Weekend Box Office : ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Sweeps Up Film-Goers

During a slow weekend for moviegoing, the comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” starring Robin Williams, continued as a runaway hit, raking in a big $14.7 million, or nearly three times the gross of the nearest film. There were no major new titles and the rankings were almost a mirror of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with “A Perfect World” and “Addams Family Values “ in second and third, respectively.

This Friday, the scene changes wildly as more major holiday season films open in wide national release: “Sister Act 2,” “Wayne’s World 2” and “Geronimo: An American Legend.” Despite the slowdown, the year-to-date box-office total is still 10% ahead of last year.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Mrs. Doubtfire” $14.7 1.678 2 (20th Century Fox) $46.7 $8,782 2. “A Perfect World” $5.4 1,964 2 (Warner Bros.) $18.7 $2,764 3. “Addams Family Values” $4.6 2,577 3 (Paramount) $36.2 $1,780 4. “The Three Musketeers” $3.8 2,096 4 (Walt Disney) $38.1 $1,817 5. “Carlito’s Way” $2.5 1,605 4 (Universal) $29 $1,570 6. “My Life” $2.3 1,290 4 (Columbia) $22.3 $1,786 7. “The Piano” $1.7 213 4 (Miramax) $7.5 $7,988 8. “Nightmare Before Christmas” $1.5 1,341 8 (Touchstone) $45.6 $1,111 9. “We’re Back” $1.4 1,829 2 (Universal) $6.3 $780 10. “Man’s Best Friend” $1.3 1,118 3 (New Line) $9.8 $1,199 * “Gettysburg” $277,111 247 9 (Gramercy) $8.7 $1,122

* The four-hour, historical “Gettysburg” continues to defy expectations and after nine weeks in limited run has grossed nearly $9 million.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.