Weekend Box Office : ‘Casper’ Has a $22-Million Holiday

For the second year in a row, Universal Pictures has proven that Memorial Day weekend is a good time to release a family-oriented film. The studio’s latest release, “Casper,” based on the friendly ghost of comic book fame, beat out three star-driven action films to win the weekly box-office race. “Casper” brought in $22 million in ticket sales for the four-day holiday weekend, outdistancing Bruce Willis in “Die Hard With a Vengeance” ($19 million), Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” ($12.9 million) and Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in “Crimson Tide” ($12.8 million).

Last year, Universal hit the jackpot when it released “The Flintstones” over the Memorial Day weekend. The John Goodman comedy opened to more than $37 million at the box office.

Exhibitors had to be happy with this year’s overall box office. Moviegoers bought more than $112 million in tickets (the figure is for films reporting more than $500,000 in grosses). That was the second-biggest four-day total ever, far eclipsing 1994’s Memorial Day total of $95.2 million. The biggest was $124.3 million set in 1993 over the Fourth of July weekend.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Casper” $22.1 2,714 1 (Universal) $22.1 $8,140 2. “Die Hard With a Vengeance” $19 2,525 2 (Fox) $48.9 $7,542 3. “Braveheart” $12.9 2,035 1 (Paramount) $15.5 $6,343 4. “Crimson Tide” $12.8 2,514 3 (Hollywood/Disney) $53.9 $5,095 5. “Forget Paris” $7.7 1,609 2 (Castle Rock/Columbia) $15.6 $4,791 6. “Johnny Mnemonic” $7.4 2,030 1 (TriStar) $7.4 $3,656 7. “Mad Love” $6.8 1,500 1 (Touchstone/Disney) $6.8 $4,547 8. “While You Were Sleeping” $5.8 1,713 6 (Hollywood/Disney) $57.7 $3,365 9. “Tales From the Hood” $3.9 862 1 (Savoy) $4.8 $4,523 10. “French Kiss” $3.4 1,412 4 (Fox) $29.2 $2,442

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.