WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : ‘Heat,’ ‘Outdoors’ Strong; ‘Big’ Still Huge

After a series of box office failures, director Walter Hill appears to have regained his “48 HRS.” form--and format--with his macho cop comedy “Red Heat.” The buddy movie, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, jumped to the top of the box-office chart with opening weekend receipts of $8.1 million. “The Great Outdoors,” a comedy with Dan Aykroyd and John Candy, overcame mostly sour reviews to post a $6.1 million opening weekend and actually earned more per theater than “Red Heat.” But the weekend’s biggest winner may have been “Big.” The Tom Hanks boy-as-man comedy had the highest per-theater average and with a $6.6 million weekend ran its three-week total to more than $31 million.

* “Bull Durham,” a romantic comedy in a baseball setting, connected with critics and moviegoers, taking in $6.3 million in its first five days (it opened Wednesday).

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1. “Red Heat” $8.1 1,885 1 (Tri-Star) $8.1 $4,315 2. “Big” $6.6 1,174 3 (20th Century Fox) $31.2 $5,634 3. “The Great Outdoors” $6.12 1,223 1 (Universal) $6.1 $5,005 4. “Crocodile Dundee II” $6.11 2,394 4 (Paramount) $71.3 $2,553 5. “Big Business” $5.1 1,167 2 (Touchstone/Disney) $14.2 $4,325 * “Bull Durham” $6.3 1,174 1 (Warner Bros.) $6.3 $4,046

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.