WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Walt Disney’s “Three Men and a Baby” continued to rattle the competition in the early going of the 1987 Christmas Derby, selling $8.4 million worth of tickets during its second weekend and running its 10-day total to an impressive $25.1 million. Walt Disney and Paramount dominated the charts, each having two of the four top-grossing pictures. Paramount’s new “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” was second with $5.1 million, while “Fatal Attraction”-- adding another $3 million to its fall windfall--has now reached a total of $114.3 million. The competition gets more serious Wednesday when Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun” enters the race, followed Friday by Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” and Danny De Vito’s “Throw Momma From the Train.”

* The per screen average for “Nuts” was $4,240, down more than 40% from its previous weekend. The Marty Ritt courtroom drama has grossed $14.5 million in its first 17 days.

Figures courtesy of Exhibitor Relations Co.

Weekend Screens/ Weeks Movie gross/ Average in (Studio) Total release (millions) 1. Three Men and a Baby $8.4 1,006 2 (Buena Vista) $25.1 $8,376 2. Planes, Trains & Automobiles $5.1 1,118 2 (Paramount) $17.1 $4,534 3. Fatal Attraction $3.0 1,401 12 (Paramount) $114.3 $2,173 4. Cinderella $3.0 1,657 3 (Buena Vista) $19.0 $1,825 5. The Running Man $2.9 1,689 4 (Tri-Star) $29.1 $1,708 * Nuts $2.4 566 3 (Warner Bros.) $14.5 $4,250