WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : ‘Sleeping,’ ‘L.A.’ Knock ‘Home’ Out

The bad news for 20th Century Fox is that after 11 weeks, its blockbuster hit “Home Alone” has been knocked out of first place in the box-office standings. The good news for Fox is that it was one of its own pictures--”Sleeping With the Enemy”--that did it. “Sleeping,” a thriller starring Julia Roberts as an abused wife on the lam from her sociopath husband, grossed $13.8 million, setting the record for a February opening. The Steve Martin comedy “L.A. Story” also slipped past “Home Alone,” with opening weekend business of $6.6 million. “Home Alone’s” $6 million gave Fox nearly a $20-million weekend.

* Debuting on two screens in Los Angeles and San Francisco, “Heaven and Earth,” a costly Japanese-made samurai epic, earned $26,628. Directed by film executive and leading publisher Haruki Kadokawa, it will widen to New York on March 1.

Movie Weekend Screens/ Weeks in Total (Studio) Gross Average Release Gross 1. “Sleeping With the Enemy” $13.8 1,406 1 $13.8 (20th Century-Fox) Million $9,799 Million 2. “L.A. Story” $6.6 1,091 1 $6.6 (Tri-Star Pictures) Million $6,065 Million 3. “Home Alone” $6.0 1,986 13 $221.1 (20th Century-Fox) Million $3,022 Million 4. “Neverending Story II” $4.9 1,188 1 $4.9 (Warner Bros.) Million $4,135 Million 5. “Dances With Wolves” $3.9 1,548 14 $103.9 (Orion Pictures) Million $2,523 Million * “Heaven and Earth” $26,628 2 1 $26,628 (Triton Pictures) $13,314

SOURCES: Exhibitor Relations Co.