Reagans on ‘Soul Man’: Thumbs Up

Over the weekend President Reagan and the First Lady screened “Soul Man” at Camp David and watched the movie debut of Ron Reagan, who had a bit part. They both gave the film thumbs up: “The Reagans enjoyed the film and especially enjoyed seeing their son Ron,” a White House spokesman said. Of course that particular screening yielded no box office contribution. Still, over the weekend “Soul Man” made a nice Halloween rebound--all of the major films were hurt by the holiday--taking in $3.5 million at 1,285 theaters and slipping just 1% from the previous weekend. To date, the movie has taken in about $15 million in its first 19 days of release.

The reigning box-office champ remains “Crocodile Dundee” which won the weekend by grossing $6.4 milllion at 1,485 theaters. (That’s an improvement of 12% with a drop of 10 theaters.) The thunder from down under rolls on: To date “Crocodile Dundee” has taken in more than $70 million at the box office.

“The Color of Money” fell 17% earning $4.4 million for Walt Disney Studios over the weekend. In its first 26 days, the Touchstone release has grossed $27.9 million. Columbia’s “Stand By Me” quietly surpassed the $40-million mark last weekend and with 19 theaters added, the film improved 27% taking in $1.4 million at 804 theaters.

And now for the less fortunate: In its opening weekend, DEG’s “Tai-Pan” took in only $1.9 million at 860 theaters, indicating a less than promising future for this epic set in China. Cannon’s “52 Pick-Up” scored only $1.7 million at 730 theaters in its less-than-thrilling debut.