‘Eraser’ Does Its Work on ‘Cable Guy’

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action-adventure “Eraser” made Jim Carrey’s dark comedy “The Cable Guy” disappear from the No. 1 position. The mega-budgeted vehicle opened with receipts of $24.6 million, slightly behind Schwarzenegger’s 1994 summer blockbuster, “True Lies,” which opened with $25.9 million. “Cable Guy” dropped to fourth place with $10.3 million. Disney’s latest animated musical, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” rang up $21 million in its opening round and “The Rock” placed third in its third week out, with receipts of $14.4 million. “All the business is at the top,” said John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations. “They got all the business.” This is the second week in a row and the third time this year that box-office figures were down from 1995.

* John Sayles’ “Lone Star” performed well in limited release with $232,184 on just 21 screens. And Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Stealing Beauty” took in $264,885 on 27 screens. It’s scheduled to roll out nationally Friday.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1.”Eraser” $24.6 2,410 1 (Warner Bros.) $24.6 $10,194 2.”The Hunchback of Notre Dame” 21.0 2,778 1 (Disney) $21.0 $7,573 3.”The Rock” $14.4 2,426 3 (Disney/Hollywood) $80.7 $5,935 4.”The Cable Guy” $10.3 2,657 2 (Sony) $40.6 $3,885 5.”Twister” $6.8 2,532 7 (Warner Bros.) $211.4 $2,667 6.”Mission: Impossible” $6.4 2,411 5 (Paramount) $156.2 $2,672 7.”Dragonheart” $2.9 2,007 4 (Universal) $40.6 $1,465 8.”Eddie” $2.1 1,505 4 (Disney/Hollywood) $26.6 $1,414 9.”The Phantom” $1.6 1,964 3 (Paramount) $13.5 $807 10.”Moll Flanders” $673,187 311 2 (MGM/UA) $2.2 $2,165 * “Lone Star” $232,184 21 1 (Sony Classics) $232,184 $11,051

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.