This summer's best hopes in sports movies seem to be Kevin
Costner in "Tin Cup" and Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes in "The
Fan." "Tin Cup," the story of "life and love on and off the pro
golf circuit," opens August 9 and boasts a cast of Costner, Don
Johnson, Rene Russo and Cheech Marin of "Cheech and Chong" fame.
It is directed by Ron Shelton, whose previous works include "Bull
Durham" and "Cobb." In "The Fan," DeNiro returns to a familiar
role in an "edgy thriller" of an obsessed fan, Gil Renard, who
stalks his favorite baseball player, Bobby Rayburn, played by
Snipes. When Rayburn falls into a slump, Renard's obsession
takes a "deadly turn" as he vows to stop at nothing to restore
his idol's reputation. The film opens July 26 as a TriStar
release. Coming attractions: "Kazaam" on July 17 with Shaquille
O'Neal; and "Mighty Ducks III" from Disney, in which the team is
recruited by a "haughty" prep school to help ensure the school's
hockey team will win the state championship -- due this Fall.
These flicks follow other sports-related releases in the past
year, but based on their performance, the box-office record for a
sports film ($127,873,716 for "Rocky IV" in '85) seems safe.
Recent sports releases and their estimated domestic gross.
"Eddie" figures are through 17 days of release (THE DAILY):
Happy Gilmore $38,650,000 Sudden Death $20,240,000
Forget Paris $33,194,512 Celtic Pride $ 8,649,340
Eddie $22,340,000 Great White Hype $ 7,800,000
NOTE: The figures were collected by various sources,
including trade publications and film-related Web sites.
