Presidents’ Day Weekend Box Office : Holiday Tallies Lower Than Estimated

Final box-office tallies for the Friday-through-Monday holiday weekend came out a little lower than the estimates, but the results were essentially the same: A big weekend for the industry, with $82 million in ticket sales, up from $75 million on the same weekend a year ago. Steven Seagal’s action picture, “On Deadly Ground,” leads with a commanding $12.7 million, even though that number is down by a million from the Monday estimates.

“Mrs. Doubtfire,” the cross-dressing comedy starring Robin Williams, will cross over into the $200-million box-office stratosphere within the next week to become the 16th-highest grossing movie of all time in the United States and Canada. It would be the first comedy since “Ghost” in 1990 to achieve that level of popularity.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “On Deadly Ground” $12.7 2,010 1 (Warner Bros.) $12.7 $6,308 2. “Ace Ventura” $10.2 1,923 3 (Warner Bros.) $38 $5,310 5. “Blue Chips” $10.1 1,980 1 (Paramount) $10.1 $5,113 4. “Blank Check” $6.3 1,732 2 (Walt Disney) $13 $3,630 5. “Reality Bites” $6 1,149 1 (Universal) $6 $5,225 7. “Schindler’s List” $4.9 798 10 (Universal) $42.1 $6,100 6. “My Girl 2” $4.8 1,853 2 (Columbia) $10.9 $2,602 8. “Mrs. Doubtfire” $4.5 1,380 13 (20th Century Fox) $193.3 $3,289 9. “My Father, the Hero” $4.1 1,363 3 (Disney/Touchstone) $16 $3,011 10. “Philadelphia” $4 1,449 9 (TriStar) $56 $2,775 * “Grumpy Old Men” $2.3 1,265 9 (Warner Bros.) $61.5 $1,865

* Slow but sure, the Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon and Ann-Margret comedy “Grumpy Old Men,” released at Christmas, is becoming a minor hit, with $61.5 million to date.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.