A link from the BuZz - .c The Associated Press By MICHAEL FLEEMAN LOS ANGELES (AP) - Just when you thought it was safe to go on living, here comes another asteroid, bigger than the one before, streaking toward Earth to the music of Aerosmith. ``Armageddon,´´ Disney´s most expensive movie ever, opens over the Fourth of July weekend, less than two months after the other asteroid-vs.-Earth film, Paramount´s surprisingly successful ``Deep Impact.´´ It's all reminiscent of last year's twin-volcano film phenomenon. ``Dante´s Peak´´ opened first, in February, and went on to make $67 million. ``Volcano´´ opened two months later and took in $47 million. The question for the makers of ``Armageddon´´ is whether enough moviegoers are willing to see more asteroid adventures after watching ``Deep Impact,´´ which has made $135.8 million since its debut May 8. ``Armageddon´´ producer Jerry Bruckheimer recalled suffering ``a wave of depression´´ when he heard about the other asteroid movie. But just how audiences will react is anyone´s guess, he said. ``I could give you arguments on both sides of the coin,´´ he said. ``I could tell you it´s good for me because there´s an appetite for this type of picture and they´ll want to come to see our movie to compare the two pictures. And you could also take the other thing: They don´t want to see another asteroid movie.´´ But Disney distribution chief Phil Barlow dismissed the whole debate. ``I don´t believe `Armageddon´ will have been helped or hurt by `Deep Impact,´´´ he said, citing the responses of test audiences. ``I believe there is no impact from `Deep Impact.´´´ For Disney, this is more than just a theoretical argument. Large amounts of money are at stake. ``Armageddon´´ cost an estimated $140 million to produce and tens of millions more for an aggressive marketing campaign that includes tie-ins with everything from candy to watches. Disney is counting on ``Armageddon´´ to boost its summer lineup. While ``Mulan´´ is a hit, grossing $54 million through last weekend, it probably won´t reach the lofty levels of ``Toy Story´´ or ``The Lion King.´´ ``The Horse Whisperer´´ will probably turn only a small profit, and ``Six Days, Seven Nights´´ may prove to be a money loser. Analysts have pointed to Disney's summer box office as one of the reasons the company's stock has slumped slightly in recent weeks. ``Armageddon is the big hope for them,´´ said Harold Vogel, a media analyst at Cowen & Co. Disney is stressing the differences between ``Armageddon,´´ which has a booming soundtrack and lots of special effects and manly action, and ``Deep Impact,´´ which has a female lead and focuses on how people deal emotionally with impending doom. Still, the plots are surprisingly similar. Both involve huge asteroids (the ``Deep Impact´´ rock is the size of Manhattan; the ``Armageddon´´ one is as big as Texas) heading straight for Earth. ``Armageddon´´ stars Bruce Willis as an oil driller who heads a team of roughnecks sent to bore a hole in the asteroid, plant a nuclear device and save the world. Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler also star. In ``Deep Impact,´´ Robert Duvall heads a team of astronauts sent to bore holes in the asteroid, plant nuclear bombs and save the world. Tea Leoni plays the TV newswoman who gets the scoop. Director Michael Bay said he found out about the ``Deep Impact´´ project shortly after Disney green-lighted ``Armageddon´´ in 1996, and he insisted ``this movie didn´t change one bit´´ to counter the competition. The same, he said, may not have been true for ``Deep Impact.´´ He said the makers of ``Deep Impact´´ rushed the production because of ``Armageddon´´ and added lots of space scenes. Paramount officials didn't return a call seeking comment.