Weekend Box Office : ‘White Men’ Outjumps ‘Basic Instinct’

Box-office revenue was up for the second straight week as “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Basic Instinct” continued their neck-and-neck battle for the top spot. Oscar impact on the grosses was minimal, primarily because the big winner, “The Silence of the Lambs,” is on video and cable. (Orion re-released the movie to some 200 theaters Friday but is not disclosing the figures.)

* “Mediterraneo,” winner of the best foreign film Oscar, broke house records for Friday and Sunday at New York’s 68th Street Playhouse. Box office more than doubled over the previous weekend with the addition of one screen.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “White Men Can’t Jump” $10.2 1,928 2 (Fox) $29.1 $5,285 2. “Basic Instinct” $10.1 1,806 3 (TriStar) $49.1 $5,601 3. “Beethoven” $7.6 1,688 1 (Universal) $7.6 $4,495 4. “Straight Talk” $4.5 1,477 1 (BV) $4.5 $3,076 5. “Wayne’s World” $4.4 1,878 8 (Paramount) $93.3 $2,357 6. “Thunderheart” $4.5 1,035 1 (TriStar) $4.5 $4,355 7. “My Cousin Vinny” $3.9 1,482 4 (Fox) $30.7 $2,659 8. “The Cutting Edge” $3.4 857 2 (MGM/Pathe) $9.1 $4,019 9. “Ladybugs” $3.2 1,528 2 (Paramount) $9.4 $2,092 10. “Rock-A-Doodle” $2.6 1,278 1 (Goldwyn) $2.6 $2,037 * “Mediterraneo” $58,718 3 2 (Miramax) $130,796 $19,572

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.