Weekend Box Office : Jim Carrey’s Not-So-’Dumb’ Fee

Moviegoing usually takes a back seat to last-minute shopping during the pre-Christmas week and 1994 was no exception. Still, New Line’s decision to shell out $7 million for Jim Carrey panned out as “Dumb and Dumber” devastated the opposition and “The Santa Clause” broke the $100-million mark in its sixth week of release. MGM’s “Speechless,” starring Geena Davis and Michael Keaton, had a disappointing bow, while the limited releases of Fox’s “Nell” and Columbia’s Beethoven saga “Immortal Beloved” were more encouraging.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1.”Dumb and Dumber” $16.4 2,447 1 (New Line) $16.4 $6,687 2. “The Santa Clause” $8.9 2,388 6 (Walt Disney) $107.1 $3,731 3. “Disclosure” $7.3 1,810 2 (Warner Bros.) $20.9 $4,044 4. “Drop Zone” $4.0 2,055 2 (Paramount) $12.3 $1,960 5. “Speechless” $3.9 1,404 1 (MGM) $3.9 $2,827 6. “The Lion King” * $1.85 1,539 5 (Walt Disney) $291.6 $1,204 7. “Star Trek: Generations” $1.84 1,739 5 (Paramount) $65.3 $1,062 8. “Junior” $1.78 1,896 4 (Universal) $26.5 $940 9. “A Low Down Dirty Shame” $1.5 1,001 4 (Disney/Hollywood) $23.7 $1,530 10. “Interview With the Vampire” $1.3 1,589 6 (Warner Bros.) $96.6 $799

* Box-office total includes initial 15-week release plus five-week re-issue

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.