Weekend Box Office : So Far, This Is Summer to Beat

An array of broadly popular movies continues to propel ticket sales at the nation’s theaters. The commercial appeal has pushed this summer’s total gross about 19% above last year at this same point, and 15% above the record summer of 1989. Among the movies earning more than $500,000, the total ticket sales for the weekend was $87 million, up from $63 million for the comparable weekend in 1992.

The Tom Cruise legal drama “The Firm” led the field for a third consecutive week and is headed for the $100 million mark by the weekend. Close on its heels for the top spot is Clint Eastwood’s “In the Line of Fire.”

* “Last Action Hero”: So whatever happened to the $80-million Arnold Schwarzenegger movie after taking an early dive off the Top 10 list? It’s still playing on 1,441 theaters and did about $1 million during the weekend for a total of $46.7 million to date.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Firm” $13.3 2,393 3 (Paramount) $95.8 $5,550 2. “In the Line of Fire” $13 2,089 2 (Columbia) $36 $6,250 3. “Jurassic Park” $10.9 2,557 6 (Universal) $255.7 $4,250 4. “Hocus Pocus” $8.1 1,430 1 (Walt Disney) $8.1 $5,682 5. “Free Willy” $7.9 1,476 1 (Warner Bros.) $7.9 $5,331 6. “Sleepless in Seattle” $7.4 1,657 4 (TriStar) $71.8 $4,439 7. “Rookie of the Year” $6.6 1,543 2 (Fox) $24.8 $4,299 8. “Son-in-Law” $3.7 1,351 3 (Hollywood) $21.3 $2,704 9. “Snow White” $3.5 1,578 3 (Walt Disney) $26 $2,248 10. “Dennis the Menace” $2.8 1,737 4 (Warner Bros.) $41.5 $1,604 * “Last Action Hero” $1 1,441 5 (Columbia) $46.7 $736

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.