‘Ghost’ Hovers Behind No. 1 ‘Presumed Innocent’ : WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

“Presumed Innocent,” Warner Bros.’ courtroom drama with Harrison Ford and Bonnie Bedelia, enjoyed opening weekend ticket sales of $11.6 million, which just edged out Paramount Pictures’ romantic fantasy, “Ghost,” for first place. With third weekend ticket sales of $11 million--only a 12% drop over the previous week--”Ghost” continues to hover as the summer sleeper, with grosses in excess of $51 million.

“Problem Child,” a comedy Universal Pictures chose not to screen early for critics, had ticket sales of $10 million, which put it in third place over the weekend. Starring John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck as a yuppie couple who adopt a nightmarish 7-year-old, the film’s release was heralded by one of the most talked-about trailers of the summer in which the youngster is shown wreaking havoc on everyone--including the family cat--to the musical backdrop of George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.”

Though it was ranked fourth, 20th Century Fox’s “Die Hard 2”--like the spate of other heavy-artillery titles--has begun to plummet. Ticket sales of $5.9 million represented a drop of more than 40% from the previous week .

* Tri-Star Pictures’ “The Freshman”--which did startling numbers during its first weekend of limited release--widened to more than 1,000 screens, where it earned $4.2 million. The quirky comedy, which teams Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, had a per-screen average of $4,060--a modest figure that nonetheless tops the $2,813 per-screen average of the much-hyped “Die Hard 2.”

Movie Weekend Screens/ Weeks in Total (Studio) Gross Average Release Gross 1.”Presumed Innocent” $11.6 1,349 1 $11.6 (Warner Bros.) Million $8,655 Million 2.”Ghost” $11 1,694 3 $51.3 (Paramount) Million $6,538 Million 3.”Problem Child” $10 1,714 1 $10 (Universal) Million $5,840 Million 4.”Arachnophobia” $8.1 1,831 3 $23.8 (Buena Vista) Million $4,458 Million 5.”Die Hard 2” $5.9 2,116 4 $87.7 (Fox) Million $2,813 Million *”The Freshman” $4.6 1,040 2 $4.6 (Tri-Star) Million $4,060 Million

SOURCES: Exhibitor Relations Co.