TOMB RAIDER CLAIMS BOX OFFICE RECORD
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ June 17th 2001 ]

Oscar winner Angelina Jolie discharged Walt Disney Pictures "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" and Steven Spielberg's "Shriek" by propelling Lara Croft: Tomb Raider to number-one best selling movie of weekend June 15-17. Paramount Pictures $100m motion picture hauled in $48.2m in box office revenue, a record for a female star-driven vehicle according to Rob Friedman, vice-chairman of Viacom Inc. Although early reviews of the movie proved negative, that didn't deter cinema-goers across the United States, whose makeup consisted of a 55 per-cent male majority, according to polling data collected by Paramount.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider chronicles the adventures of a British archaeologist [Jolie] sent on a quest for an ancient time-travelling device called the Clock of Ages. Helmed by acclaimed Director Simon West, plans are already underway for two sequels after both West and Jolie confirmed earlier this year that they would continue with the three-movie deal. Tomb Raider was developed by Derby studios Core Design in 1995, and is published by Eidos Interactive. So far five episodes have spawned from the phenomenally successful 3D adventure series with a sixth in production. Rumour of a movie tie-in were dispelled earlier this year by Eidos, who was reportedly paid £1m for the movie rights to Tomb Raider.