Weekend Box Office : A Dominating ‘Proposal’

In a soft period for moviegoing, “Indecent Proposal” dominated the scene for a second weekend. The slickly made, provocative movie with three high-profile stars--Robert Redford, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson--fell from the heated $18.3 million pace it achieved in its debut weekend. But that drop is smaller than is customary for most films, which indicates that the R-rated “Proposal” might become this spring’s “Basic Instinct,” the sexually charged hit from 1992. Analysts say “Proposal’s” success couldn’t come at a better time for hit-starved distributor Paramount Pictures. By tonight, the studio estimates the box-office gross will top $50 million.

On a much smaller scale, the weekend offered some cheery news for another film company--the financially shaky MGM. Its “Benny & Joon,” an offbeat, PG-rated romance, which stars an entirely different trio of performers--Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn--brought in $3.3 million for fifth place.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Indecent Proposal” $14.7 1,847 2 (Paramount) $47 $7,972 2. “The Sandlot” $4.9 1,775 2 (Fox) $13 $2,777 3. “Boiling Point” $4 1,425 1 (Warner Bros.) $4 $2,811 4. “Cop and a Half” $3.31 1,793 3 (Universal) $17.9 $1,850 5. “Benny & Joon” $3.3 408 1 (MGM) $3.3 $8,052 6. “Adventures of Huck Finn” $2.9 1,767 3 (Walt Disney) $16.4 $1,674 7. “Ninja Turtles III” $2 2,042 5 (New Line) $37.2 $992 8. “The Crying Game” $1.9 974 21 (Miramax) $57.1 $1,993 9. “Unforgiven” $1.5 1,026 37 (Warner Bros.) $91 $1,495 10. “Point of No Return” $1.4 1,250 5 (Warner Bros.) $26 $1,125

Exhibitor Relations Co.