No 'Doubt' about Thanksgiving hit
Fox's "Mrs. Doubtfire" clobbered the competition with $ 20.1 million for the Friday-Sunday sesh. The Eastwood-Costner combo in Warner Bros.' "A Perfect World" settled for a third-place start of about $ 8.3 million and Universal/Amblin's "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Tale" excavated seventh place with $ 3.8 million.
Family fare fared less well, as Columbia/Castle Rock's preem of "Josh and S.A.M." posted an unspectacular $ 880,000 for the weekend to place 15th. A notch behind with an estimated $ 760,000 was Warner Bros.' "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker."
It was clear heading into the weekend that the nation was eating up "Mrs. Doubtfire" at a rate of 2-to-1 over its nearest competition. For the three-day weekend, the morality comedy gobbled to the tune of about $ 20.1 million. The weekend average was a hearty $ 12,480 from 1,606 spreads. The Wednesday opener concluded its first five days with $ 27.1 million.
Trailing behind in second was Paramount's "Addams Family Values" with $ 11 million. The sequel abated some 22% in its second weekend, posting an average of $ 4,270 from 2,577 haunts. Its five-day total was $ 14.7 million. The solid hold brought its 10-day cume to $ 30.7 million.
Star power was not sufficient for "A Perfect World," which wandered in at third with a week-end gross of $ 8.3 million. Mixed critical response to the drama kept action fans at a distance as evidenced by an average outing of $ 4, 230 from 1,964 playdates. Sans marquee value, the results would likely have been considerably more dire. It has a cume of $ 11.4 million in its first five days.
On the heels of last year's record-breaking business, the box office saw revenues drop a significant 20% year-to-year. In 1992, Fox also led the field with $ 28.6 million earned in three days by "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."
Current five-day figures -- in excess of $ 100 million -- were
more in line with traditional Thanksgivings of the past five years.
Hopes that the summer feast would continue, fattening up 1993's to-date total to annual-record-breaking proportions, proved overly optimistic. However, when final numbers are published Tuesday, the year-to-date should rank third among full-year records, at $ 4.55 billion ... and there's still a month of revenues to come.
Awash in fourth was Disney's "The Three Musketeers" with an estimated $ 7.8 million for the three days, $ 10.2 million for the five-day period. The derring-do ebbed just 3% during the holiday weekend for a $ 3,670 average from 2 ,128 exploits. It brings the pic's cume to $ 33 million.
Universal's gangster meller "Carlito's Way" dropped to fifth position with a reported $ 4.5 million ($ 6.1 million for the five days). The Pacino powerhouse declined 24% to strike an average run of $ 2,780 from 1,618 cells. Its cume is $ 25.5 million.
Columbia's "My Life" subsided 21% for sixth place with $ 4.2 million (five-day total of $ 5.8 million). The life-and-death saga had an average of $ 3 ,260 from 1,290 situations. It's earned $ 19.2 million to date.
Universal's attempt to trod anew into dino-land landed its animated "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Tale" in seventh with $ 3.8 million. The best of the kiddie titles, it emerged from 1,823 celluloid pits with an average of $ 2,080. In five days it earned $ 4.7 million.
Universal's more traditional dinosaurs were back in "Jurassic Park," which roared in discount houses for a conservatively estimated $ 1.5 million. That would rank it 13th. With few of its 769 theaters reporting daily numbers, there's a strong chance its number could climb enough to place as high as ninth for the frame. Low-end expectations would bring domestic cume to $ 333 mil.
The week's other freshmen barely registered a blip on the radar screen. Columbia/Castle Rock's "Josh and S.A.M." was sidetracked by audiences, based on estimates of $ 880,000. An average of $ 1,140 from 774 road trips barely paid for gas. The cume of $ 1.1 million was enough for coffee and donuts.
Warner Bros./New Regency's "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker" was too light on its B.O. feet with $ 760,000. The ballet favorite failed to make the transfer to the big screen as its 784 dates posted an average of $ 960. For the five days , its total is $ 950,000.
Touchstone's mixed holiday message "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was eighth with a projected $ 3.3 million ($ 4.2 million for five days). The stop-motion animated saga posted a 1% revenue increase as its 1,374 screens brought in an average yield of $ 2,400. The grim fairytale has reaped $ 43.6 million to date.
New Line's feral pet "Man's Best Friend" chomped into ninth place with $ 2.6 million, $ 3.6 million for five days. The thriller slid 33%, sinking its canines into an average of $ 2,130 from 1,220 compounds. In 10 days of release, it has revenues of $ 8 million.
Miramax's Holly Hunter starrer "The Piano" hit the right note in 10th with an estimated $ 2.5 million. Adding 132 runs to its repertoire saw earnings rise 66 %. Its five-day total was $ 3.1 million. With an average of $ 10,730 from 231 recitals, its cume is $ 4.9 mil.
The Miramax boutique also added the Brit family life yarn "The Snapper" to the viewing catalog on Wednesday. Its single-screen Manhattan date grossed $ 22, 000 for the weekend and $ 28,170 in five days.
