While I'm sure the timing wasn't great, it's more than that. To be a real successful movie these days you have to have that "lets see it again magic" Looking at the numbers, I will guess that more poeple saw TTT more than once then saw Nemesis. That's very telling.
The Top Grossing Movies of All Time
at the USA Box Office
1 Titanic (1997) $600,743,
2 Star Wars (1977) $460,935,655
3 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459
4 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,
5 Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,
6 Jurassic Park (1993) $356,763,
7 Forrest Gump (1994) $329,452,287
8 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) $328,156,417
9 Lion King, The (1994) $325,643,
10 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,
11 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) $313,364,114
12 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,523,
13 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,064,373
14 Independence Day (1996) $306,200,
15 Sixth Sense, The (1999) $293,501,675
16 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $290,158,751
The fact that phantom menace is number 4 on the list despite almost global recognition that it was the worst movie in the series tells you there is still a viable audience for SF. Heck, 13 of the top 16 could be classified as SF or Fantasy. More people saw a dreadful EP1 more than once, then saw Nemesis. Remember all the buzz about Nemesis prior.
Face it, it's going to be real difficult to round up people to invest in a new one.
They're toast.
RAH