Weekend Box Office : Romantic Comedies Top the Chart

Though the first week of May is seldom a strong moviegoing stretch, box office was up over last year for the fifth straight week. The numbers were lower than initial estimates, however, since “Jurassic Park” and “Ghost” aired on TV Sunday night.

Two romantic comedies--”French Kiss” and “While You Were Sleeping”--grabbed the top two slots, suggesting a hunger for frothier, more sentimental fare. Independent New Line Cinema scored better than a number of the majors, with two pictures in the Top 10--including per-screen leader “My Family”--and “Don Juan de Marco” at No. 11.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “French Kiss” $9.0 1,721 1 (Fox) $9.0 $5,240 2. “While You Were Sleeping” $8.5 2,066 3 (Disney/Hollywood) $34.6 $4,107 3. “Friday” $4.0 881 2 (New Line) $14.0 $4,526 4. “Bad Boys” $2.9 2,103 5 (Columbia) $54.4 $1,386 5. “Panther” $2.4 713 1 (Gramercy) $3.1 $3,303 6. “My Family” $2.16 413 1 (New Line) $2.7 $5,242 7. “Rob Roy” $2.12 1,821 5 (MGM) $26.8 $1,166 8. “A Goofy Movie” $2.06 1,994 5 (Walt Disney) $28.7 $1,032 9. “Village of the Damned” $1.9 1,919 2 (Universal) $6.0 $1,005 10. “Kiss of Death” $1.6 1,567 3 (Fox) $12.5 $1,024

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.