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The Sixth Sense Psyches Its Way to The Top

R S Prakash in Los Angeles

Overcoming the challenges of such star-studded movies as The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, and Mystery Men with Ben Stiller, Manoj Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, grabbed $ 25.8 million this weekend in America.

Shyamalan, 29, is based in Philadelphia where most of the film is shot.

The achievement of The Sixth Sense, a low-key psychological drama with an ending that O Henry could have envied, is even more impressive considering that the market is overcrowded with far more glamorous films. Besides, Willis hasn't been a draw at the box-office in the non-action genre.

Many Hollywood insiders had predicted that the movie would gross in the range of $ 15 million to $ 18 million. But they were obviously looking into the wrong crystal ball. Stephen Holden of The New York Times, who gave the film a downbeat review, had said it would be around for some time because of Willis.

Movie experts had wondered before The Sixth Sense had opened if Willis, a big box-office draw in such action-packed films such as Armageddon, would be able to win the audiences in an atypical role.

Willis plays a child psychologist who helps a troubled young boy (Haley Joel Osment) deal with his ability to see dead people. The movie has a surprise ending, which critics said more than makes up for its initial slow tempo.

The Sixth Sense was one of five new wide releases this week, with many scrapping for the same audiences, and some -- like The Iron Giant and Dick -- being pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the phenomenally successful horror movie, The Blair Witch Project, made by a group of Florida University students for an unbelievably low sum of $ 40,000, almost doubled its theatre count and remained at No 2 for a second weekend, grossing $ 24.5 million.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, The Sixth Sense recorded the highest August opening ever. The previous record was held by 1993's The Fugitive with $ 23.8 million.

Released under the Walt Disney Co's Hollywood Pictures banner, the movie had upbeat sneak previews last weekend in more than 1,500 theatres, which helped it overcome many of the negative reviews.

"The challenge was simply to get the message out there about how much they were going to like it," said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista distribution unit. He said 73 per cent of the audience was between 18 and 49 years old, and was evenly split gender-wise.

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