opened on one fewer screen than "Battlefield" -- took in $20 million its opening weekend.
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