‘The Abyss’ Doesn’t Rise to Surface

Twentieth Century Fox delayed releasing box-office figures Monday for its ballyhooed film “The Abyss.” But once the receipts were counted, Fox’s big entry in the summer sweepstakes--with an estimated budget of $60 million--grossed only $9.3 million last weekend on 1,300 screens, an average of $6,079 per screen. The late-summer entry, which opened Wednesday to mixed reviews, was not able to supplant Universal’s “Parenthood” as box-office champion for its second weekend in a row. At $9.7 million, “Parenthood” was down 7% from its opening weekend. Freddy Krueger, the horror hero of New Line’s “Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child,” finished a close third with $8.1 million.

* After opening strong in four theaters--and breaking house attendance records in one of them--Miramax’s dark psychological comedy “sex, lies and videotape” expanded to 28 screens last weekend. It continued to perform well with a weekend take of $602,432, a per-screen average of $21,527.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1.”Parenthood” $9.7 1,300 2 (Universal) $30.3 $7,440 2.”The Abyss” $9.3 1,533 1 (20th Century Fox) $13 $6,079 3.”A Nightmare on Elm Street 5’ $8.1 1,902 1 (New Line) $8.1 $4,266 4.”Turner and Hooch” $6.3 1,880 3 (Touchstone/Disney) $38.8 $3,357 5.”When Harry Met Sally ...” $6.2 1,171 5 (Columbia) $45.9 $5,292 *”sex, lies and videotape” $602,760 28 2 (Miramax) $904,432 $21,527

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.