Weekend Box Office : ‘Son’ Finds Good in Evil at Box Office

“Holy cow!” might have been the way the innocent Macaulay Culkin of “Home Alone” fame would have described the ticket sales for his latest movie, “The Good Son.” The movie roared to a $12.5-million gross during the weekend. While Mac’s new, evil character might use slightly stronger language, the point is that the 20th Century Fox release did exceptionally well for this usually languid moviegoing period.

The leader a week ago, “Striking Distance,” starring Bruce Willis, appears to have already gone the distance. Action fans usually turn out the first weekend; after that, it’s usually downhill. Although a few more theaters were added, the film’s business took a 42% drop and it fell to fourth place.

“The Program,” a football action picture with James Caan, was competing with the real thing, and scored only modest business in its opening weekend.

Meanwhile, two films playing in only major cities for the moment, defied the norm: Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence” and the lyrical family saga “The Joy Luck Club,” ranked in the Top 10, despite the relatively small number of theaters in which they are playing.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Good Son” $12.5 18,470 1 (20th Century Fox) $12.5 $6,779 2. “The Program” $6.8 1,653 1 (Touchstone) $6.8 $4,127 3. “The Fugitive” $5.2 2,203 8 (Warner Bros.) $161.4 $2,375 4. “Striking Distance” $5 1,917 2 (Columbia) $16.1 $2,615 5. “The Age of Innocence” $4.8 472 2 (Columbia) $8.1 $10,103 6. “Warlock: The Armageddon” $1.74 1,320 1 (Trimark) $1.74 $1,324 7. “Undercover Blues” $1.71 1,598 3 (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) $10.9 $1,071 8. “Jurassic Park” $1.583 1,073 16 (Universal) $324.2 $1,475 9. “The Joy Luck Club” $1.582 103 3 (Hollywood) $2.4 $15,363 10. “Man Without a Face” $1.5 1,241 5 (Warner Bros.) $21.6 $1,230 * “Dazed and Confused” $918,127 183 1 (Gramercy) $918,127 $5,017

* This tale of the last day of high school in an average American town in 1976, with a young cast and a rock score, drew a strong $900,000 in its first weekend.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.