An Early Christmas for Bill Murray

Bill Murray’s absence from the screen certainly hasn’t hurt his drawing power at the box office. Paramount’s “Scrooged” grossed a whopping $18.6 million over the five-day period at 1,262 theaters, averaging $10,323 per screen. The film, a modern-day version of the Dickens tale in which Murray plays a nasty network executive, also opened on 214 screens in Great Britain, where it grossed an additional $984,709. Universal’s “Cocoon: The Return” grossed a healthy $7.7 million at 986 theaters, an average of $7,806 per screen.

* Cannon’s “Little Dorrit,” which opened to critical acclaim, grossed $32,000 at two theaters, in New York and Los Angeles.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1.’Scrooged” $18.6 1,262 1 (Paramount) $18.6 $10,323 2.”The Land Before Time” $10.0 1,410 2 (Universal) $18.5 $5,755 3.”Cocoon: The Return” $7.7 986 1 (20th Century Fox) $7.7 $7,806 4.”Oliver and Company” $7.5 952 2 (Disney) $12.1 $7,878 5.”Child’s Play” $6.5 1,490 3 (MGM/UA) $22.1 $4,362 *”Little Dorrit” $.032 2 2 (Cannon) $.121 $15,952

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.