'Dragon' has chops; 'Dave' solid in 2nd
Three days later, Universal reaped a $ 10 million benefit from the martial arts bio and top spot on the weekend charts.
Warner Bros.' "Dave" reported a lively $ 7.2 million debut, relegating Paramount's monthlong dominance with "Indecent Proposal" to the show position.
In limited release, Goldwyn's "Much Ado About Nothing" got a mixed report card and fledgling 50th Street Films' "My Neighbor Tortoro" was doing moving-out business.
Universal reported $ 10 million in "Dragon's" first three days, while some industry trackers suggested the figure was conservative. However, the studio was anything but cool about the picture's performance. It averaged $ 5,300 from 1, 887 playdates to set a new early May box office record and jump-start the summer season.
"It's playing great," said a studio spokeswoman. "The exit polls are huge with a definite recommend scoring in the mid-70 percentiles. This is going to be a very strong picture."
Second-place "Dave" arrived with averages of $ 6,230 from 1,155 polling stations for an estimated $ 7.2 million. The political satire saw its business expand by two-thirds on Saturday, and Sunday business also was expected to be strong.
"This is a picture you have to hang in with for the long run," said Warner Bros. distribution chief Barry Reardon. "We sneaked, we held back in secondary areas, so word of mouth could build. The opening numbers are terrific and it should expand very nicely."
However, the newcomers could only keep the steady box office decline at bay. With other pictures in the market receding quickly, projected weekend business should be down about 6% from the previous frame. It is nonetheless some 22% ahead of the comparable weekend of 1992, when there were no new films opening nationally.
Paramount's "Indecent Proposal" eased into third with a still potent $ 4.5 million estimate. The psychosexual drama slipped about 37% for the weekend in 1, 922 bedrooms. It also pushed past "A Few Good Men" to rank as 1993's second-biggest grosser with a cume of $ 78.2 million.
Triumph's "Sidekicks" took a 36% blow to the money belt to finish fourth with about $ 2.4 million. The pee-wee action fantasy averaged $ 1,960 from 1,223 competitions. It has a cume of $ 8.4 million.
Still spooning in fifth was MGM's "Benny & Joon" with a projected $ 1.9 million. The offbeat romance slipped about 38% for the weekend, averaging $ 1, 450 from 1,314 playdates. After four weekends, it has earned $ 15.1 million.
Touchstone's "Indian Summer" breezed into sixth with a mild $ 1.8 million. The romantic comedy averaged $ 1,300 from 1,383 cabins for a 42% drop in business. To date it's paddled upstream to $ 10.2 million.
In a limited launch, Goldwyn's critically lauded, Cannes-bound "Much Ado About Nothing" opened to about $ 200,000 on 16 screens for averages of $ 15,380. The very good news is that Kenneth Branagh's latest Shakespearian foray earned half its booty from three Manhattan dates. The additional 13 engagements were in Canada where the film is distributed by Alliance.
Troma's premiere pic under its family-oriented 50th Street banner, "My Neighbor Totoro," was eyeing about $ 58,000 from a 59-print West Coast debut. The animated Japanese import limped to slightly less than $ 1,000 averages.
Still kicking up some dust in seventh was Fox's "The Sandlot," with about $ 1 .6 million in the till. The tyke sluggers swung 36% weaker for averages of $ 980 from 1,635 dugouts. Its cume is $ 23 million.
New Line's "Who's the Man" was close behind with $ 1.4 million to rank eighth. The hip-hop thriller was off the beat by 35% with averages of $ 1,470 from 954 happening spots. To date it's earned $ 9.3 million.
Universal's "Cop and a Half" marshalled $ 1.1 million for the weekend to be cited ninth. Brawny Burt Reynolds booked in with $ 720 averages from 1,526 cases. Down 35% for the frame, it has a cume of $ 24.4 million.
In at 10th on its second weekend date, New Line's "Three of Hearts" scored about $ 1 million. Off the opening mark by 48%, it averaged $ 1,260 from 793 playdates. After 10 days it has earned $ 3.5 million.
