‘Dusk,’ ‘Opus’ Pace the Field

Miramax’s vampire tale “From Dusk Till Dawn” led a broad-based field as box office continues to surpass 1995’s record-breaking pace. In the only other wide debut, Disney’s “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” with Richard Dreyfuss, edged out Universal’s time-travel thriller “12 Monkeys,” which finished first for the past two weeks.

“From Dusk Till Dawn” hit its target action audience “to no one’s surprise,” said Dan Marks, senior vice president of product management for Entertainment Data Inc. “It had a good marketing campaign, a Quentin Tarantino script and a hot star in [“ER’s”] George Clooney who, unlike [“NYPD Blue’s”] David Caruso, seems to have made a decent transition from television to film.”

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “From Dusk Till Dawn” $10.2 2,004 1 (Miramax/Dimension) $10.2 $5,110 2. “Mr. Holland’s Opus” $9.3 1,409 1 (Disney/Hollywood) $9.3 $6,570 3. “12 Monkeys” $6.2 1,610 4 (Universal) $39.1 $3,845 4. “An Eye for an Eye” $5.4 1,680 2 (Paramount) $14.8 $3,240 5. “Grumpier Old Men” $5.1 1,901 5 (Warner Bros.) $58.2 $2,668 6. “Jumanji” $4.3 1,941 6 (TriStar) $82.1 $1,941 7. “Heat” $3.72 1,506 6 (Warner Bros.) $58.6 $2,191 8. “Toy Story” $3.67 1,722 9 (Walt Disney) $174.2 $2,132 9. “Don’t Be a Menace ...” $3.60 1,010 2 (Miramax) $14.1 $3,573 10. “Sense and Sensibility” $3.3 595 6 (Columbia) $13.5 $5,555 * “Dead Man Walking” $1.7 180 4 (Gramercy) $2.7 $9,571

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* Tim Robbins’ “Dead Man Walking,” a critically acclaimed death row drama starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, turned in an impressive $9,571 average on 180 screens.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.