Universal Pictures has decided not to release rock musician Rob Zombie's $7-million horror film House of 1000 Corpses, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Tuesday). Studio Chairman Stacey Snider told the newspaper, "We have the utmost respect for Rob, who made a really intense and compelling movie, but ... when I looked at the cumulative effect of the entire film, it was clear that the best version of the movie would end up getting an NC-17 rating, and we felt that would make the marketing and distribution of the movie impossible for us." For his part, Zombie told the Times that making the film for Universal (he records for Universal's Geffen Records) "felt weird from the get-go." He added If you look at the history of horror films, the really scary ones like Texas Chainsaw Massacre were made by little independent companies, not big corporations."

Despite mostly dismal reviews, filmgoers were drawn by the names of Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt on the marquees to ante up $20.1 million to see The Mexican last weekend, according to figures released by Exhibitor Relations Monday. The film knocked Hannibal, with $10.1 million, into second place. Another new film, the kids' flick See Spot Run, opened in third place with $9.7 million. "Last weekend was another good weekend for box office," Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told the Los Angeles Times. "This is the 21st weekend in a row that we have exceeded the comparable weekend the year before."

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Mexican, DreamWorks, $20.1 million (New); 2. Hannibal, MGM, $10.1 million ($142.8 million); 3. See Spot Run, Warner Bros., $9.7 million (New), 4. Down to Earth, Paramount, $7.8 million ($43.9 million); 5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sony Classics, $4.9 million ($88.7 million); 6. Traffic, USA Films, $4.5 million, ($92.3 million); 7. Chocolat, Miramax, $4.2 million, ($45.7 million); 8. Recess: School's Out, Disney, $4.0 million ($27.6 million), 9. 3000 Miles to Graceland, Warner Bros., $3.1 million, ($12.3 million); 10. Sweet November, Warner Bros., $2.3 million, ($21.4 million).

For the second month in a row, the box office racked up a new record for the month in February as it took in $597.4 million, well above the previous February record of $520.8 million set last year. Although a rise in ticket prices accounted for part of the increase, analysts pointed out that the number of actual tickets sold also increased to about 108.9 million, up from 99.4 million in 2000. March totals are likely to be affected by a wider ticket-price increase that went into effect last Friday.

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, an Indian movie at the center of a criminal trial involving a diamond merchant charged with using underworld money to finance it, has been given a greenlight to open on Friday. Last month a court appointed a distributor to handle the release while the case against the diamond merchant, Bharat Shah, proceeds. The producer of the film, Nazim Rizvi, is also due to be tried on charges of participating in the alleged money-laundering scheme. Rajesh Thadani, a spokesman for the Indian Theater Owners Association, told today's (Tuesday) Times of India that he expected the film to do well at the box office. "It has a good star cast, good music," he said. "There has also been a lot of publicity about the movie due to various reasons."

A spokeswoman for Nicole Kidman has denied reports that 20th Century Fox has delayed the release of her next film, Moulin Rouge, so that she would not have to face reporters' questions about the breakup of her marriage with Tom Cruise. The spokeswoman told the Sydney, Australia Daily Telegraph that Kidman has in fact been doing interviews and photo shoots for magazines with long lead times. It was not indicated whether she was discussing the divorce in those interviews. The spokeswoman said that the studio is considering the possibility of premiering the film at the Cannes Film Festival in May or perhaps delaying it even further -- until the Venice Film Festival in September.

Members of the British film industry who had been hoping for a surge in local production should a strike by writers and actors hit Hollywood were being told Monday that such a strike could in fact cripple U.K. production. The London Financial Times reported that the Screen Actors Guild has sent out notices to non-American members warning them that if a strike occurs in the U.S., they will only be able to work on films shot outside the U.S., financed without U.S. funds and without distributions rights pre-sold to a U.S. company. "Even films shot in Britain with British casts could be hit," the FT observed. John Drinnan of Screen Finance observed, "The majority of British films with a budget of £10 million ($15 million) ... have American money and have rights pre-sold to a US company." Industry executives expressed anger: One senior British film exec told the FT: "The whole thing is illegal. This could have serious consequences for the U.K. film industry and represents an unacceptable export of U.S. trade disputes."

Composer Monty Norman's libel suit against the London Sunday Times for a 1997 story suggesting that he did not write the James Bond theme opened in a London court Monday. Norman claims he was damaged by the article in which Oscar-winning film composer John Barry, who composed the score for numerous Bond movies, took credit for writing the theme. The article quoted Barry as saying that Norman "was contracted to do it [write the theme], but the producers had problems so I got brought in." Norman claims that he has received royalties for the Bond theme since 1962's Dr. No.

For the first time, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, which is partnered with NBC in the XFL, has indicated that the football league may last only a single season. Speaking at the Bear Stearns Media, Entertainment and Information Conference in Boca Raton Monday, WWFE President Linda McMahon said that the company is "committed through this first season, but we're taking a look at it on a week-by-week basis." McMahon lashed out at critics who have criticized the televised games as amateurish and lurid, saying that the games can't be "looked at like a television pilot. ... It takes time to build a brand."

CBS has canceled Bette Midler's sitcom, Bette, before Midler herself had a chance to quit. The network announced Monday that Wednesday's episode will be the last. The announcement came only weeks after the singer-comedienne had indicated that even if CBS decided to renew, she might opt out, given the show's heavy workload. Ironically, Wednesday's show was to have marked the debut of Robert Hays (the Airplane! movies) as the title character's new husband. Hays had reportedly filmed two additional episodes; however, the network did not indicate whether they will ever air. (Hays has appeared in a slew of TV series over the years that have virtually all been as ill-fated as the airplane in Airplane!)

Don Ohlmeyer, who was brought out of retirement -- he had previously been NBC's West Coast president -- to reinvigorate ABC's Monday Night Football, has informed the network that he won't be back next season. "I had a terrific time this year producing MNF," Ohlmeyer said, "but I just could not continue to put myself through the stressful traveling that goes with the job." An ABC spokesman said that the on-air broadcast team that Ohlmeyer had put into place last season, presumably including comedian Dennis Miller, will return again next season. ABC Sports President Howard Katz commended Ohlmeyer for bringing "the buzz back to Monday night and [making] it special again."

After first denying reports that the producers of The Sopranos had digitally placed the head of the late Nancy Marchand, who played Livia Soprano, on a body double, HBO Tuesday said that it had been "misinformed." "HBO did not know the full details of the digital techniques and apologizes to anyone who feels they were misled," HBO said in a statement quoted by today's (Tuesday) Washington Post. Earlier in the day, executives of Rhinoceros Visual Effects appeared on the Today show to demonstrate how Marchand was digitally brought back from the dead to appear in the Sopranos episode.

Executives of The Weather Channel are defending their heavily hyped coverage ("Winter Blitz: March Lion of the Northeast") of the current East Coast snowstorm that has failed to live up to the dire predictions of its forecasters. Terry Connelly, senior vice president at the channel, told the Associated Press Monday, "It if had happened the way we had predicted, they would be thanking us. But that's the nature of weather. It's not an exact science." Winter weather authority Paul Kocin, a former NASA expert, told the AP that he finds most winter storms "frustrating," adding that "the reality of all storms is they all have their intricacies."

Anne Robinson, the America-bound host of the hit British quiz show The Weakest Link, has aroused the anger of Welsh activists, who are threatening to take criminal action against her for her comments on a BBC comedy show. Appearing on Room 101, Robinson remarked, "They are always so pleased with themselves. I've never taken to them. What are they for? Being of Irish descent we are all terribly ashamed of ourselves because we can't sing like they can, we can't play rugby like they can and we can't be clever like they are. It's a total envy thing coupled with irritation and annoyance. ... The worst thing you could possibly do is try to pronounce a Welsh name. The switchboard at the BBC would be on the point of collapse with them all ringing up to complain." Eleri Carrog of the Welsh culture group CEFN said she is considering filing criminal charges against Robinson under the country's Race Relations Act. In an interview with the London Daily Mirror, Carrog commented, "Anne Robinson has shown the worst characteristics of a bigot. ... We will be hoping to make her eat her words."