‘The Rock’ Adds to the Sizzle

Summer action films continue to sizzle at the box office. The latest is “The Rock,” starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, which took in $25 million in ticket sales over the weekend to take first place.

The film thus becomes the largest live-action movie ever released by the Walt Disney Co., eclipsing “Dick Tracy,” which grossed $22.5 million during its opening weekend in June 1990. It also handily beat out Disney’s submarine thriller in May of last year, “Crimson Tide,” which grossed $18.6 million at the box office.

“Mission: Impossible,” the Paramount Pictures spy thriller based on the old television series, took in $14.7 million, for second place and a total of nearly $131 million after three weeks in release. Meanwhile, “Twister” from Warner Bros./Universal Pictures, grossed almost $12 million on its fifth weekend for a total to date of $187 million.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Rock” $25 2,392 1 (Disney/Hollywood) $25 $10,469 2. “Mission: Impossible” $14.7 3,012 3 (Paramount) $130.8 $4,868 3. “Twister” $11.9 2,808 5 (Warner Bros.) $187.3 $4,244 4. “Dragonheart” $7.6 2,133 2 (Universal) $27.5 $3,580 5. “Eddie” $5.5 2,000 2 (Disney/Hollywood) $16.4 $2,736 6. “The Phantom” $5.1 2,159 1 (Paramount) $5.1 $2,349 7. “Spy Hard” $2.5 2,051 3 (Disney/Hollywood) $21.1 $1,208 8. “The Arrival” $2.2 1,693 2 (Orion) $8.9 $1,299 9. “Flipper” $1.2 1,567 4 (Universal) $15.3 $795 10. “The Truth About Cats & Dogs” $760,798 721 7 (Fox) $31 $980

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.