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The second weekend of January has recently seen some strong showings in terms of box office turnouts, especially with respect to teen-targeted films. The trend really started in 1999, when Varsity Blues shocked prognosticators and opened with a very strong $17.52 million, and continued through 2000 and 2001 with Next Friday and Save The Last Dance opening to $14.5 million and $27.5 million, respectively. And while Orange County seemingly aims to garner such success, it is important to note that the examples mentioned opened on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, while Orange County will not.

Telling the story of a straight-A student who, through an error by his principal, will not be accepted by Stanford and who then makes it his goal to rectify his situation, the film is directed by Jake Kasdan, director of the excellently irreverent Zero Effect and son of critically-acclaimed producer/director Lawrence Kasdan.

The movie has very little star power, and while no early previews are available as of this writing, there is a strong chance that this will be a straight-out teen comedy without any of the gross-out factor of Road Trip or American Pie. The movie would be better served if the marketing doesn't take the highbrow approach, and whether it does or doesn't obviously remains to be seen. Its possibility for success cannot be dismissed. While it is true that a release date does not exclusively dictate the success of a film, it is also true that the lack of a strong release date does not dictate its failure. And in this genre of film, Orange County might still be able to find an audience. (Walid Habboub/BOP)

Vital statistics for Orange County Main Cast Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk Supporting Cast Bret Harrison, Kyle Howard, R.J. Knoll, Catherine O'Hara, Mike White, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin Director Jake Kasdan Screenwriter Mike White Distributor Paramount Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.orangecountymovie.com/ Rating PG-13 Running Time 82 minutes Screen Count 2,317 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Orange County
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
American Pie 2	8/10/01	45.12	48.15	3063	14729.00	15120.0	145.10	154.86	3.22
Save the Last Dance	1/12/01	23.44	25.01	2230	10511.00	10790.1	90.17	96.23	3.28
Legally Blonde	7/13/01	20.38	21.75	2620	7778.00	7984.5	95.66	102.09	4.69
American Pie	7/9/99	18.71	22.29	2507	7463.00	8520.7	101.74	121.24	5.44
She's All That	1/29/99	16.07	19.15	2222	7232.00	8257.0	63.32	75.45	3.94
Varsity Blues	1/15/99	15.92	18.97	2121	7506.00	8569.8	52.89	63.02	3.02
Road Trip	5/19/00	15.48	17.31	2530	6119.00	6584.5	68.53	76.66	4.43
Next Friday	1/14/00	14.44	16.15	1103	13092.00	14087.9	57.18	63.96	3.12
Where the Heart Is	4/28/00	8.29	9.27	2437	3402.00	3660.8	33.65	37.64	4.06
Can't Hardly Wait	6/12/98	8.03	10.32	1987	4041.00	4997.4	26.61	34.21	3.31
Loser	7/21/00	6.01	6.72	2016	2981.00	3207.8	15.32	17.13	2.55
Election	5/7/99	3.16	3.76	827	3821.00	4362.6	14.88	17.73	4.54
Rushmore	2/19/99	2.80	3.33	764	3665.00	4184.4	17.10	20.37	3.63