'Doubtfire' a drag to B.O. foes
Somewhere in the holiday shuffle, the majors and indies wound up missing a prime opportunity to open one of their juggernaut releases. Instead, the bill of fare was limited in launch and appeal.
Gramercy had a soft $ 710,000 estimate on its weekend launch of "A Dangerous Woman" and Cannon had pure fodder with its $ 150,000 preem of the actioner "Rescue Me."
"Mrs. Doubtfire" sailed strongly into its second weekend with an expected $ 15.3 million. It represented a modest drop of 25% as it emerged from 1,678 parlors with an average of $ 9,110. In 12 days,it's accrued $ 47.2 million.
Also holding surprisingly well, with a 29% decline, was second-place Warner Bros.' "A Perfect World" with $ 5.7 million. The period dramatic thriller was on the road with an average of $ 2,900 from 1,964 playdates. After its second weekend it has a cume of $ 18.9 million.
In the absence of a major release or two, overall business flattened like a pancake. The box office plummeted 42% from last weekend and 22% from the comparable weekend of 1992. A year ago, the top four films in the marketplace -- including a fourth-place preem for "Distinguished Gentleman"-- each had grosses in excess of $ 10 million.
Weekend revenues boosted the year to date to about $ 4.63 billion, ranking it second only to 1990's final annual box office.
So how come this past weekend saw a window of opportunity close? Warner Bros. distribution president Barry Reardon, for example, said the void was created too late for his company to step in with its Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau comedy "Grumpy Old Men." (Company had planned an early 1994 release for the pic, but moved it up into the holiday season.) WB sneaked the film Saturday with a modest turnout but strong exit response. The Christmas Day release has to do a lot of catch-up quickly to establish a presence prior to opening.
The limited 293-screen launch of Gramercy's "A Dangerous Woman" saw a decidedly non-lethal estimate of $ 710,000, which should rank about 14th for the frame. That shook down to an average of $ 2,420 and only some year-end acclaim for actress Debra Winger is likely to perk up its commercial prospects.
Even more dire was Cannon's "Rescue Me," which arrived with an unsalvageable $ 150,000 from 625 brief stopovers. With an average of $ 240, it's only a heartbeat away from the video shelf.
Paramount's "Addams Family Values" took a hard knock and wound up third with about $ 4.6 million. The sequel fell 57%, registering an average of $ 1,750 from 2,577 haunted houses. It's rolled up to $ 36.3 million.
Also taking it on the chin was Disney's fourth-place "The Three Musketeers," with a projected $ 3.8 million weekend. That halved last weekend's performance and translated to an $ 1,810 average from 2,096 duels. It has a cume of $ 38.1 million.
Universal's "Carlito's Way" slipped 44% to rank fifth with $ 2.6 million. The crime tome had a very average $ 1,610 from 1,605 hideouts. It's earned $ 29 million to date.
A step back in sixth at $ 2.4 million was Columbia's "My Life." Its vital signs abated 43% at 1,290 encounters for an average of $ 1,860. Its cume is $ 22 .4 million.
Miramax's "The Piano" continued to play the right commercial chord in seventh with an estimated $ 1.7 million. Declining 31% for the frame, it averaged $ 7, 110. Its 239 recitals have played up $ 7.5 million with plenty of encores ahead.
Miramax also expanded its Brit comedy "The Snapper" to six screens and had a rollicking $ 65,000 weekend. That's an average of about $ 10,830.
Universal's "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story" was a decidedly unanimated eighth with $ 1.5 million. It had a bronto decline of 60% for a second-weekend average of $ 820. Amblin' out of 1,829 caves, its cume has climbed to $ 6.4 million.
Second-weekend family fare also fizzled with Warner Bros.' "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker" falling 52% for $ 380,000. Columbia/Castle Rock's "Josh and S.A.M." crumbled some 68% to $ 260,000. Both films have a 12-day total of about $ 1.4 million.
Universal's other dino --"Jurassic Park"-- couldn't be discounted (except in lower admission houses), with $ 1.2 million projected for the weekend. It brings its bargain run to $ 4 million and a whopping cume of $ 335 million.
New Line's "Man's Best Friend" nipped into ninth with $ 1.4 million. Its bark muffled by some 51%, the film had an average of $ 1,250 from 1,122 kennels. That puts its cume at around $ 9.8 million.
Touchstone still had a few scares left in 10th place with $ 1.3 million for "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Fading 61% meant a less-animated average of $ 980 from 1,341 cheery locales. To date it's grossed $ 45.4 million.
