Weekend Box Office : Big Opening Weekend for ‘Bad Boys’

The big winner at the box office was “Bad Boys,” a high-concept, cops-and-robbers film starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The movie made $15.5 million--the biggest opening this year--far outdistancing the No. 2 film of the weekend, “A Goofy Movie,” which had ticket sales of $6.13 million.

The success of “Bad Boys” is good news for Columbia Pictures, a studio that had a lackluster 1994 but seems to be righting itself with recent hits such as “Legends of the Fall,” “Little Women” and “Higher Learning.”

In the milestone department, Paramount’s “Forrest Gump” has now become the third biggest grossing movie domestically of all time with ticket sales of $323.6 million, surpassing the 1977 space saga “Star Wars,” which made $322 million. Worldwide, “Gump” ($609.9 million) now ranks fourth behind all-time box-office champ “Jurassic Park” ($913.5 million), “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” and “The Lion King.” Meanwhile, Miramax’s “Pulp Fiction,” after 26 weeks in release, surpassed $100 million in ticket sales.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Bad Boys” $15.5 2,132 1 (Columbia) $15.5 $7,281 2. “A Goofy Movie” $6.13 2,159 1 (Disney) $6.13 $2,839 3. “Tommy Boy” $6.12 2,186 2 (Paramount) $16.3 $2,799 4. “Don Juan DeMarco” $4.6 1,110 1 (New Line) $4.6 $4,105 5. “Outbreak” $4 2,146 5 (Warner Bros.) $54.5 $1,867 6. “Circle of Friends” $3.7 788 4 (Savoy) $9.4 $4,737 7. “Dolores Claiborne” $3 1,256 3 (Castle Rock/Columbia) $16.2 $2,394 8. “Major Payne” $2.9 1,991 3 (Universal) $18.2 $1,435 9. “Rob Roy” $2 133 1 (United Artists) $2 $15,213 10. “Muriel’s Wedding” $1.7 840 5 (Miramax) $9.7 $2,059

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.