Labor Day Weekend Box Office : ‘The Fugitive’ Just Keeps on Running

Were it not for the continuing popularity of “The Fugitive,” the Friday-through-Monday Labor Day weekend would have been an unremarkable cap to a very remarkable, record-breaking summer at the nation’s box offices. “The Fugitive,” now at $133.7 million, is on the way to passing “The Firm,” now at $150 million, to become the summer’s second biggest grossing movie after “Jurassic Park.”

* No. 14 “Calendar Girl,” the romp in which TV star Jason Priestley bares his behind, opened unimpressively, as did two other new films. “Kalifornia” did a modest $1.2 million on 359 screens. “Boxing Helena,” a movie that received more publicity from its would-be star Kim Basinger than most movies usually receive, grossed $800,000 on 161 screens. Meanwhile, Kenneth Branagh’s critically applauded interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” topped $20 million in its ongoing limited run.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Fugitive” $17.2 2,425 5 (Warner Bros.) $133.7 $7,109 2. “The Man Without a Face” $5.5 1,065 2 (Warner Bros.) $12.4 $5,139 3. “Hard Target” $4.4 1,967 3 (Universal) $24.8 $2,240 4. “Jurassic Park” $4.1 1,420 13 (Universal) $316.6 $2,890 5. “The Secret Garden” $3.6 1,332 4 (Warner Bros.) $23.4 $2,738 6. “Needful Things” $4.05 1,986 2 (Columbia) $11.2 $2,040 7. “Fortress” $4.04 1,204 1 (Miramax/Dimension) $4.04 $3,356 8. “In the Line of Fire” $3.2 1,274 9 (Columbia) $97.9 $2,515 9. “Free Willy” $3 1,551 8 (Warner Bros.) $67.1 $1,949 10. “Rising Sun” $2.9 1,289 6 (20th Century Fox) $56.7 $2,264 * “Calendar Girl” $1.8 1,082 1 (Columbia) $1.8 $1,666

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.