European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Why a seemingly sure went belly up by John Norm a entertainment writer Mold Schwarzenegger s Junior had t even played its first weekend and Al ready the Friday morning Buzz at mar Jan s Deli was that the comedy was .  Junior review on Page 12 Between bites of scrambled egg Whites at the Brentwood movie Industry hangout in Universal City calif., one facade my award winning pro Ducer said with Surprise that the earliest ticket sales just weren t there. A senior production executive sipping capuccino across the room was equally perplexed the season s sure fire hit was shooting Blanks. Junior had opened on thanksgiving eve and before the leftover cranberries and stuffing were Cooling in the refrigerator it looked like the highly touted comedy was going to be a Box office Turkey. Universal pictures still maintains the film May eventually Gross $100 million in Domestic Heaters but Industry analysts say Junior might not even pass $30 million. It stands at $24 million in stateside Heaters sales and opens Friday at military Heaters in Europe. The weak returns Are remarkable primarily because Junior was considered the Holiday s slam Dunk smash ,. The film seemed to have an easily communicated can to miss comedy Hook action Star Schwarzenegger pregnant ads of his inflated belly were everywhere. Matinee hero Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito whose pairing in l9s8 s twins earned $111.7 million were Back together. Ivan Reitman ghost busters kindergarten cop Dave the town s most consistently popular comedy director was at the Helm. His pacing was brisk and the jokes seemed to Click. Preview screenings were filled with raucous laughter. Early notices and word of Mouth were overwhelmingly positive. Variety s rave review said 7im/drwould take the seasonal Box office  a former studio chief predicted it would be the highest grossing Winter release. So what happened oddly enough the can to miss premise itself Universal Pamela Reed and Arnold Schwarzenegger play dueling pregnancies in Junior. Appears to have missed male viewers were turned off by a movie about a pregnant Man. To Many the concept was simply unpalatable. Men Don t see the humor in pregnancy especially when it s a Man who s with  marketing Campaign which pushed the pregnancy Angle hard was now the film s worst advertisement. Days before the film opened nov. 23 in the United states Reitman was nervous. The Universal marketing department was concerned too. Test screenings showed women were More interested in Junior than men and some men weren t interested at All. / ,. Such a gender imbalance can work for a Romance such As sleepless in Seattle or four weddings and a funeral. But if men Aren t interested in a Schwarzenegger flick Well imagine a Disney animated musical that did t Appeal to kids. Everybody thought it was a problem said one executive close to the film. But they thought the Quality of the film would overcome  it has t so far. Tellingly Junior is playing especially poor in the South where the Santa clause and the lightly regarded a Low Down dirty shame arc performing better. The More conservative the Market the worse Junior seems to do. Screenwriter Chris Conrad who conceived the Junior Story and shares a writing credit with Kevin Wade says it s understandable that some people Are resistant to Junior. The concept she says is really a test for men  the ones who Are secure go easily. The ones who Are not secure Don to she said it is a new concept and people Are afraid of the new. It s a controversial idea. There is a serious Side to it which i think is  when people do go see the film they Are usually pleased she says. Once people see it children love it women love it and men once they see it like it too Conrad says. Since Schwarzenegger Reitman and Devito deferred their up front compensation for a share of the film s profits which will be negligible at Best the movie was not that expensive to make. Universal marketing executive Bruce Feldman Calls the ticket proceeds Good but not spectacular and concedes expectations were  ,.-. ,. Feldman admits the pregnant Man concept is a Little adventurous for some people but refuses to say that s Why the film is not doing better. People have speculated men Are not As eager to see the picture he says. But it s difficult to  trailers actress Sharon Stone is finalizing plans to Star in a remake of the 1955 French drama  will earn a reported $6 million for the role. Junior for one by Stephanie Shapiro Baltimore Sun f the title of the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger film Junior in which the Termi Nator is with child says just enough to get people interested. It is one of a slew of one word movie titles that have lately flooded marquees including malice fearless blink Wolf sirens Blankman ghost Speed red White and Blue. Concise ominous titles like predator attract mov Viegers by capturing and compounding a film s in tended essence. Or they Are so purposely vague that they suggest different things to different people thereby luring a broader audience. A one word title has to carry an enormous Bur Den it has to communicate a whole Bunch of things says Garth Jowett professor of communications at the University of Houston and author of film the democratic Art. Such titles make a visceral impression rather than an intellectual one by evoking emotions in people rather than getting them to think Jowett says. Besides lengthy titles can Short circuit the con temporary brain says Joseph Urgo an associate pro Fessor of humanities at Bryant College in Rhode is land we Are in an Era that is resisting complexity that is if you can t say it in very Small bits you Don t have anything Worth listening to he says. Single word film titles have always thrown a dra Matic punch. Certain classic movies Casablanca Frankenstein if. And a to name a handful Are As memorable for their titles resonant Brevity As for the movies  directors Are also partial  dramatic one word titles note Hitchcock s psycho and notorious or Woody Allen s Sleeper and bananas. Steven Spielberg s great thriller jaws released in 1975, inspired a new Era of one word title mania Jowett says. The stature of jaws drawn from Peter Benchley s Book of the same name can perhaps be measured by its rhyming spinoffs claws for in stance and such follow up and briefly titled Critter flicks As Piranha and Bug. These Days place names redolent with history and atmosphere like Matewan Gettysburg Phila Delphia Barcelona and Tombstone Are especially big. So Are monikers such As Rudy Andre and Dave. Jack Pitney a professor of government at Clare Mont Mckenna College in California who weighed in on this topic by Way of the internet my theory is that producers Are playing the percentages on the oscars he says. Of the 66 Best picture awards 15 have gone to pictures with one word titles. That s about one in four probably much higher than the proportion of one word titles among movies in Gen  anyone want to bet on Junior los Angeles times Washington Post news service december 18, 1994 sunday Page 11