WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The rise of United Artists’ “Baby Boom,” coupled with the continuing strength of Paramount’s “Fatal Attraction” (looking to be the year’s biggest non-sequel) and the strong weekend debut of Fox’s “Less Than Zero,” indicates that affluent young adults, proto-yuppies aged 20-30 or so, are flocking into the theaters. That could mean vigilantes--even well-heeled ones like Charles Bronson in the latest “Death Wish” installment--don’t quite fit this fall’s bill. “Death Wish IV” finished sixth in its opening weekend, doing $2.5 million at 1,030 theaters.

* And then again, there’s Mickey Rourke’s cinematic re-enactment of writer Charles Bukowski’s boozy, broke and battered younger days in “Barfly.” The film, directed by Barbet Schroeder, is about as anti-yuppie as a contemporary high-profile major release could get. But it’s doing strong business in a very limited national run.

Figures courtesy of Exhibitor Relations Co.

Weekend Screens/ Weeks Movie gross/ Average in (Studio) Total release (millions) 1. Fatal Attraction $7.1 1,351 8 (Paramount) $85.7 $5,247 2. Hello Again $5.7 1,201 1 (Touchstone) $5.7 $4,757 3. Baby Boom $3.1 874 5 (United Artists) $12.7 $3,492 4. Less Than Zero $3.0 871 1 (20th Century Fox) $ . $3,455 5. Suspect $2.6 1,029 4 (Tri-Star) $11.5 $2,544 * Barfly $.150 11 3 (Cannon) $.337 $13,660