‘Casper’ Flies Past a Power Trio at Box Office : Movies: On what looks to be a record holiday weekend, the Amblin/Universal film pulls in an estimated $20.6 million. Macho films do well too.

The friendliest ghost you know, “Casper,” slipped by the macho power troika of Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington and Mel Gibson over the Memorial Day weekend to finish first at the box office with a conservative estimate of $20.6 million in 2,713 theaters.

But the combo of Willis’ “Die Hard With a Vengeance,” Washington’s “Crimson Tide” and Gibson’s “Braveheart” did more than twice as much overall business--almost $44 million--making the holiday weekend a memorable one for the record books.

John Krier of Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box-office results, said Monday that the four-day holiday period could finish with $110 million in ticket sales, almost 10% ahead of last year’s record of $102 million. Depending on the final tally, due to be released today, the weekend had a chance to surpass last year’s Fourth of July weekend’s $110.7 million to register the best four-day total of the past two years.

Business was helped by a smorgasbord of films, attracting every audience demographic.

There was romance for the slightly older crowd--Billy Crystal’s “Forget Paris”--and for teens “Mad Love” starring Drew Barrymore.

There was a little cyberpunk action (Keanu Reeves in “Johnny Mnemonic”) and even some good old-fashioned scares (“Tales From the Hood”) set to a rap beat.

The PG-rated “Casper” had the advantage of embracing the whole family, giving Amblin/Universal its second Memorial Day victory in a row with a cartoon-to-live-action premise. “Casper’s” $21 million or so, however, came nowhere close to the $37.2 million done by “The Flintstones” last year. “The Flintstones,” however, had better teen-age attendance than “Casper,” according to Universal’s senior vice president of distribution, Nikki Rocco. And teen-agers pay full price.

Rocco estimated that more than 60% of “Casper’s” business came in reduced admissions. Second-weekend figures will tell how well and how long “Casper” will play into the summer.

Still, despite its well-attended previews last weekend, “Casper” had not been expected to best 20th Century Fox’s “Die Hard With a Vengeance,” which came in a close second with about $19 million on 2,525 screens.

But competitors say Fox’s estimates are low (as they were opening week). Studio distribution head Tom Sherak said the film is running almost even with “Die Hard 2,” though the second film had the advantage of midsummer attendance. After only two weeks, the third and latest “Die Hard” has collected $49 million. That puts it just behind the Tony Scott adventure “Crimson Tide,” which held its ground to score about $12.5 million for Hollywood Pictures in its third weekend on 2,514 screens, pushing its total to about $53 million.

Gibson’s “Braveheart” had its work cut out for it, and only partially succeeded. The $12.2-million opening weekend on 2,035 screens ($14.8 million in six days) is good considering the film’s three-hour running time. But, industry insiders say the film is only performing well in major markets, meaning its appeal is limited. Considering its $70-million price tag, Paramount was clearly hoping for better than a fourth-place finish.

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Young males preferred “Die Hard” to “Johnny Mnemonic,” which nonetheless managed to carve out a decent niche with $7.3 million on 2,030 screens, good for sixth place. The TriStar pickup is not expected to be a long-running title but played the holiday attendance increase to its advantage.

Billy Crystal and Debra Winger’s “Forget Paris,” meanwhile, defied conventional patterns and for the second weekend drew increased attendance. It garnered an estimated $7.6 million on 1,609 screens and placed fifth, following an underwhelming opener of less than $6 million. “I guess we surprised a lot of people,” said Castle Rock principal Martin Shafer. “Forget” now faces competition from “The Bridges of Madison County,” which reportedly filled Sunday sneak preview houses to 90% capacity, sweet music to Warner Bros.’ ears in advance of the Clint Eastwood/Meryl Streep romance’s Friday debut.

Love was the action antidote over Memorial Day. Teens flocked to seventh-place “Mad Love” from Buena Vista Pictures, which took in $7 million from 1,500 screens, though the weepie looks to have wobbly legs. Eighth place went to the ever-hearty “While You Were Sleeping,” from Hollywood Pictures, which climbed to $5.7 million for the holidays and has grossed almost $58 million so far.

Savoy Pictures’ horror entry “Tales From the Hood” couldn’t scare up more than $4 million for the weekend ($5 million since last Wednesday) on 862 screens and ninth place. Better than expected reviews were not enough to overcome the competition from the other action titles.

In 10th was 20th Century Fox’s “French Kiss,” fading to $3.4 million on 1,411 screens and a moderately good $29 million to date.