‘GATE’ TO SUCCESS

Tibor Takacs, 31, the Canadian director of New Century/Vista’s surprise hit “The Gate,” told us he knows he’s a success because “I don’t have to pay for lunch anymore.” The Toronto-based film maker said he arrived in L.A. the day his film opened (May 15), optimistic that it would do well at the box-office. At press time, it had grossed $5.1 million at 1,130 screens in its first five days of release, considered hot for a $4-million movie.

“I’ve received lots of congratulatory calls and several scripts,” he said. “But I’ve frankly been so busy with meetings that I haven’t had a chance to read any of them. What I really hope ‘The Gate’ will do is give me the opportunity to do a project I’ve written, ‘Sticks and Stones,’ which is like a positive ‘Lord of the Flies’ set after a nuclear holocaust.”

Takacs attributed the film’s early success to the story’s accessibility and lack of graphic violence (it’s rated PG-13). Still, he’s surprised the picture almost bested “Ishtar” across the U.S. during their simultaneous openings last weekend.