SUBMITTED BY Nicole

May 4, 2001 —

Ka-ching. "The Mummy Returns" will have money machines humming that sweet sound nearly nonstop at theaters during the weekend. Anticipation for the sequel is running so high in the marketplace, in fact, that this first film out of the summer season boxoffice box could well set the standard by which many that follow will be judged.

Friday May 04 01:47 AM EDT Boxoffice preview: 'Mummy' dead on for No. 1 By Roger Cels LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Ka-ching. "The Mummy Returns" will have money machines humming that sweet sound nearly nonstop at theaters during the weekend. Anticipation for the sequel is running so high in the marketplace, in fact, that this first film out of the summer season boxoffice box could well set the standard by which many that follow will be judged. The performance of pictures past might be in play as well. The record for a nonholiday opening weekend is held by 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" at $64.8 million ("The Mummy," released in May 1999, opened to $43.4 million). The "Phantom" tally, also set in May 1999, is a big number to shoot for, to be sure, but "Mummy" will benefit from several factors that should give it a stiff leg up.

One is a completely clear competitive field. Major opposition demurred from the date "Mummy" staked out nearly a year and a half ago, while the veteran corps has been limping along without a true star performer for most of the past month. Another relates to the megaplexing of America: Nearly all important theater locations have the ability to show a movie simultaneously on multiple large-auditorium screens, leaving no potential commerce on the table. Lastly, "Mummy" is rated PG-13, which means that teenagers can come sans chaperone, a crucial point particularly in the hypersensitive ratings environment, where government scrutiny has theater personnel checking identification like the border patrol.

Stephen Sommers returns as writer-director, and Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz reprise their starring roles in "Mummy," the sequel to the smash that earned about $155 million in North America. Arnold Vosloo and Patricia Velasquez likewise are back as the peripatetic mummies from the original, who have been transported to a London museum, where they come to life and conspire to kidnap the 9-year-old offspring of Fraser and Weisz. Professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson joins the cast as the fearsome Scorpion King.