Weekend Box Office : ‘Kombat’ Fights Off the Competition

Though the race is still close, this weekend marked the fourth time in the past five weeks that box office was down from last summer’s record-breaking pace. Despite a 56% drop, New Line’s “Mortal Kombat” edged out seven new entries to emerge in the top spot for the second straight week.

“Our numbers were down, but we withstood the onslaught of seven new ad campaigns--and our audience is broadening,” says Mitch Goldman, New Line’s president of marketing and distribution. “We marketed this as a ‘niche’ film, aiming at those who play the video game as well as the martial arts and special-effects crowds, but we’ve begun to draw adults and women. Though a $100-million gross may not be in the cards, we expect to do $80 million.”

Among the new arrivals, a respectable performance by Columbia’s “Desperado” offset the disappointment of the studio’s “Beyond Rangoon”--a John Boorman political thriller that failed to break into the Top 10. Savoy’s rap documentary “The Show” fared well but its “Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde” did not.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Mortal Kombat” $10.3 2,628 2 (New Line) $43.1 $3,923 2. “Desperado” $7.9 2,027 1 (Columbia) $7.9 $3,903 3. “Dangerous Minds” $7.8 1,578 3 (Disney/Hollywood) $46.4 $4,928 4. “A Walk in the Clouds” $5.5 1,750 3 (Fox) $31.0 $3,136 5. “Lord of Illusions” $4.8 1,533 1 (MGM) $4.8 $3,131 6. “Something to Talk About” $3.9 1,767 4 (Warner Bros.) $40.1 $2,215 7. “Babe” $3.7 1,780 4 (Universal) $36.8 $2,075 8. “Waterworld” $3.5 2,197 5 (Universal) $76.3 $1,615 9. “Apollo 13” $2.6 1,482 9 (Universal) $157.9 $1,735 10. “Amazing Panda Adventure” $2.4 1,692 1 (Warner Bros.) $2.4 1,426

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.