WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : ‘Emperor’ Rises, ‘Beetlejuice’ Reigns

The nine Oscars bestowed on Columbia’s “The Last Emperor” helped the 21-week-old picture--Columbia re-released about 700 prints of the film--but the box-office results last weekend were less than imperial. The film, which cost about $25 million to make, has quite a ways to go before it makes returns to its investors. But Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice” continues to surprise, locking up the top spot for the third week in a row. And the controversial “Colors” made a very strong debut; its $11,249 per-screen tally is the highest so far for a major, nationally released film in 1988. (See related article on Page 1.)

* “Moonstruck” also rode a minor wave of post-Oscar resurgence (it won three awards), finishing No. 6 on the weekend chart.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1. Beetlejuice $7.1 1,500 3 (Warner Bros.) $32.1 $4,763 2. Colors $4.8 422 1 (Orion) $4.8 $11,249 3. Biloxi Blues $3.4 1,308 4 (Universal) $27.6 $2,610 4. The Last Emperor $3.4 877 21 (Columbia) $29.3 $3,875 5. Return to Snowy River Part II $3 1,121 1 (Disney) $3 $2,696 * Moonstruck $2.9 1,025 18 (MGM/UA) $63.5 $2,830

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.