Weekend Box Office : A Good Turnout for ‘Four Weddings’

The witty British comedy “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” from “Enchanted April” director Mike Newell, is making its mark on the box office in a period that is slow going for most movie ticket sales. Totals for the weekend were among the lowest of the year and are off 10% from the comparable weekend last year. But “Four Weddings,” starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, has the highest per-screen average of any film on the Top 10 Chart. Distributor Gramercy Pictures said the success warrants an increase from 552 screens to 750 this weekend, and will probably climb to 1,000 the following week. That would mean one of the biggest releases for the relatively new small distributor, which is a joint venture company of Universal Pictures and Polygram.

The new TriStar Pictures release of “Threesome,” about a love triangle among college roommates, opened to so-so business, while the two sports sequels, “D2 The Mighty Ducks” and “Major League II,” battled for the top spot. At this point, ice hockey seems to be beating baseball. But the season is still young.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “D2 The Mighty Ducks” $5.6 2,223 3 (Walt Disney) $30.2 $2,482 2. “Major League II” $5.1 2,167 2 (Warner Bros.) $17.7 $2,353 3. “The Paper” $4.5 1,558 4 (Universal) $22 $2,915 5. “Naked Gun 33 1/3” $4.05 2,262 4 (Paramount) $40 $1,791 4. “Threesome” $4.001 1,212 1 (TriStar) $4 $3,301 6. “Four Weddings ... “ $3.9 552 5 (Gramercy) $8.6 $7,145 7. “Schindler’s List” $3.2 1,389 17 (Universal) $79.7 $2,310 8. “Thumbelina” $2.2 1,502 2 (Warner Bros.) $7.1 $1,487 9. “Above the Rim” $1.8 891 3 (New Line) $11.6 $2,068 10. “Clifford” $1.8 1,023 2 (Orion) $5.48 $1,747

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.