FIRST OFF . . .

Movie box-office revenues hit a record $4.46 billion last year, although theater attendance took a slight dip, Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, told theater owners in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “In spite of competition for the eye and ear of the American consumer, in spite of an avalanche of visual options, the movie theater has not only refused to die, it has held firm,” Jack Valenti told the opening session of the ShoWest theater-owners’ convention. Theater admissions totaled 1.085 billion in 1988, Valenti said, the 12th consecutive year that attendance topped the 1-billion mark. The attendance figure was down .03%, but revenues were up 5%, he said.