Trekkies Raid Box Office

Trekkies boldly went to the theaters over the weekend as “Star Trek: Insurrection” debuted in the top spot at the box office, replacing Disney’s animated insect adventure “A Bug’s Life.” The

ninth installment of the sci-fi franchise grossed $22.4 million, twice the ticket sales of “A Bug’s Life,” industry estimates showed. “Jack Frost,” with Michael Keaton as a father who comes

back to life as a snowman, opened to rotten reviews and chilly business, grossing a mediocre $7 million for third place. The novelty of a scene-by-scene color remake of the classic “Psycho”

wore off quickly. The film lost 62% of its business in its second week and plummeted from 2nd to 7th place with an estimated take of $3.8 million. * A trio of fall hits continued to do

well. The Will Smith-Gene Hackman thriller “Enemy of the State” had $6.6 million for fourth place, followed by “The Rugrats Movie” with $4.5 million and “The Waterboy” with $4.3 million.

“Psycho” joined two other disappointments for Universal Studios: “Babe: Pig in the City,” which had $1.8 million for eighth place, and “Meet Joe Black,” with $1.6 million for ninth.

“Elizabeth” rounded out the top 10 list with $1.3 million, and “Shakespeare in Love,” a critically hailed fictional tale of the young Bard finding his muse in Gwyneth Paltrow, had a strong

debut in limited release. * In still more movie news, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association saluted Steven Spielberg’s epic World War II film “Saving Private Ryan” Saturday, naming it

1998’s best movie. The movie also earned Spielberg the best director’s award and Janusz Kaminski the honor for best cinematography. Ian McKellen won the best actor award for “Gods and

Monsters.” Ally Sheedy picked up the best actress honor for “High Art.” So far “Private Ryan” and “Gods” are leading the pack in the weeks leading up to February’s Oscar nominations. The New

York-based National Board of Review last week named “Gods” as the best movie of the year, with “Private Ryan” in second place. McKellen was named best actor — meaning he’s the one who’ll

give Tom Hanks a run for his money come Oscar time.