Weekend Box Office : ‘Fugitive’ Breaks the $100-Million Mark

The summer of ’93 continued its record-breaking course, as the nation’s box office exceeded that of last year’s for the 10th weekend in a row. “The public evidently decided that the pictures released were better than usual,” says John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations. “And since there was a real mix--action/adventure, sentimental, sci-fi and many more children’s films than the norm, there was virtually something for everyone.”

Once again, Warner Bros.’ “The Fugitive” dominated the week, becoming the fourth film this summer (with “Jurassic Park,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “The Firm”) to pass the $100-million mark. This week’s six new releases fared less well, with only two of them--”Columbia’s “Needful Things” and Warners’ “Man Without a Face”--penetrating the Top 10.

* “The Wedding Banquet,” the story of a Taiwanese gay man and his “marriage of inconvenience “ to a straight female tenant, held strong during week four--the first in which the Samuel Goldwyn Co. expanded the release beyond cities with major gay and Asian populations.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Fugitive” $14.5 2,425 4 (Warner Bros.) $111.2 $5,981 2. “Needful Things” $5.2 1,963 1 (Columbia) $5.2 $2,650 3. “Hard Target” $5.0 1,999 2 (Universal) $18.5 $2,515 4. “Man Without a Face” $4.0 865 1 (Warner Bros.) $5.2 $4,655 5. “The Secret Garden” $3.4 1,332 3 (Warner Bros.) $18.2 $2,517 6. “Jurassic Park” $2.9 1,469 12 (Universal) $311.1 $1,990 7. “Rising Sun” $2.8 1,424 5 (Fox) $52.7 $1,973 8. “In the Line of Fire” $2.6 1,472 8 (Columbia) $93.7 $1,773 9. “Free Willy” $2.3 1,505 7 (Warner Bros.) $63.0 $1,504 10. “Sleepless in Seattle” $2.1 1,283 10 (TriStar) $109.2 $1,600 * “The Wedding Banquet” $341,581 34 4 (Goldwyn) $1.4 $10,046

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.