Weekend Box Office : Rosy News for Hollywood, ‘Monkeys’

Despite one of the worst blizzards to hit the East Coast in this century, Hollywood enjoyed a healthy weekend at the box office.

“Cities like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were clobbered by the snowstorms,” said John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations Inc., a company that tracks box-office results.

Even so, Krier noted, the weekend box office was the highest three-day total for January ever, grossing more than $80 million. The current figures eclipse 1992’s box office of more than $75 million, when such films as “Hook,” “Father of the Bride,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Prince of Tides” were playing.

Despite the weather-related problems in some East Coast locales, moviegoers pushed the new Bruce Willis-Brad Pitt futuristic drama “12 Monkeys” to No. 1 on the current weekend box-office chart.

“Grumpier Old Men” proved as resilient as its stars, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, taking in $7.9 million, while “Jumanji” starring Robin Williams was third at $7.5 million.

“Toy Story” continued its climb to the $200-million mark, bringing in $7 million for the weekend. To date, the holiday release has brought in $160 million for Walt Disney Studios.

“12 Monkeys,” a Universal Pictures release, brought in $13.8 million. That was the top January opening of any film.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “12 Monkeys” $13.8 1,533 2 (Universal) $14.2 $9,030 2. “Grumpier Old Men” $7.9 2,037 3 (Warner Bros.) $41.7 $3,882 3. “Jumanji” $7.5 2,530 4 (Sony/TriStar) $68.4 $2,973 4. “Toy Story” $7.1 2,469 7 (Disney) $160.8 $2,860 5. “Waiting to Exhale” $6.2 1,402 3 (Fox) $45 $4,416 6. “Father of the Bride Part II” $5.8 2,148 5 (Disney/Touchstone) $60.3 $2,678 7. “Heat” $5.5 1,341 4 (Warner Bros.) $44.7 $4,104 8. *”Sabrina” $4.8 1,976 4 (Paramount) $38 $2,404 9. “Tom & Huck” $2.6 1,606 3 (Disney) $18.5 $1,603 10. “The American President” $2.3 1,181 8 (Sony/Columbia) $54.2 $1,908

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* Gross estimated due to blizzard on East Coast

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.