Weekend Box Office : ‘The Fugitive’ Still Running Strong

Jean-Claude Van Damme made some sweet moves in “Hard Target” for his biggest opening ever, but “The Fugitive” captured the box-office flag for the third straight weekend with $18.1 million. With $89.1 million already stashed away, the tireless “Fugitive” is on pace to become one of the Top 10 quickest films ever to reach $100 million. “Hard Target,” the first American picture for Hong Kong action director John Woo, finished second with $10.1 million. New Line’s campy new “Surf Ninjas” wiped out, grossing $2 million on 1,321 screens--a per-screen average of $1,534--to finish 12th.

* Woody Allen’s personal problems during the shooting of “Manhattan Murder Mystery” did not seem to hurt the film’s limited opening--a solid $2.1 million on 268 screens--with a $7,836 per-screen average.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Fugitive” $18.1 2,388 3 (Warner Bros.) $89.1 $7,600 2. “Hard Target” $10.1 1,972 1 (Universal) $10.1 $5,125 3. “The Secret Garden” $4.3 1,332 2 (Warner Bros.) $12.4 $3,222 4. “Rising Sun” $4 1,677 4 (Fox) $48 $2,408 5. “Jurassic Park” $3.8 1,653 11 (Universal) $306.1 $2,275 6. “In the Line of Fire” $3.4 1,683 7 (Columbia) $89.6 $2,032 7. “Free Willy” $3.1 1,715 6 (Warner Bros.) $59 $1,802 8. “Heart and Souls” $2.8 1,301 2 (Universal) $9.4 $2,155 9. “The Firm” $2.6 1,358 8 (Paramount) $143.7 $1,916 10. “Sleepless in Seattle” $2.6 1,394 9 (TriStar) $105.9 $1,837 * “Manhattan Murder Mystery” $2.1 268 1 (TriStar) $2.1 $7,836

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.